As
well as being a keen cyclist, Ben’s always on the lookout for café
opportunities during his excursions through Kent. Combine that with my love of
country drives (any excuse will do), and thus we found ourselves in the little
hamlet of Hartfield in East Sussex visiting The Pantry.
The
café is set slightly off the main road, so it’s easy to miss. The surrounding
countryside is very picturesque (a drive on to Ashdown Forrest is recomended),
although sadly lacking in animals (there’s no farm attached to this farm shop).
Unfortunately we missed the farmer’s market, but there is a small selection of
produce available through the farm-shop part of the café, as well as some
clothing and handbags made by local artisans.
There’s
a good range of cakes on offer. BIG cakes. So big that I was unable to finish
mine and had to offload a third of it onto a very willing Ben. It will not come
as a surprise that I had the carrot cake. I find it hard to resist. It’s almost
a food staple for me. My only criticism is that the icing was a little
crystalline and could have been a bit smoother. Otherwise, the taste was great.
Ben
enjoyed his lemon drizzle, and managed to finish the entire enormous slice all
on his own and judged the coffee to be "good".
The
atmosphere is typical “farm café”. Understated and a little bland, lacking in a
defined personality. It’s reasonably comfortable and very clean but lacks a
certain je ne sais quoi that would separate it from the crowd.
Needs
more animals.
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
