Dandelion Cafe

I’d never been to Newlands Park so a sunny autumn afternoon seemed like the perfect excuse to head here for a bit of late lunch.
I wasn’t sure where the café was in the park — if you’re driving and wanting to park near to the closest entrance, park near the Lubnaig Road entrance and it’s only about a 1 minute walk from there.
The café is in the tennis pavilion and it’s a beautiful restoration job, appealing from the outside and cosy inside. I didn’t expect it to be quite so busy on a Thursday afternoon but nearly every table was taken — thankfully I managed to grab one of the last ones. There’s seating for about 30 people inside (at a rough guess) as well as some seats outside if you want to brave the cold. There’s table service so I had a quick look over the menu and knew that French Toast was what I needed for the day. Served with bacon or berry compote and for £7.50 I was pretty impressed with the portion — on lovely thick bread it was just the right size and a good amount of compote (I actually didn’t need it all, which was a first).
I love that breakfast is served all day and can see myself heading back here very soon. It’s got a nice vibe to it and the staff were pretty friendly. The menu might be short but I actually prefer that over a really long menu where you can tell that nothing will be fresh.
Notes:
— kid friendly
— dog friendly (outside undercover seating area)
— wifi (password is at the till)
— lots and lots of luscious cakes
— table service

The much anticipated Dandelion Café opened this week in the former tennis pavilion in Newlands Park. Based on this morning’s visit it looks like they’ve got the measure of their local customers.
Yummy mummies (and grans) were out in force with their babes and toddlers as were a fair selection of the park’s dogs (accompanied by their doting walkers). Dogs are welcome at the outside tables and in the covered enclosed area along the front of the building. A waitress distributed some complimentary dog muffins which no doubt will ensure repeat visits — dog icecream is also available I believe. My dog loving but not dog owning companion was in heaven.
The décor is bright and tasteful — love the unusual vintage chairs — and the staff are friendly and helpful.
The fruit scone was freshly baked and one of the nicest I’ve had recently. Served with home made jam it was a little smaller than some but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, some scones are so enormous they’re a tad off putting.
The food we saw going to other tables looked tasty, including a cloud of fluffy scrambled eggs.
There’s a small selection of foody goodies and well chosen craft items on sale.