I noticed on Twitter that there was a new cafe in Abingdon, The Barns Cafe. I finally managed to get there & give it a try last week. One of the great things about it is its location. It’s out of the main town centre so parking is nice & easy. Plus it’s got free wifi, which is pretty decent so it’s perfect if you work from home & need to get of the house. The cafe is split into three sections, one main one on the ground floor & the remaining two sections above the kitchen and the toilets. The refurbishment has been done really well. The wooden beams are on show and the whole place has quite a lovely feel to it.
I went for a late lunch and arrived about 2.25pm, found a table by the door & had a quick look through the menu. I went up to the counter to order and was told they stop serving food at 2.15pm! But, lucky for me, I have a nice face & they said they’d be happy to make me a Tricolor (Basil, tomato & mozzarella) panini. I also ordered a chai latte, which I am still surprised to see on cafe menus, as it’s still quite an unknown drink. When my chai latte arrived, I thought it looked quite a lot like a regular latte, which I don’t like. I have my coffee black. I gave it a quick taste, and yep, I’d been given a dirty chai latte (a chai latte with a shot of coffee)! Checking the menu, the chai latte is listed under the coffee section, but I never expected it to be a dirty chai. I decided not to say anything (mainly because I hate complaining to people) but I would never order one so took this an opportunity to, wait for it, try something different! I didn’t like it. Not because it wasn’t well made, but because I don’t like milk in my coffe. But at least I now know that I don’t like dirty chai!
My panini arrived shortly after & it was lovely. Slightly overdone on one side, but it was still hot and tasty. They have quite a few veggie lunch offerings & a great array of cakes – I can vouch for the Millionaires Shortbread! They have quite a generous tea menu too, which I’ll be having next time. The staff are really friendly & helpful and it’s a great place to sit, eat and relax for a while, either by yourself or with friends. It’s a great addition to Abingdon’s cafe culture and I’ll definitely be going back.
