At Darsham Nurseries Café, Taste The Fruits of The Garden

Darsham Nurseries Café, Darsham, Suffolk

Darsham Nurseries Café has gained an excellent reputation for its imaginative, tasty and largely home-grown food. Shopping for plants has never been so colourful and delicious.

Darsham Nurseries in Suffolk has one of Britain’s best garden cafés

The Story of Darsham Nurseries

Darsham Nurseries is the vision of one man. We have him to thank for the transformation of what was once an abandoned roadside nursery not far from the Suffolk seaside resort of Southwold. Drive across the level crossing at Darsham station, blink and you may almost miss it. But that would be a great shame indeed. After many years of hard work for American plantsman, David Keleel, his labour of love has paid off. He’s created a culinary and horticultural haven that is deserving of its growing reputation.

Stroll Through the Kitchen Garden

Taking the ordinary and the unloved and turning it into a destination for foodies and gardeners alike, requires patience and a lot of nurturing. It also needs great teamwork. Kitchen gardener, Niamh Mullally, is responsible for producing the fruit and veg that’s used in the café restaurant. Wander around the garden in the autumn and you’ll see an abundance of courgette flowers, beans, fennel and squashes.

Sit Down to Lunch in Darsham Nurseries Café

Chef, Lola Demille and her partner, Tom, are the creative duo behind the café’s seasonally-inspired dishes influenced by a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern style of cooking, popularised by chefs such as Ottolenghi. Regular favourites include courgette pilaf with lemon, sage and tahini, and Balkan peppers with Autumn goulash and ricotta. With its clever use of mirrors and tall French doors leading to an outside seating area, the café is a light and airy dining space. Bare white brick walls are offset with colourful floor tiles and cubist artwork. Small glass vases show off crimson dahlia flowers. Such is their reputation, they regularly have to turn people away.

Take Time for Tea and Cake

Swing by for breakfast in the morning or pop in for tea and cake in the afternoon. The cakes are a thrill. Rich pistachio and lemon drizzle cake with an orange and pomegranate glaze and interesting combinations like chocolate and coffee. Often incorporated into their baking, are some of the more unusual fruit wines they make by steeping botanicals, such as fig leaves, into vodka and sweetening with sugar.

Browse in the Garden Shop

Take time to smell the roses in the garden. Shop for plants or sit on a bench overlooking the kitchen garden. Browse the excellent gift shop with its wall of enticing Franchi seed packets, beautiful vases, artisan soaps and scented candles. The cookbook section will tempt you with old and new favourites such as M.F.K. Fisher’s The Art of Eating, The River Café Cookbook and Diana Henry’s wonderful books – Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons and her latest release, Simple: effortless food, big flavours.

Tips

• Walk off lunch by visiting nearby Southwold and going for a bracing walk along the sandy beach to admire the colourful beach huts
• Have a foodie day out by combining a visit with the Adnams Brewery tour in Southwold or their Copper House Gin Distillery Tour
• Visit Walberswick and have a drink at the Anchor pub
• Look out for the programme of special supper evenings at Darsham Nurseries

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Where to Stay in Suffolk 

The Swan

Lavenham, Suffolk

Between Bury St. Edmunds and Sudbury, this beautiful 15th-century building offers 4-star accommodation.

Rooms from £88 a night.

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