The Lemon and Rosemary Yard at Elsing, which opened for business a couple of weeks before Christmas 2022
We don’t usually visit places for review that have only been open a few weeks, chiefly to give the incumbents time to settle in, find their rhythm and iron out any gremlins.
But needs must, and when we found our original lunch destination was closed, we diverted to the Lemon and Rosemary Yard at Elsing, which opened for business a couple of weeks before Christmas. The café/deli occupies the premises of the Mermaid, a venerable and popular village pub which succumbed during the pandemic.
It’s great to see these places revived, and the two ladies behind this venture, Abbi Saunt and Alexandra Wrzava, have fine pedigree, most recently from the respected café at North Creake Abbey. The signs were good when we rocked up on a grey January Thursday – an almost full car park and a couple of motorcycles outside (bikers, like cyclists, know their way around the best grazing spots).
The lunch menu is brief but enticing; we were rather late arriving so missed out on the appealing roast tomato, basil and Norfolk Dapple pasta bake – one for next time.
Mrs C, full of New Year better eating pledges, chose the vegan roast Mediterranean club sandwich, though spoilt the good intentions by adding Binham Blue to the mix. The veg was spot on, not overcooked, with a very good carrot chutney and rainbow slaw, she said.
I’m avoiding bread at the moment, so it was the roasted pepper and sweet chilli chicken open wrap for me. It was a good choice, a plate bursting with sunshine on a gloomy day.
The chicken was nicely done, with a spicy, herby coating, the vegetables were as you would want them, with a little crunch, and the pink pickled onion slices brought piquant little pops to the plate. I hoovered it up and could probably have eaten a second one...
But we were on a bit of a deadline, so had to scoot off – not before bagging the last cinnamon muffin bun thing from the deli counter to have at home with a cup of tea. It was wonderful. Super-soft and full of cinnamon warmth - I’d go back to Elsing just for that.
Dominic Castle
Find the Lemon and Rosemary Yard on Facebook
