Feeling rather peckish after a busy morning at the salt mines, I decided to venture in to the belly of the festival beast. This involved a goodly wander up the Bridges, in search of a café or takeaway that didn’t have a queue out of the door. Café Gourmand, on Nicholson Street, was the first place that met this criteria, as whilst it was busy enough, there was a clear path to the counter.
Exterior
Upon surveying their chalkboard, it became clear that crepes were the speciality of the house. This struck me as a grand notion, so I quickly settled upon a spinach, mushroom and gruyere savoury crepe to go with my inevitable soup, which today proved to be chicken noodle.
The crepe was made from fresh by the attentive and friendly kitchen staff, working in the open kitchen area, behind the counter. In no time at all, my order was ready, and when handed to me it had a reassuring weight to it.
Soup and bread
I toddled through the crowds back to the office, and was soon considering my tasty looking treats.
The crepe was of good size and had a good amount of filling. Nutmeg was the principle flavour uniting the elements, and that was no bad thing. The crepe wasn’t the most refined one I’d ever seen, but that worked okay, as it ensured that no filling was unduly spilled.
The soup was really very good. The accompanying bread had just the right crumb to be most effectively dunked. The soup was flavour packed, with good chunks of vegetable and shreds of chicken, as well as nice noodle pieces.
Crepe
The only downside to Café Gourmand is that it’s not really priced for takeout customers. £7.75 is just a little too pricey, I reckon. One idea might be to offer a lunch deal of the “crepe of the day” plus a soup for somewhere around £5. Whatever the case, I was very pleased with the quality of the place, and would certainly pop back to sit in, next time I’m in the mood for a lunchtime crepe.
Scores
Blythe scores Café Gourmand
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 14/20
Today’s quester was: Blythe
I ate: chicken noodle soup; spinach, mushroom and gruyere crepe
I drank: nowt
I wore: pinstripes
Total bill: £7.75
