The Grain Store in Middle Aston has been 18 years in the making, Helen Taylor fostering a dream to open her own cafe for many years.
Finally setting up shop at The Hatchery in November last year, the large, welcoming, open plan, contemporary space that is The Grain Store is worth waiting for, tables full of families, remote workers, friends and couples catching up over lunch, or finishing the tempting brunch.
Surprisingly busy just because of its location, hidden away on the converted farm in Middle Aston, amidst a beauty salon, art gallery and pilates studio, the ample car park was full when we arrived.
Once we’d had lunch we understood why – it’s a wonderful place, a cafe yes, but the food it serves is excellent thanks to Helen’s son Freddie who heads up the kitchen, and what they do, they do brilliantly.
The team there is uber friendly directing you to tables, a fine array of cakes and pastries leading up to the counter where you order, and a specials board listing the soup and salad of the day.
We tried a bit of everything, some gorgeous coffee from Missing Bean, a bonafide banana milkshake made with real fruit but not too thick and with no false overly sweet flavour – lovely.
Then a variety of toasties, which sound innocuous enough, but here are given star treatment; huge slices of sourdough bread from Marks Cotswold Bakery – the tuna melt (tuna, red onion, mayo, Barber’s Farmhouse Vintage Cheddar and a house slaw £8.50) worth the trip alone, literally – the strong flavour, generous filling, and proper mature cheddar cheese oozing out.
The BLT (Paddock Farm bacon, lettuce and tomato and mayo (£10.50), so often a soggy insipid affair, is given a more lavish treatment here, generous to a fault, the ingredients bursting out, the filling juicy without the bread going soggy, one to try!
The pulled pork bap (with BBQ sauce, house slaw, gherkin and rocket for £14.50) was another masterpiece (see main pic), beautifully pert towering buns filled with juicy meat and salad, more like a burger and just as satisfying.
As for the cheese and red onion chutney toastie (£8.50), it was another firm favourite, again properly balanced, rather than a cheese overload with a smear of chutney, the Barber’s Farmhouse Vintage Cheddar doing the talking, alongside a tiny ramekin of the house slaw.
The roasted veg and pesto with tomato salsa or house slaw (£8.50) was less exciting and a bit tasteless, but the soup more than made up for it; a vibrant green pea and mint with just the right bite and depth of flavour.
Less saucy than the one I make at home, the homemade mac & cheese still burst with flavour, the cheese milder, rendering it amenable to little ones as well.
Sadly the autumn salad – a delectable sounding roasted pumpkin, butternut squash, queen chickpeas, lentil, peppers with a maple dressing had sadly sold out by the time we got there, but showed The Grain Store’s level of flare.
All of which was just a dress rehearsal for the main event – the cakes – and they were mighty fine – freshly delivered from Oxford’s Barefoot Bakery that morning, the selection is enticing but what to choose? From brownies and biscuits to cookies, bars and towering concoctions of cream and sponge, we were spoilt for choice.
Finally settling on the carrot, clementine and date concoction, the sticky toffee apple slice with a mascarpone topping, a cherry and almond gluten free bakewell slice, and a salted caramel brownie, we couldn’t believe our luck, the cakes moist, the brownies rich in flavour, the sponges bouncy…. a perfect ending.
Helen must be proud then judging by the warm reception her cafe has received since opening? “I wanted The Grain Store to become a hub for the community and I think we’ve achieved that,” she says when she came over for a chat. And with plans for a pizza oven in the pipeline, its popularity can only go from strength to strength.
What a find! I’m just gutted not to have found it until now, and in terms of whether we’ll return, I’m actually going back for lunch now. The tuna melt is mine!
The Grain Store is at The Hatchery, Fir Lane, Middle Aston, OX25 5QL https://www.thegrainstorecafe.co.uk
