Local produce, naturally

Holly Christian visited The Oaks Café, Bar and Restaurant, conveniently located close to Lincoln’s western bypass, for a light lunch featuring delicious local produce.

Golfers may already know The Oaks as it is located at Lincoln Golf Centre, Thorpe on the Hill but you do not need to be a member to enjoy dishes from their appetising menu. The business began as a lockdown ‘pop up’ cafe and has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of co-directors Jamie Logan and James Gibbons. James has many years’ experience in hospitality and The Oaks fulfils a long held dream to open his own venue. Jamie has a passion for showcasing local produce and talent not only through the menu items but also in the creative pieces from countywide on display in the restaurant space.

The location’s beauty not only lies in its convenience and ease of parking but you are only a minute from the bustle of the bypass, yet the setting is tranquil and green. The room is cleverly designed to reflect the nature around with wooden tables, green foliage, plenty of comfortable soft furnishings and natural light flooding through the floor to ceiling entrance doors.

Open from 9am every day, the menus offer a choice of breakfasts until 11.30am, a lunch menu until 5pm Sunday to Wednesday and a choice of handmade stone baked pizzas until 9pm in the evenings Thursday to Saturday. If you cannot call in, a takeaway pizza service is offered through Just Eat.

I visited midweek with a colleague for lunch. She chose the full English breakfast while I opted for a ham and cheese toastie served with chips and salad with garlic dressing.

The local producer credits are featured on the menu: meats from Odling’s Butchers and baked products from Welbourne’s Bakery, both in Navenby. Blyton Ice Cream and 200 Degrees Coffee are also served. Other choices on the menu included a chicken Caesar salad, chicken wings and avocado smash. There were further sandwich choices with a variety of fillings to suit all tastes and dietary requirements. The quality of the produce shone in all the dishes we enjoyed.

We shared the lunchtime with other guests, some of whom had just been enjoying the golf range while others were casual diners like ourselves.

As generous as the portions were, we took a moment to catch our breath and chose a cake each to enjoy with a hot drink. I went for chocolate Malteser cake and tea while my guest tucked into a lemon Chelsea bun with a flat white. The perfect sweet treats to finish our meal.

The Oaks is open 9am-5pm Sunday to Wednesday and 9am-9pm Thursday to Saturday.

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