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A sunny, warm day meant the first lunch al fresco of the year and the venue was Lemon Tree in Longton.
Finally, spring had arrived and although a bit windy, we couldn’t refuse the outdoor seating area under the blue skies and sunshine. I remember passing Lemon Tree once and spotting a tasty looking meat and cheese platter so that was on my mind as my husband Simon and I browsed the food and drink options.
Lemon Tree has a fantastic menu with all day breakfast choices, tapas, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, salads, specials, cakes, ice cream, food for the kids, food for the dogs and a small evening menu too.
I was thinking of trying the three for £14 tapas deal, but I couldn’t get that meat and cheese out of my head, so we went for the standard tasting platter (£12.95) and a savoury afternoon tea (£8.95) to add some pastry to our platter. Drinks-wise, Simon was extremely happy to see Belgian pilsner Bavo on tap amongst the more regular beers, which he described as cool and crisp. I had a Lipton peach ice tea, which isn’t ‘ice’ until you pour it over ice is it really? Strange, but it’s recently become my soft drink of choice as I’m a big fan of a peachy drink.
The food arrived and looked impressive so I couldn’t wait to tuck in. I was glad we added the pastry to the platter; it was some spread and portion size was definitely not an issue. The fabulous selection of food included five cheeses, four cold meats and a nice variety of crackers and pickles. The meats and cheeses were fruity, spicy, and full of flavour and the sweet tasting pickles and gherkins were nice and juicy. The sausage roll and pies were yum too. Everything was fresh and tasty but if I had to pick out one thing to improve, it would be the pâté to bread ratio. There was a lot of pâté and not enough bread, so we did spread it on the crackers too. But that’s it, I would be more than happy to eat this again and definitely recommend it.
It’s that time of the review again, cake. My favourite part. They didn’t have much left, the Longton locals love their coffee and cake and had therefore beat me to it, but I picked a small Red Velvet Cake (£2.75) and a Boost Brownie (£4.25). In case you didn’t know, my husband lets me pick desserts for us both, always. At least he knows of one thing that’s important to me. The brownie was perfectly gooey in the middle and the red velvet cake was light and fluffy, both tasting delightful. Simon accompanied his cake with an Americano with milk and I had a vanilla latte; we both agreed the Trunki coffee was particularly good.
A lovely lunch in the sunshine at Lemon Tree, no issues with service and the food was superb. The total price was £41.80 which we thought was about right for that amount of good, quality food. If you don’t fancy sitting outside, there are some cosy looking booths and other comfy areas to sit inside. There are baby changing facilities and a bar serving beers, cider, wines, and spirits. I often say this in my reviews (the good ones), and I’m not sure I’ll get the chance to revisit them all but the thought’s there… I’ll definitely try and visit Lemon Tree more often, whether it be for the tapas deal, or an evening drink and snack. It’s a cracking little place and unlike my other recent Longton foodie trip, this place knows exactly what they are and they’re doing it well.
Know of a cracking little place I need to try out? Do let me know.
Read more: All of Louise’s reviews
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