Saturday 17 May 2014

Woodgrove Cafe - Norwich

2 Woodgrove Parade
Norwich
NR3 3NS

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday - 9am till 8pm
Saturday - 9am - 9pm
Sunday - 9am - 6pm

Parking available outside

Breakfast available all day




 Woodgrove Cafe can be found north of the city on Woodgrove Parade.




It's open everyday and the breakfast is available all day.



 Inside is spotlessly clean, it's fully licensed so alcohol is available with your meal.




It really reminded me of cafe/bars I had visited whilst on holiday in Barcelona.



 I chose the more comfortable seating area.




 There was just one cooked breakfast option available at a very reasonable £4.45.




 I looked at the Lithuanian menu, the food sounded really delicious, I look forward to returning soon to try some!




The coffee was fantastic costing just £1.89.



 The neat arrangement on the table contained everything I was going to need.




The traditional British breakfast was a decent enough size for the money fans of a quality sausage may well despair.



 The pair of economy sausages were very spongy textured.




The hash browns were cooked nicely and there was no shortage of beans.



 The fried egg wasn't looking great but it did reveal a surprise.




 Underneath the egg was a hidden slice of bacon. The mushrooms were excellent and on this occasion I chose brown sauce over ketchup, it made a nice change!




Although browned all over the egg did reveal a runny yolk.



I was in Chapelfield Gardens a couple of weeks back watching the Vaga Band when a friend came up and told me about Woodgrove Cafe. He was telling me how much he liked it and that the Lithuanian food served there was incredibly nice. Woodgrove Cafe had been on my "places to visit soon" list for a long time and this was just the reminder I need to call in there for breakfast..

Upon entering - The spotlessly clean interior reminded me so much of some of the cafe/bars I have visited in and around Barcelona, whenever my mind wandered I suddenly remembered I was in fact in Norwich! There are tables and chairs to the left and booths with softer seats to the right. Towards the rear is a counter with a selection of alcohol on offer, order here, pay and take a seat. Each table has a decorative plant, sauces, menu and serviettes, cutlery arrives with the food. There is a TV on the wall which had the BBC news on whilst I was there, the volume was just right and it was perfect to watch whilst waiting for the food to arrive. Everything felt nicely placed here within an environment I really enjoyed spending time in. 9/10

Service - The staff here seemed really friendly and welcoming, I arrived just as they had opened and when I placed my order I was told there would be a short wait which was ok with me. The drink arrived first, the chap bringing it over said "enjoy your coffee", I certainly did, it was a great coffee! I only waited around 20 minutes from placing my order for the food to arrive. 7/10

Contents - 2 sausages, 1 slice of bacon, 1 fried egg, 2 hash browns, half a tomato, 3 mushrooms, beans and a slice of buttered toast. 7/10

Presentation - The food had been placed neatly onto the plate, I can spot an economy catering sausage a mile off though and the pair on the plate were the first thing to catch my eye. The fried egg was browned both sides from the griddle but everything else was looking pretty good. 6/10

The food - The sausages were piping hot but with a very soft spongy texture inside and fairly bland taste found in this economy variety. The slice of bacon was crispy in places and tasted good. The fried egg was well browned both sides but tasted nice enough and produced a runny yolk when I cut through it. The tomato was fairly solid with a nice flavour and the beans were plentiful and piping hot. I had never experienced toast this thin, it tasted good though! The highlight for me was the crispy hash browns and beautifully cooked mushrooms. 6/10

Value for money - £4.45 for the traditional British breakfast seemed very reasonable. A small Americano cost £1.89. 7/10

Veggie option - No

Overall - Possibly the cleanest establishment I have ever visited and I loved the vibe too. The breakfast was certainly good value for money but not one that will stick in my mind as I do like a quality sausage. What will stick in my mind though is the need to return and try something from the Lithuanian menu as I feel certain that this is the speciality here and I suspect it is excellent. The price of alcohol was really reasonable too so an evening meal here is on the cards soon! 7/10



3 comments:

  1. Interesting addition to this authoritative web resource.

    What caught my eye was the Lithuanian influence which conceals itself on probably later pages of the menu behind the main attractions.

    Further evidence of Eastern European influence is displayed when describing the English breakfast as British. I'd like to hear what the Scots would have to say about that?

    Care has obviously been take with the ambiance and I note from your own careful review that attention to details has really come to the fore such as the TV channel and volume level, plants on the tables and cleanliness.

    In fact 'effort' is one of the holy trinity and it has certainly been displayed here. 'Value' is another and is obviously applicable as well.

    My only concern here is the egg which was possibly rushed a little but as an all rounder I really think that this is a winner.

    I shan't be sampling the Lithuanian menu but I'd be dead sure that the same devotion will be paid to it.

    The addition of a red-top paper however would be the cherry on top.

    Well done.

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  2. I visited this cafe on 13/12/16 and it is just superb.Friendly,spotless,comfortable and the food and drink was A1. The dreaded sausages have gone and those served were great.When i asked for the mustard,which they did not have, the lovely lady went out straight away to buy some for me.She bought some Russian mustard which was "interesting" so i returned the compliment by buying her a jar of Colmans mustard ( the best ) from the co-op next door.I will not just be returning to try out everything else on the menu but will be travelling by motorcycle next summer to sample Lithuania and Poland first hand.Great review FUI.Harry P+H.

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  3. 14 dec 2016 Harry 37

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