FOOD REVIEW: Simply Delicious, Lennox Street, Bognor Regis

On a particularly cold, wintery Saturday lunchtime, my companion and I made our way inside this warm and cosy café.

Simply Delicious offers a service with a difference, where you can browse the wire shelving units for local produce such as chutneys, jams, biscuits, crackers and honey or the deli counter for cheeses, cakes and meats.

They are also proud to offer additional products such as freshly-cooked meals in containers, ready to heat up at home, bespoke catering and hiring services. All their products are sourced as locally as possible and cooked daily on the premises.

Despite the patio-style furniture and counters with freshly baked cakes and local drinks chilling, the café offers a cosy and warming environment with exceptionally-friendly and attentive staff who have an extremely strong knowledge of the food they sell and cook.

My companion chose the Three Artisan Cheese Ploughman’s with homemade chutney while I opted for the special, Roasted Butternut Squash and Parmesan Risotto with a salad and garlic bread.

The risotto was a beautifully creamy texture with garlic bread and a tasty side salad including egg, orange, kidney beans, chick peas and a lightly-spiced potato salad.

I washed this down with apple and strawberry juice which had been made in East Sussex. My companion had ASP, an Arundel ale.

The ploughman’s contained three unusual but strong and tasty cheeses, and came with thick chunky bread, a salad of similar composition to mine and beetroot chutney.

The sizeable portions contributed to what was all in all a truly unique experience.

By Kelly Wickham