Review: Worton Organic Garden, Worton, near Cassington

It is the most unlikely of venues, a working farm in the middle of nowhere, bleak on this cold February day, where the elusive Worton Organic Cafe is situated, not that I can find it, come hell or high, muddy water. Eventually I spy a sign on a barn leading between two huge corrugated iron storage sheds down a pot-holed track to a car park.

In the distance, a dark grey clad shed, more like a beach hut than a cafe, can be seen and as you approach you realise you have finally found your destination.

And yet, push through the front door and you are surrounded by the kind of brightly coloured produce, homemade jams and chutneys, breads, pulses, fruit and veg that make your heart quicken, a little ray of hope in this grey British landscape.

A further door at the back and you reach the tiny cafe, the walls adorned with beloved cookery books, the smells of spices and delicious scented food, the steam of exotic teas and strong coffee welcoming you.

We have finally arrived.

Chalked on the blackboards are the day’s dishes. There’s not a lot of choice, but everything is cooked freshly, rustically and with great love in the open plan kitchen inside.

Every table was full of people chattering, eating and laughing. We ventured out through a side door to the greenhouse at the back, a larger sunny spot where the overspill is seated, and managed to nab the last table in the place, despite booking.

It is amazing the places that you like to eat, the tiny venues you find, the shift from the finer restaurants of Oxford to something infinitely simpler and humbler like this.

But there is a reason you are all here. The food.

On this Friday lunchtime, it’s smoked haddock chowder served with bread for £9.50, a kid and pumpkin tagine with honey and tamarind served with middle eastern focaccia (£13), and spiced roast vegetables with fried halloumi and herby flatbread, £10.50. There are also five desserts for afters, or for those just here for the tea and cake. But otherwise that’s it.

We ordered the chowder and root veg salad, a wonderful mix of Lapsang souchong and Earl Grey and sat back to enjoy the atmosphere, because it’s so relaxing here with no formalities.

The loo when you visit is even more organic than the surroundings, and without wanting to put too fine a point on it, is more of a drop than a lavatory if you catch my drift, situated further up the path.

But that’s all part of Worton’s charm, and judging by the nonchalance of our fellow diners, not something that any of you gave a stuff about.

You can also watch the farm workers nurturing the vegetables that inevitably will start peeking through the wintery gloom of the polytunnels through the glasshouse walls, ready to be sold in the shop.

The chowder when it arrived was magnificent, big soft chunks of smoky fish, hard boiled eggs and herbs in a creamy, silky broth that revived me instantly, warming my face in the soup’s steam, a cheering dish if I’d ever seen one and wonderfully seasoned. The roast vegetable salad with its creamy dressing, and sharp cheese was similarly successful.

Come spring and summer when the doors are open and you can dine outside, when Worton Organic Farm is overwhelmed with fresh seasonal produce, I’m sure it’s even more vibrant, but as it was we were as happy as two pigs in organic manure, our bonhomie enough to cajole us into ordering a large slice of mixed berry frangipani tart, after mentally tussling between that and the wonderful sounding ginger cake or even a naughty meringue with blueberries and cream.

The frangipani tart was soft, warm and indulgent, the fruit tart against the sticky pastry and almond flavour, just the right side of chewy and I was happy, offering myself up to this eccentric, eclectic and utterly British establishment.

It is similarly difficult to leave without succumbing to the shop produce, like kids tempted by the sweets at the tills in the supermarket, so that by the time you’re back in the car park, you’ve almost forgotten it’s winter.

And for that alone Worton is worth the trip.

THE PARTICULARS
Worton Organic Garden, Worton, near Cassington. OX29 4SU 
www.wortonorganicgarden.com 07718 518 964

People of note: David and Anneke Blake run the seven-acre market garden, farm shop and cafe 

Opening hours: All year round on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am-4pm and Sundays 11am-4pm
 
Note: The cafe hosts concerts and events for those on its mailing list