We decided to venture a little further afield for our next review, leaving the concrete cows behind and heading instead to the historic market town of Towcester.
It's there we discovered a lovely place on the highstreet called the Dolphin Cafe last year, after a cold and miserable morning at the Towcester races. Needless to say, any old joint with a radiator would have no doubt provided a welcome respite from the morning's atmospheric and financial beating, but the Dolphin did enough to keep us coming back...
So we returned a couple of weeks ago and although it was the Dolphin Cafe we knew and loved at the time we visited, I'm told it has since underdone a renovation, re-opening only last week as 'Woodstock's at The Dolphin'.
The old cafe (pictured above) was large and spacious, but managed to create a homely and welcoming vibe, like an antique store with mismatched furniture and artwork. I've also included some pictures below from the cafe's Facebook page to show the new look and feel - it definitely looks impressive!!
I think this means we'll have to bite the bullet and go back once more, maybe in the summer when we can make use of the little courtyard out the back (it's a hard life!).
I'm also eager to return for the food now that Woodstock's is an "artisan bakery" - a potentially perfect combination with a good cup of coffee. We didn't stay for nibbles last time, opting only for a couple of flat whites which went down a treat. Service was speedy (despite a packed Saturday cafe) and the Illy coffee was frothy and balanced in flavour. This place ticked all the boxes for a lazy Saturday and we could have happily stayed there all afternoon... If only it weren't for the looming chores and niggling reminder to go to the gym - don't they know weekends are for coffee?!