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If you went to a cafe.....what would you have?

206 replies

Swifey40 · 10/06/2025 15:29

I'm just revamping our menu for the summer and could do with some help please.
So....meze boards, what would you have on it for meat eaters, veggies and vegans.
Or poke bowls, or paninins or salads??
Please throw your ideas at me.
TIA 😊

OP posts:
Flannelfeet · 10/06/2025 20:54

FanofLeaves · 10/06/2025 15:35

I always want something I can’t easily whip up at home or would be a faff to do so. I love a good homemade slaw on the side. A proper panini in a sandwich maker with fresh ingredients is always a winner. My local Italian cafe makes one with mozzarella and beef tomatoes and a homemade potato, it’s so simple but so good. I could make it at home but probably wouldn’t, so it’s my go to.

I got a ninja toaster, its a game changer and I often use the panini press part on it. Today I had tandoori chicken and mozzarella. Love it! Xx

FanofLeaves · 10/06/2025 21:23

Flannelfeet · 10/06/2025 20:54

I got a ninja toaster, its a game changer and I often use the panini press part on it. Today I had tandoori chicken and mozzarella. Love it! Xx

Oh my goodness. Dangerous! Every meal would probably become toastie based, I love them!

mycatismyworld · 10/06/2025 21:26

TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis · 10/06/2025 20:42

Honestly, after having been let down so many times by good cafes that can't cope, I want a menu that's:

  • stress tested against ingredients supply
  • deliverable by the staff there
  • affordable
  • not faddy or overcomplicated

I'm sick to death of my favourite dishes being sold out halfway through lunch, or items being missing, or ingredients substituted.

Don't get carried away by too many ideas - make it good, but make it achievable, so if someone thinks your rarebit is to die for, it's actually there when they come back!

Agree. Rarebit is a doddle to make because you can make the topping up in advance and keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

householddog · 10/06/2025 21:32

Love a pasta salad not easily found when out but delicious when you want something filling and cold that isn’t a sandwich

meagain3 · 10/06/2025 21:41

Panini! Especially pepperoni and cheese or tomato and cheese

Boreded · 10/06/2025 23:34

ChocolateCinderToffee · 10/06/2025 18:37

Because lots of people do like it?

But you automatically reduce your consumer base by adding ingredients that are often disliked. I prefer places that serve the extras on the side and you have the option of adding. I don’t need someone adding BBQ sauce on a burger for example, if I want it I will add it. Same with sweetcorn in tuna mayo…it is a lot of effort to remove.

Lindajonesjustcantlivemylife · 10/06/2025 23:38

Sweetcorn..the devils vegetable

Boreded · 10/06/2025 23:54

Lindajonesjustcantlivemylife · 10/06/2025 23:38

Sweetcorn..the devils vegetable

I can’t deal with the texture. Same with onions but a just soften them before cooking with them

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 10/06/2025 23:59

Veggie options please!

Jollyjollyjollygoodie · 11/06/2025 00:08

Bacon sandwich. Really decent tasty bacon on thick cut white bread.

Maddy70 · 11/06/2025 00:18

A good soup crusty bread and butter
Quiche
Jacket potatoes with different fillings
Shepherds pie
Sandwiches cold and some , hot, beef, gravy and stilton
Hot bacon and sausage baps

mycatismyworld · 11/06/2025 00:58

Lindajonesjustcantlivemylife · 10/06/2025 23:38

Sweetcorn..the devils vegetable

Absolutely, why is canned sweetcorn added to a side salad,? I loathe the stuff. Would rather have some radishes or spring onions ,beetroot added instead

CR2025 · 11/06/2025 01:32

I want good food done well.

eg sandwiches freshly made with crusty bread, good quality cheese & ham, fresh salad, homemade coleslaw and fancy crisps.

homemade tzatziki with flatbread/crudties

nachos (again good quality ingredients)

Good bread with good balsamic & good EVOO

pancakes because they are a pain to homecook

croque monsuir

eggs Benedict/florentine

kimchi fries

bao buns

sticky duck in pancakes with plum sauce cucumber, spring onion & carrot

haddock & poached eggs

homemade potato scones

homemade fruit scones

pavlova

cheesecake

GarlicMile · 11/06/2025 01:55

My café food preferences are a bit too staid for you by the sound of things, OP. I like sausage, bacon & egg rolls, anything with chips, gooey chocolate cookies. I wouldn't trust a café to do a brilliant meze or tapas, I'm afraid.

So serve what floats your boat this season, but PLEASE have dairy-free and gluten-free options! It's much easier to find gluten-free these days but that's no good to me if it's made with milk products (including the ubiquitous whey powder). Around 10-15% of Brits are dairy intolerant, plus 5% are vegan. If everything contains milk, you're automatically excluding one in five of your potential customers.

Jollyjollyjollygoodie · 11/06/2025 02:36

The lists here are endless. You can’t do everything for everyone. Concentrate on doing a few things really well.

Plasticwaste · 11/06/2025 03:08

More than one decent vegan option.

LiveLoveLaughQueef · 11/06/2025 03:40

Unless you make sandwiches fresh and salads then please give people the option about having tomato and cucumber in them.

Me and DP, my best friend and her kids, two of my other friends and my sister have a strong hatred both of these foul fruits and they are often used to bulk up sandwiches and added to ready made salads and garnishes.

I feel like every time we go somewhere for a quick lunch in a cafe there are loads of places off limits as the baguettes and sandwiches are made up with tomato and cucumber and it’s often hiding in other things. We had never been to a Greggs except to buy kids sausage rolls but every single sandwich that was pre made had one or the other when we went last week. Even when we request that we don’t want them staff often forget and it’s like Russian roulette when my DP, best friend and her kids are all autistic. My friend and her kids have ARFID whereas DP would just stop eating if he comes across something unexpected and had requested for it not to be there.

Surprisingly most of us like a salad and me and DP love going to places with salad bars with lettuce, olives, peppers, feta, cous cous, cold meats, coleslaw etc. there is a place in our small town that’s always packed because of the salad bar.

Jacket potatoes are always a good choice and quiche, soup and paninis. I live in a busy tourist town and have managed/ran single handedly a few cafes. Jacket potatoes cooked in the oven often sold out early, we also did fish finger sandwiches that were the most popular with a proper ploughman’s with cheese/ham pickles, pork pie, coleslaw and fresh bread.

Wetherspoons do the poke bowls and superfood salads and that kind of thing, I think it’s popular for some crowds but it depends on the area. Where I am in a small town up north they haven’t really caught on.
In summer iced coffees and frappes are always popular no matter where you are.

I have made myself very hungry now and I just woke up in the middle of the night so I don’t want to start eating. I should have avoided this thread!

beachcitygirl · 11/06/2025 05:31

All day breakfast- really pisses me off if I wake late(frequent night shift) and can’t get a brekkie for no apparent reason than an arbitrary time.

Sgtmajormummy · 11/06/2025 06:28

I think a Poke bowl is just a post Covid version of the germ pit salad bar with a choice of protein and those obligatory beans.
Fresh scones are great, cheap and fast to make (please not chocolate chip!) but they are age specific. IMO not many people under 40 would think of having one.

Agree with “fewer things but well executed”. In a successful foodie pub where I worked the talented “cake lady” brought in her daily homemade selection - a great job for a SAHM and it freed up space in the kitchen.

Blackboards outside with Main Menu and Today’s Special so people know what to expect before they come in. No dithering at the counter.

Tiredofwhataboutery · 11/06/2025 06:41

beachcitygirl · 11/06/2025 05:31

All day breakfast- really pisses me off if I wake late(frequent night shift) and can’t get a brekkie for no apparent reason than an arbitrary time.

Breakfasts are quite time consuming though to make as multiple different elements that all cook at different times.Theres economies of scale by being able to cook lots of breakfasts together.

Flannelfeet · 11/06/2025 06:47

FanofLeaves · 10/06/2025 21:23

Oh my goodness. Dangerous! Every meal would probably become toastie based, I love them!

Hahaha, yep that is pretty much what im having for dinner, my favourite just now is tandoori chicken and mozzarella, so bloody good! Definitely worth the money. Xx

Superhansrantowindsor · 11/06/2025 06:51

Depends what type of cafe you are. Sometimes I want a chip butty or other times a nice soup with decent bread. My main concern is always price, taste, cleanliness and good service.

Superhansrantowindsor · 11/06/2025 06:53

I haven’t a clue what some of the things listed on here are. For example: homemade potatoes . Bao buns and Kimichi fries. Seems I need to get out more!

FanofLeaves · 11/06/2025 07:00

Superhansrantowindsor · 11/06/2025 06:53

I haven’t a clue what some of the things listed on here are. For example: homemade potatoes . Bao buns and Kimichi fries. Seems I need to get out more!

Homemade potatoes was a typo- I meant to write pesto.

sashh · 11/06/2025 07:30

What type of café? If it is a greasy spoon then I want an all day breakfast, if it is more of a hipster place then decent tea and coffee.

Who are your customers? If you have parents and young children then maybe finger food that doesn't go everywhere / cause crumbs.

People grabbing a sandwich for work and who come in every day?

A different soup every day or maybe two if you are making one with animal products.

A daily meal deal that may involve the soup.

And an option for 'small appetites' not just for children but for elderly people who have less appetite.

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