Food Review: Ollie’s Café at Unique Cottage Studios in Spalding

"Ollie's Café is one of my favourite cafés to visit for breakfast and lunch."

I live in the middle of nowhere. Literally. I am surrounded by fields and there's one pub. This means that if I want to eat out, I have to travel a considerable distance by car. Honestly, not a problem but growing up in London spoiled me because you don't have to try that hard to find places to eat. I could take the tube and be in the busy streets of Soho surrounded by restaurants, pop-ups and markets all competing for my money in less than 30 minutes. Now, I really have to look and rely on word-of-mouth for places to go.

Which is why everyday I thank the person who recommended Ollie's at Unique Cottage!

This small, unassuming cafe tucked away amongst the fields is one of my favourite cafés to visit for breakfast and lunch. The café lives alongside a variety of independent art studios that make up Unique Cottage. There is a pottery studio, ceramics and even textiles studio so it’s a common occurrence to see people with various arts and crafts meandering amongst the café goers. You will even find pieces of artwork for sale within the café. I once wanted some very cute earrings and a ceramic tea set which I very nearly bought (if you have a weak spot for knickknacks, approach with caution!).

Ollie's have a daily specials board and lots of crafty bits up for sale!

One of the main reasons why I love coming to Ollie’s is the food is always cooked fresh to order. The kitchen is open plan so you can see just about everything that goes on and considering it’s a very small team, it’s amazing that are able to cook everything to order. I remember going one day, and the scones had freshly come out the oven and you could just smell the butter and sugar – it was divine.

On this occasion, I went for lunch so I ordered the fish finger sandwich with this side of chips whilst my parents got the fish and chips and a coronation chicken jacket potato. Everything tasted so good! The tartar sauce is homemade and had the perfect amount of tang. The fish is freshly fried in batter which I did not expect for the fish finger sandwich. I genuinely thought I was going to get a pack of shop bought frozen fish fingers that were deep-fried so imagine my surprise when I saw these very light and crispy mini cod fillets in my bloomer bread. It was 10 out of 10!

The same thing went for my mum’s jacket potato and my dad fish and chips. Everything was very clean and very tasty. I think it’s a testament to the staff that they have at the café. It is clear they very much love what they do and will happily talk to their customers about their day or about the food they have on offer. They are extremely friendly and kind and just want you to have a good time.

If you happen to be in the area, I highly recommend a visit. Even if you’re not in the area like me – it’s definitely worth the journey!

You can have a look at their menu and opening times here.