Small menu, cooked on the stove
Breakfast until half past eleven, soup and toasties after that. Hot food until an hour before we close. Tea, coffee and whatever is left of the bake until the door shuts.
Fern Hollow
A quiet cafe at the edge of the forest.
Coffee & tea
Coffee from Slow Water Roasters, a small roastery in the old mill at Ashcombe. Herbal teas are picked and blended within a mile of the cabin. Oat milk at no extra charge.
- Filter coffee $ 3
Brewed by the pot, one origin at a time. Refills are half price
- Espresso $ 2.8
Single or double
- Flat white $ 3.6
Double shot, not much milk
- Cafetiere for two $ 7
Enough for three cups each. Takes a while, that is the point
- Pot of herbal tea $ 3.8
Nettle and mint, pine tip, elderflower, or whatever is drying in the loft
- Pot of black tea $ 3.2
Loose leaf, strong, with milk from the farm at the bottom of the lane
- Hot chocolate $ 4
Dark chocolate melted into hot milk, a pinch of salt
Breakfast
Served from opening until half past eleven. Everything is cooked on the stove at the back, so it comes when it is ready.
- Porridge with stewed fruit $ 6.5
Jumbo oats, oat or dairy milk, a spoon of whatever fruit we stewed yesterday, toasted seeds vgf
- Sourdough toast $ 4.5
Two thick slices, salted butter, hedgerow jam or marmalade v
- Eggs on toast $ 7.5
Two soft-boiled eggs, buttered seed loaf soldiers v
- Walker’s breakfast $ 9.5
Porridge, a bun and a filter coffee. Order at the counter and it is ready before you have found a seat v
Lunch
From half past eleven. Soup and toasties until the pot or the bread runs out, usually around three.
- Soup of the day $ 7.5
Something from the garden or the farm, with a hunk of seed loaf and butter v
- Cheese and onion toastie $ 8
Fallow Farm cheddar, slow onions, sourdough, pressed on the stove v
- Mushroom toastie $ 8.5
Field mushrooms, thyme, a little blue cheese v
- Ham hock toastie $ 8.5
Mustard, pickled cucumber
- Soup and half a toastie $ 10.5
The sensible choice
- Ploughman’s board $ 11
Cheese, apple, pickles, oatcakes and seed loaf. Good for sharing or not v
Bakes
Baked before dawn by Owen. One bake a day, listed on the slate. When it is gone, it is gone.
- Cardamom bun $ 3.5
Soft dough, lots of cardamom, pearl sugar v
- Seed loaf $ 2.5
By the slice, buttered, or a whole loaf to take home if you ask early v
- Flapjack $ 2.8
Oats, honey, dried apple. Survives a rucksack vgf
- Daily bake $ 3.5
Ginger cake, pear and almond tart, a plain scone. Ask what is on v
- Oat and raisin cookie $ 2.5
Made with oat milk and oil, so no dairy or egg vg
Winter warmers
November to March, when the stove is lit all day and the light goes early.
- Mulled apple $ 3.8
Cloudy apple juice warmed with cinnamon, clove and orange peel. No alcohol, so the driver can have one vggf
- Hot chocolate with a cardamom bun $ 6.5
For when the walk back is in the dark v
- Stove-top chai $ 3.8
Black tea simmered with ginger, cardamom and black pepper, oat or dairy milk v
- Bowl of stew $ 9
Beans, root vegetables and barley most days. With seed loaf vg
v Vegetarian vg Vegan gf Gluten free df Dairy free n Contains nuts
Tell us about allergies before you order. The kitchen is small and handles nuts, gluten, dairy, eggs and sesame. Anything on the menu can go in a paper bag for the trail.
Eating further up the hill?
Hampers for two, for four, or for small walkers, pre-ordered the day before and collected on your way past.
Picnics & walks