Favourite lunch option on cafe menu?

[foxrobin]

As the title says really! Trying to get an idea of favourite lunch options on a cafe menu. My sister is opening a cafe in a popular market town and wants to offer a traditional but beautifully done menu so I'd love to know your favourite lunch options and anything you'd like to see more or less of. Thank you! X

Bubble and squeak with a fried egg on top - amazing if done well, and a USP for one of our local cafes.

Make sure the bread is good quality. Nothing more disappointing than a sandwich on thin cheap sliced.

Our favourite cafe has breakfast options until 11:30, and then goes into lunch service. It prevents the kitchen from having to make too many different things I think.

Omelettes, bacon sandwiches and sausage sandwiches are all day though, and they have at least 3 vegan options (falafel wrap being one). They also have a fairly flexible lunch menu where you can get a number of the options as a toasted wrap, sandwich or a big salad. So things like the falafel, spicy chicken with tzatziki, chicken Caesar, ploughman's etc.

One thing we like is that there is no kids menu. They just charge £4 for a half portion and any drink (they'll refill milk for free).

Also a good selection of sweet things will help afternoon and morning trade.

A couple of decent vegetarian and vegan options please 😊

Lovely soup, nice sandwiches- falafel, hummus, roasted peppers, pakora and mango chutney are all nice fillings. If I'm hungry I love a baked potato, with a side salad that's not limp and sad looking, dressing not too vinegary please xx

An interesting toastie alongside the usual options. My favourite is cheese and kimchi.

Salmon eggs Benedict
Quiche
Sausage roll
Pan au chocolates
Toastie

Any cafe that sells the below is a hit with our household

Homemade soup (preferably Scottish lentil)

Toasties

Baked tatties

Macaroni cheese

Breakfast rolls

Homemade tray bakes

Any sandwich filling (chicken/falafel/feta/steak) available as a good, mixed salad would be a huge winner for me (even if slightly more expensive). Totally agree with others on how bread/carb dominated everything is in cafes most of the time, even though (especially in spring/summer) lots of people don't like to eat like that.

And soup with salad instead of bread (as PP mentioned) would be brilliant!

Add scones to this list and you’ve nailed it!

I love a jacket potato , ceaser salad , a home made fish finger sandwich on good bread .

If it's a family friendly cafe it's important to have good options for kids too , not everyone will want to feed their kids nuggets and pizza ( although good to have something available like that ) .
Houmous , pitta and veg , pesto pasta , fruit platters would all be great options

Oh and most importantly a really good selection of cakes and tray bakes . Both traditional and modern

Home made soup and good bread, panini (roasted vegetables and goats cheese with pesto is my favourite). Best lunch time thing I've had though was pan fried salmon with Cajun seasoning, pesto mayonnaise and mixed leaves, never seen it in the U.K. but was common on the west coast of the USA when I lived there, perhaps a bit ambitious

Tuna melt.

But also a nice roasted goat cheese salad.

Anything warm. Bowl of chili would be great. Lentil soup. Sweet potato satay. Chinese pancakes.

Something I never see is bite sized cakes. Sometimes you want something sweet after your lunch but a cake is too filling.

Proper gluten free, so no cross contamination.

This! Nothing worse than soggy skin.

Nachos, anything with poached eggs and avocado.

Smaller.portions of proper meals for kids rather than a crappy kids.menu.

Definitely toasties - I’m surprised how many places don’t offer them.

Cheese and mushroom staffordshire oatcakes
Loaded fries / dirty fries

Home made sausage rolls made with decent meat and a lovely salad

with option for vegetarians cheese n onion rolls

frittata

ploughman’s lunch using local ingredients (cheese, pickles)

best of luck

I like the idea of offering something as either a sandwich filling or as part of a salad or with a baked potato- minimum extra prep for her kitchen but oodles of extra choice for the customer.

I’d like soup and sandwich options to be things I can’t make quickly or easily at home- I don’t want a plain ham sandwich or vegetable broth when I’m out- I might as well have a packed lunch. Great to have a range of options here for meat eaters/ veggie and vegan separately.

Nice breads are a must.

Please don’t put avocado on everything. I know it’s trendy right now but there are people out there who hate it (me!) and if preprepared with it on you can’t get rid of all of it.

Finally, just to prove you can’t please everyone- I wouldn’t consider eating in somewhere that is dog friendly. I’d have a coffee but no food. Feels very unhygienic to me and I’m generally a slattern so not fussy about these things.

Good luck to your sister- hope it all goes well.

Rosti things with options for different toppings.....bacon, poached/fried egg, chorizo, avocado, roasted cherry tomatoes

I agree about a little bite of something sweet on the side with a coffee or tea. Sometimes you don't want a huge slice of cake, particularly after lunch. One of the pizza chains used to do a tea/coffee option with a choice of a sliver of cake or tart for another pound or two. Perfect.