Looking back, it had been a weekend of two halves, food-wise. The Friday evening was a bit of a blur, as it always is when His Nibs, Me, Ginger Ninja, The Bolton Wanderer, and Bestie Bird all reunite! TBW had prepared a magnificent, Tapas-style feast for us all and the drinkies were flowing freely (not for GN, I will just say), so Saturday morning was a bit of a lazy affair. We’d already booked a table for our Saturday evening meal and, whilst the food was perfectly edible, it was all a bit lack-lustre for the type it was meant to be, so we felt a bit deflated. As they say, you live and learn, and if you don’t try new venues, then you don’t know what they’re like.
Sunday morning saw us packing up our things in readiness for coming back to the ‘Shire and, as is their usual habit, TBW and The Man were doom scrolling music and food, respectively. His Nibs came up trumps with somewhere for us all to go and indulge in a proper slap-up brekkie, and it’s a place right on the A17 that we have passed many, many times! Mountain’s Farm Shop is way more than its title; it’s a café/bistro, a farm shop, a gift shop, a butchery, and even has a dedicated takeaway/on-the-go food shack called ‘Feast’.
Wandering through the gift shop, we made our way to the welcome ‘desk’ where we were greeted warmly by a young lady who checked our reservation and then took us to our table. The area where we sat was an extension to the original seating and was in the bright, airy style of a barn conservatory; think, pale walls, high ceiling with decorative beams, lots of Velux windows to allow the natural light to flood in, and hand-painted country creatures and dogs at floor height. Menus were already on the large wooden tables, so we studied those to see what we fancied for refreshment: 3 ‘naked’ Hot Chocs, 1 fully-blinged Hot Choc, and 1 Flat White Coffee.
Our server was the loveliest lady, and had a good natter with us as she was taking our food order – always nice when a team member takes the time to get to know you a bit better. I had spotted the Eggs Florentine (£9.50), so ordered those with an extra portion of Mushrooms (50p);Ginger Ninja chose a Bacon [and fried Egg] Sandwich on White Bread (£5.95, egg 75p extra), and the other three all went for the beloved British choice of a ‘Full English’ (£12.50). Except, as usual, the order wasn’t that simple! His Nibs wanted to add on extra Hash Browns (£1.50 for 2), and the rather intriguing-sounding ‘Brunch Slice’ for £1 extra; TBW and BB fancied more poached eggs, so ordered those (75p each). The Full English also comes with your choice of Brown or White Toast, so it’s a belly filler.
We weren’t waiting long for our cooked-fresh-to-order breakfasts, and all eagerly tucked in. As you’d expect, the Bacon was that lusciously thick, meaty type that you only get from farms and butchers, and everyone remarked how delicious it was – including GN. Also fabulous were the poached eggs, including mine; perfect little spheres with those ‘tails’ of white that happen when the egg is introduced to swirling, boiling water. There wasn’t a trace of ‘snottiness’ to the whites and the ridiculously rich-tasting yolks were that unctuous, jammy texture that has you grinning from ear-to-ear.
The Baked Beans were safely housed in a separate pot to avoid any cross-contamination of the other items on the plate (that gives me proper ick!) and possibly the largest, halved Beefsteak Tomato had been roasted to soft perfection – thankfully, The Man isn’t THAT big a fan of Tomato yet, so some got passed my way. Field Mushrooms had been left whole and cooked to leave most of their meaty texture intact, but they were brilliantly earthy in taste and nicely hot in temperature. Boston Sausage isn’t something The Man and I have encountered before, but he was more than game to give it a go; me? Not so much. I will freely admit to being a total wuss when it comes to Sausage; I can’t stand it if they repeat on me, and most of them do. However, I put on my big-girl pants and accepted the piece of Boston Sausage that His Nibs passed to me; I have to say that it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared, and certainly nowhere near as robust as the Lincolnshire Sausage (that has me galloping for the hills – vile stuff!). The single bite was enough for me, but at least I tried it.
I’ve already said that my Poached Eggs were absolutely spot-on, and the buttered Spinach that came with them on the toasted Muffins was equally magnificent. The Hollandaise Sauce had been liberally poured over both piles of scrumminess, adding a luxuriant creaminess to the dish as well as its characteristically silky richness. Yet another example of how, when done right, the simplest dish can be transformed into something utterly amazing.
When we’d put the last of our cutlery down, our server came to check if we needed anything else; she’d done her check-back to ensure we were happy with our food earlier. None of us had got room for another morsel, so we paid the bill and went for a wander through the farm shop and butchery counter. His Nibs ended up buying some of those Brunch Slices to bring home, and I couldn’t resist a jar of the Tracklements ‘Sticky Fig Relish’. BB treated herself to a Scone from the bakery, too.
Hot Wings very happily given to this cracking Lincolnshire café/bistro – it most certainly won’t be our last visit!! The Bistro is open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm, and Sun 9am-4pm: last food orders are at 3pm. The Feast takeaway shack is open Mon-Sat 8am-3pm and Sun 9am-3pm. You can place online meat/produce orders via www.mountainsfarmshop.com or by ringing the butchery on 01295 821841. To book a table in the bistro call the Farm shop on 01295 821610.
