Ultimate Cafe - Preston - passionate about good food

A couple of days ago we were lucky enough to be treated to lunch at The Ultimate Cafe at Preston, this independently owned cafe (The Interesting Eating Company) is situated within the Ultimate Outdoors at the Deepdale Retail Park in Preston.

This unassuming cafe is the sister to a Cafe in Liverpool both of which are passionate about serving good food. The Deepdale cafe is spacious and decorated in a faux log cabin meets contemporary chic manner but the emphasis is definitely on the food. Pushchairs are welcomed and the little ones have their own menu so there is something for all the family.

We were pleased to note that time and trouble had been taken in sourcing some local produce and producers for the menu, Nichola (one of the co directors) explained that the bread is baked specially for them and they buy their sausages from an independent butcher. A wide range of drinks and beverages are available and takeaway is also available.

The menu is varied and features an all day breakfast and the in house speciality pancakes which you can find here and the menu also has plenty of choices for those who need gluten free.

After the browsing the menu whilst sampling the lovely coffee we plumped for a sausage sandwich , chicken broth soup with dumplings and a roasted vegetable pancake (GF) all to share.

The stand out dish for us was the soup, with an intense chicken flavour yet light. The sausage sandwich was tasty, the sausages juicy and the bread crusty and man enough to stand up to the filling. The Gluten free pancake was good and the vegetable filling tasty, all more than adequate for a cafe menu.

By this stage we were getting quite full so we decided to share a dessert, tempted by the great selection of cakes and treats on display we eventually chose the fruit meringue, made on the premises like most of the cakes (except the gluten free).

The Ultimate cafe is well worth a visit particularly when you are in the area and is a great choice whilst shopping rather than the other chain eateries on the retail park, situated on the first floor of Ultimate Outdoors its easy to find (and there is a lift), the prices seem reasonable for the product on offer and the team really want you to have a good experience whilst dining with them.

Our lunch was provided free of charge for review purposes, all views and opinions are our own.

Deli-Licious, Cannon St, Preston

Just a quick post on a little cafe we discovered whilst in town visiting yesterday's Lancashire Market, and the Harris Flights, wanting a light lunch we decided to give this dinky little venue a try and we weren't disappointed, now were not talking high end here, its a cafe but its a great stop for very good value freshly prepared food with the added bonus of a number of Polish specialties being included on the menu.

The staff were really friendly and welcoming (apparently a husband and wife team of Chef Tomasz and Laura front of house), I ordered one of the house specials of a hot roast beef roll with onion gravy and Mr LF ordered a "Zapiekanka" or mushrooms and cheese on a toasted baguette  I was very tempted by the Pierogi and Polish specialty soups but as its still August and fairly warm, I think I'll save those until a cold rainy day. Deli-Licious was also serving on the day we visited, Torunska a smoked polish sausage with homemade coleslaw and cucumber dip which tempted me too !

Both dishes were generous and very filling, my roll came with skinny fries and the gravy was awesome, rich in onions and definitely homemade, the Zapiekanka was pronounced delicious and was served with a lovely fresh seasonal salad. Drinks are also very reasonably priced, we have tea and a hot chocolate (in August ! I know !) and our bill was just over £13 all in, an absolute bargain.

Sorry no piccies of the food as we were very hungry and the food disappeared quickly, so much so that we didn't need to eat for the rest of the day.

The cafe is easy to find, just off Fishergate on Cannon St in Preston City centre. I would arrive early as I am sure it gets packed, it was pretty full when we visited, they do however do take out too and apparently their cooked breakfast is awesome as well.