THIS WEEK: DEAN'S GARDEN CENTRE
With spring in the air and the promise of lighter nights ahead, we were inspired to venture further a field this week and investigate Dean's Garden Centre café.
Situated on Seamer Road, the garden centre offers generous parking and we both found this a welcome bonus after negotiating the frustrating road works and multiple traffic lights en- route. Despite its busy
roadside location, the early floral shoots and trees framing the car park created a welcome air of tranquillity in keeping with the fresh morning.
Arriving at 11.00am we immediately set off in search of tea and cake, which we discovered in the large and airy dining area tucked neatly away in the middle of the garden centre. At this time it was still fairly quiet so we chose a window table with a view overlooking the outside sale area and the spring lambs on the hills beyond.
We were immediately impressed by the selection of snacks and homely lunch options on the table menu and the extensive specials board.
Usually, it takes us a few minutes to deliberate over our choice of dessert, but as soon as we saw the homemade Lemon Treacle Tart (2.65) and Rice Pudding (2.65) we knew that these were the puddings for us!
We decided to wash these down with a pot of tea for two and made our way to the counter to order. There, the pleasant and efficient service proved to be the real highlight of our visit. The lady who took our order was really friendly and took the time to find out exactly how we
wanted our desserts: hot, cold, with cream, custard and even if we preferred the rice pudding with or without skin. As the caf was starting to fill up for the lunchtime menu, this meant a bit of a queue built up behind us but, to us anyway, it seemed worth the wait to be made to feel so welcome.
The citrus tang of the tart provided it with a refreshing twist that complemented its dense and sticky treacle intensity. In comparison, the rice pudding was smooth and creamy. In spite of our
professionalism, we both found it difficult to finish our desserts.
This was due in part to the richness of the puddings and also to the
generosity of the portions, which conquered even our ravenous appetites!
However, just as we were about to leave we finally succumbed to the delicious looking stack of homemade scones by the till that had been tempting us throughout our stay. Still full from dessert, we chose date and cinnamon and cherry and took them away with us for a bit of homework. Both proved delicious and earned an "A" when we assessed them at home with a cuppa for afternoon tea later on!
Overall rating ****1/2
Value for money ****
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Weather for Scarborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
