Review
Valley View Café, Loddiswell

This is the story of the perfect pork bap that turned me into a little piggy! The venue: Valley View Café, near Loddiswell. From the off, it delivered. In fact, it triumphed. 

Run by local couple Amy and Richard, the cute café is welcoming from the minute you step inside. Choose between an outside terrace overlooking fields, complete with blankets to ward off the chill, or the vintage décor of the inside. 

As the café uses much of the produce from the adjacent farm shop at Aune Valley Meat, it seemed appropriate to plump for something carnivorous, and the hog roast bap fitted the bill. 

Thick slices of crispy belly pork sitting on top of a cushion of stuffing, with fresh leaves and grated apple, all inside a fluffy white roll. The tender, juicy pork had a salty hit of crunchy crackling, and the grated green apple provided added freshness – a nice alternative to apple sauce. The stuffing was well-seasoned and moist, balancing the pork and apple flavours. A delicious hard-boiled egg and a portion of rustic chips completed the meal. 

The meal was very substantial, but so tasty, I couldn’t resist! Beautifully presented on a board, with individual mini jars of sauces, my lunch was a delicious mix of tender, juicy, salty and crispy – the perfect combination. 

My husband chose one of the specials – chicken schnitzel with crispy bacon and chips. The tender chicken was coated with a lightly spiced, crispy crumb, the bacon provided that salty hit again, and the skin-on skinny fries were pleasingly crispy. Nick enjoyed the slightly smoky sauce with the chicken, and claimed the salad was livened up with more grated fresh apple. 

Due to the generosity of the portions, we shared a dessert – the gluten-free chocolate and raspberry cake. Light, crumbly and moist, this was filled with a generous layer of fruity raspberry and chocolate buttercream. 

Valley View Café has built up a reputation as a favourite spot for both locals and visitors to enjoy fabulous, inventive food, cooked with flair. I can clearly see why.