It is situated past Staxton Hill off the B1249, and we had both driven past Willerby Wold Farm several times, intrigued, but always in too much of a hurry to explore.

The coffee shop has a contemporary design with contrasting rich blue and white walls complementing the wooden-beamed ceiling and sleek furnishing. The gallery of "Northern contemporary art" adjoins the café so that you can peek at it as you enjoy your meal and then browse the displays of paintings, glass and sculpture at your leisure.

Surprisingly, for such an interesting coffee shop, we were the only customers. Maybe it was because it was still fairly early morning or, like us, people were driving past without exploring. Either way, it seems a waste to speed by without stopping to enjoy the cake and the art.

The café windows open out on to an inviting garden with plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the stunning Wold views. Had it been a bit warmer, or if we'd been a bit more sensible and brought our coats, we would have braved the drizzle outside to enjoy the tranquil setting. Instead, we seated ourselves at one of the stylish ebony tables and deliberated over the specials board.

The menu offers a range of homemade light lunches, cakes and the usual selection of hot and cold drinks. We plumped for a slice of the homemade carrot cake, a cafetiere of coffee and a pot of tea, which were soon delivered, efficiently, to our table. The carrot cake was moist and spicy with a slick of sugary frosting on top – delicious!

For us, the café wasn't particularly baby friendly with no highchairs or changing facilities (we had to change our daughters on the toilet floor). However, we were made to feel really welcome and the girls dangled happily enough on our knees, scavenging carrot cake crumbs with deft fingers while we chatted.

For older children, there is plenty of space outside to romp around in and in fairness we probably would have spent more time at the gallery if we hadn't been baby-bound. What a perfect excuse to return!

Overall rating **** (Out of five)