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

Ooh, cake tapas! 😃

Oh and:

• a good plate of unmessed about with sausages (no weird powder fillers) caramelised all the way round, scrambled eggs, well roasted cherry tomatoes, hot buttered thick sliced granary bread or

• steak and onion pie with a rich gravy surrounded by shortcrust pastry

• baked lemon and sultana cheesecake 🌹

Hi, OP-

Best of luck to your sister - lunch is my favourite meal and I am salivating as I read these replies.

I came on to agree with the principle of defining her demographic first. The answers to The Dog Question and others should then follow.

Speaking as someone who has no dietary restrictions and enjoys a reasonable amount of both veggie and vegan food, I think it might make economical sense to focus on foods of these types that are typically enjoyed by most. Rather than Quorn, fake sausage and the like, falafel, tofu, egg and cheese dishes, oil cakes (admittedly eggless for vegans) etc. But perhaps I am wrong.

I also plead for some homemade vinaigrette on the greens that come with my sandwich or quiche, like a PP!

I love the idea of a pudding tapas plate or just small portions on offer.

An excellent jacket potato, nice and big, slow oven cooked with a chewy skin.
Home made chilli, bolognese, tuna, cheese and coleslaw, beans and cheese....

Definitely segregate dogs. Personally I will always avoid places that allow them ,for assorted reasons.

Jacket 🥔 potatoes

I always remember going to a cafe with a picture menu for how you wanted your bacon cooked. Pictures from 1 to 5 of increasing levels of crispness. So good for something like bacon when everyone likes something different.

Another vote for jacket potatoes.

As well as a really nice soup, I like a good falafel salad.

I went a place in the winter and they did an amazing stew. They did stew of the day everyday with the red cabbage, crusty bread etc. I'd come and eat stew of the day every day 🤦🏻‍♀️

I like a nice slice of homemade quiche with salad
Homemade soup with crusty bread
Panini - tuna melt is my favourite
Homemade cakes that aren't still on display after five days and all dried out (I'm looking at you, local cafe) it's easy enough to freeze half a cake if it's not selling fast enough.

Totally agree with good soup & crusty bread. It's my first choice when it's cold.

My favourite cafe sandwich is a blt with avocado, closely followed by good ham with home made coleslaw. Good chunky granary or sourdough bread or ciabatta,

I prefer sandwiches served to be served with salad, not crisps, but that's a personal thing, so maybe offer a choice.

Cheese toastie

Totally agree about decent gluten free. It's a vastly under catered market. Some nice savoury options and an uncontaminated (by unsafe plant based milks) coffee machine would be epic.

That sounds wonderful

A good cheese savoury!

Agree about gluten free, but don't forget about diabetics too! It's a nightmare trying to find somewhere to take MIL where she can eat something "sweet".

Also, anything with bacon in it needs to be properly cooked, there's nothing worse, in my opinion, than white undercooked bacon. Bacon should be crispy, not soggy

Home cooked ham, egg and chips.

Jacket potatoes. They seem to be less widely available than they used to be. Toppings can be the same as sandwich fillings so not difficult.

No sweetcorn in tuna mayo. You can have a choice of with or without sweetcorn but not with only.

Always offer traditional full English.

Tea with separate milk jug, with enough milk for those of us who like it milky.

One thing not often offered is a smaller portion of the main menu. I would choose that and it could double as a kids menu.

Chicken club sandwich
jacket potatoes (coleslaw and salad)
fancy salads

my kids love:
sausage roll (not one that’s too meaty or artisan if that makes sense!)
croque monsieur
Filled baguettes

I like a BLT with good quality bacon
Quiche (has to be warm) and salad
Chunky soup and warm bread
Houmous and falafel with salad or a mezze
Veggie chilli and baked potato
Chicken Caesar salad
Greek salad

Pesto chicken tomato and spinach sandwich

Jacket potatoes are a firm favourite! Offer a range of different fillings.. your standard ones and then the fancier ones too!

baguettes with really good quality ham.

Theres a place I go to occasionally for lunch when I’m at work- it’s a cafe type place - they do hot pork baguettes, sandwiches AND loaded chips with hot pork, apple sauce, stuffing and crackling.
It’s the highlight of my week when I have it 🤣

Sorry was meant to add, burritos - but probably just on particular days like a Thursday!

Agree with the PP who suggested some sandwiches without mayo. I love it but DH won't touch it, DM won't touch it, a couple of friends won't either. I think I know more who dislike than like and it's on most sandwiches.

I like the idea of being able to just buy toast (with marmalade or marmite as options). I don't eat cake but might have a slice of toast and as a PP said, I bet the markup is great.

I've name changed so I don't out myself to former colleagues. A sandwich round used to come with chicken and grape sandwiches. Everyone went mad for them, but I haven't seen that combination elsewhere.

Delicious sandwich's on proper bakery bread with a fresh salad garnish on the side ,homemade coleslaw no cheapo supermarket type.
Crispy skin on fries.
Home made quiche , soup with aforementioned bread .
Whatever cake must be homemade or as good as , as a homemade cake baker i very rarely eat cake when i'm out as it usually disappoints ,other people i know who bake say the same thing .
A ploughmans with good quality items , sensible size as most enough to feed 2 people.
Decent prices or else i won't be coming back and none of this - soup 4 , when it should be soup £4.00 !