Cowdray Priory Cafe

The Cowdray Farm Shop and Cafe is set in the Cowdray land just on the outskirts of Midhurst.

Now this place both makes my blood boil and seeth yet for some reason I keep going back to see if it's changed!!

The farm shop while attached building wise to the cafe, is great. Lots of local meat, fruit and veg as well as plenty of other organic and unusual foods and a nice selection of gifts. We'll ignore the Farm Shop in this instance.

So, the Cafe. A lovely setting, a lovely looking cafe with plenty of seating inside and out.  They've won awards for their food as it's all made entirely from scratch using as many local suppliers as possible.

When I first starting going here, it had recently opened, still looks the same but over time and a big gain in popularity, it just doesn't hold the same appeal.

Our last visit we ordered 2 x sandwiches, 2 x latte and a portion of chips to share.  Out came our sandwiches at nearly £7 each with no garnish at all - just a sarnie cut in half and slapped on a slate slab or plate.  The chips were £6 per portion and we counted 7! Yes - 7! My hubby is not a complainer but felt compelled to ask the waitress if she thought 7 chips was acceptable for £6 and was met with a blank gaze and 'well it's how we sell them' comment. Hmmmm. The sandwich itself was nice despite falling apart a bit and quite tricky to eat, the lattes were very nice and the chips were nice, just not enough.

To me, a sarnie should at least include a bit of a salad garnish and maybe a few kettle chips. Not here. So our bill came for the above came to approx £25 and we went away promising never to go back. We haven't actually been back since and this was a few months ago. I'd definitely return to meet friends for a coffee, but not to eat.

On a side note, most of the patrons are very wealthy with children called Tarquin and Elsbeth (yes, I've heard parents calling those names out), and drive Range Rovers, Porches and Aston Martins so maybe to them, it's fine. And if that's you, then great - go, network and enjoy. Me? I'd rather go to Gartons and enjoy the same quality at half the price and twice the portion.

Cowdray Cafe