Well, it has finally come to this. The current situation with coronavirus has driven us to actually make our own scones. Who would have thought? With nowhere to go and buy them, we were faced with little choice. Although they will continue this might provide welcome relief from the reposts of late. When every day is much the same this post is also intended to remind you that it’s Friday. Friday is followed by the weekend. The way things are, you could easily miss a whole weekend! Don’t want that, so relax, enjoy!
It’s not that we’re bored or anything! Okay, yes we are a little bit bored. It would be great to be out there riding the highway mercilessly hunting down scones like days of yore, but that’s not going to happen. 
Not for a while yet. When I saw Pat leafing through the pages of The Secret Life of Scones by Suzy Bowler I thought – oh, oh, something’s going down! I left her to it. I just eat and write about scones which I suspect is a heck of a lot easier than making them. Anyway, Café 54 is quite a nice establishment with a lovely dining room and a pretty living room that would be perfect for afternoon tea.
Tickles
I fully expected to be summoned and ushered into one of these rooms where there would be a glass of champagne waiting to tickle my tastebuds.
By the way, how many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? 10 tickles! Sorry!
Instead, I was taken straight to the kitchen. There was only one table and we had the whole place to ourselves. At this rate, Café 54 is not going to last very long.
Turned out Pat had followed one of the Genius recipes from the book but had added lots of fruit and almonds. They were fruit and nut scones! No comments, please! By now you know we like our scones crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle.
Double crunch
Well, these were crunchy on the outside but the almonds gave them a lovely crunch on the inside as well … unusual but fab! Pat assured me they were topscones and I couldn’t but agree. The gooseberry jelly and cream finished them off perfectly. There was nothing really to complain about at Café 54 … the welcome had been great and the service was perfectly adequate. We might try it again sometime.
This is the recipe:
Can’t provide any contact details because if you decide to visit Café 54, you would be made most welcome but your chances of getting a scone would be pretty slim. We’ve eaten them all!
SHED OF THE DAY
Since the sheds seem to be proving popular we have decided to give you this one. It’s not an island shed, these are reserved for island scones.
ps: GOOD NEWS: Ospreys are seemingly unaffected by the lockdown and have just arrived back in Scotland from Gambia. Well done them!
BREAKING NEWS: The £10. 36 that I’ve had in my pocket for the past four weeks has mysteriously been reduced to £5.36. A fiver has been snaffled! I have my suspicions!
I would like to add the names of my wife and I to the lengthening list of satisfied customers who have had occasion to enjoy the delights of a visit to ‘Cafe 54’.
Unlike some of the cafes we visit, we are privileged to know the owner / operators of Cafe 54 in person which doubtless contributes to our appreciation of this particular venue.
Without exception every visit has been excellent. The standard of catering and hospitality cannot be recommended highly enough.
Thanks Brian and Margaret, the money is in the post!
Thank you so much for mentioning my Scone book. Much appreciated! x
You are welcome Suzy, lovely book!
Don’t want to blow my own trumpet but they were pretty good scones. The place itself is very nice and well worth a visit (whenever you can get out and about again ).
Trip Advisor
O O O O O
Review Cafe 54
I visited this start-up cafe last year. It was scrupulously clean, well appointed and the food was of excellent quality. No Brake Brothers factory made rubbish. A fine selection of teas, and the scones were unbelievably good – a house speciality apparently. Presumably to save costs the chef was also the waitress. A very helpful, talanted and attentive lady. The only criticism was that the manager appeared to be slightly eccentric and he certainly could have done much more to help the staff. However he was friendly and well meaning.
Rumour has it that there was evil doings in the property many years ago and that the cellar is haunted by a skeleton roaming around seeking whisky. Difficult to believe.
All in all I would unreservedly recommend a visit and I hope to return at an early date.
The Laird
Note to manager. The telephone in the garden does not work.
Well, I will obviously have to try harder in future. Pleased with the only ‘slightly’ eccentric though … makes a change from ‘off his heid’. Pat usually says that I do the blethers and she does everything else. There are two barrels of whisky in the cellar now .. enough to keep any evil spirits happy. “Telephone in the garden”?
Well well cafe 54 defiantly looks a bit too upmarket for us, though the picture of these scones look most enticing, not sure that Kitty or Molly would have agreed with the nut addition. Glad to see your keeping warm and bright, kind of expect to see you with a tan if you sit in either of these beautiful rooms for too long. By the way your afternoon scone must have been worth a fiver.
Finally a brave man to say service was “adequate”, not a term that is likely to get you fresh scones for some time.
Keep up the good work, & take care
DandE
May live to regret that ‘adequate’ remark David. I think though that Kitty and Molly would have given them a try. Hope you are all well.