Cafe. Blockley, UK

May 2021

Not just your standard village cafe, this Cotswolds hub is owned by a cooperative of more than 650 villagers, and sits alongside a well stocked shop, the result of a successful fundraising campaign.

By day, there's an array of baked goods far more elaborate than I was expecting from this tiny cafe - ruby chocolate cruffins, pistachio and rosewater buns and deliciously gooey Black Forest friands, all courtesy of Cheltenham's Baker and Graze.  Breakfast is served with Mark's Cotswold Bakery sourdough; for lunch, colourful salads and fat sandwiches feature alongside more hearty offerings such as Cotswold goat tagine with Israeli couscous, pomegranate, pistachios and harissa yogurt.  New Ground, Oxford's specialist roasters who provide training and employment to ex-offenders, provide the coffee beans, and for dinner, this quaint cafe transforms in to a chic dining venue, creating impressive dishes from seasonal, locally sourced produce.

The village itself is rather pretty too, and it's surrounded by miles and miles of the Cotswolds finest countryside - well worth a stroll to work up a good appetite.

Find Blockley Cafe on Bell Lane, in the village of the same name, close to Moreton-in-Marsh.

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