Review
The Lynwood Carterton Café
L
ynwood & Co is an independent family run business in and around the Cotswolds serving coffees, drinks and a variety of home-made breads and foods. The Lynwood name is a tribute to the Australian roots of the owners Rob and Kats; photographs of the Lynwood homestead and farm are proudly displayed in all their outlets. Rob and Kats opened their first Café in Lechlade in 2015 and others followed in Fairford, Burford, Carterton and most recently Cirencester. Like all entrepreneurs, they are always on the lookout for new premises in the area to expand their brand. They were voted Best Coffee Shop of the year 2016 at the Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards and featured in the 2017 Guardian list of the 50 best breakfast places in the UK. I am a regular at their café in Alvescot Road, in the heart of Carterton’s ‘food court’ and I visited them again recently. The Lynwood Carterton Café is always welcoming and buzzing with a variety of customers from young mums, coffee aficionados, groups of friends, air base personnel, visitors, cyclists and many more and the day I went was typically full and the atmosphere was warm and busy – plus the ever-present aroma of freshly baked sourdough bread and barista coffee! They are famously dog friendly. I decided to treat myself to the Lynwood Special Breakfast which was excellent. The portions are very generous, and I was defeated in the end! It was all very high quality and Lynwood pride themselves on sourcing all of their ingredients locally including pork, vegetables, eggs and of course the flour which they use in
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APRIL 2022 - CARTERTON CRIER
their bakery. The sourdough toast was delicious, and I should add that Lynwoods bacon sandwiches are amongst the best I have eaten anywhere – a meal in itself at any time of the day. They have a wide variety of cakes, rolls, pastries etc and have different hot and cold specials which vary but are always imaginative and home-made. Individual menus are displayed in all the different cafés and change according to availability of freshest ingredients and Lynwood’s quest for innovation. Vegetarian and vegan tastes are well catered for. The day I visited the daily specials includes salami and prosciutto sandwich on sourdough, a vegetarian rice salad, vegan and sausage rolls, and savoury turnovers. Sweets were carrot and apple & pecan cakes, banana & date loaf, flapjacks, and chocolate & praline hazelnut tarts. Other temptations include a variety of plain or filled doughnuts. I’m not a cake person but I am told that their carrot and other cakes are delicious! The coffee is carefully sourced and extremely good as is their extensive range of teas. All their products are made at their bakery unit here in Carterton and distributed daily to all their outlets, so everything is very fresh. We are definitely lucky to have a Lynwood Café in Carterton and whether you come in for a latte, a snack or a hot meal you can be assured that it will be top quality and you will always receive the warmest of welcomes from Esther and her team. Pick up a sourdough loaf on the way out – you will never regret it! f - Adam Lethbridge
