Harrogate Cheap Eats - Palm Court Cafe

JD and I like to have lunch out sometimes. It's a nice way to spend some time together away from the kids. But being the frugal pair we are we look out for good deals and cheap eats. Usually with a budget of £15 or less for the whole lunch. We also like to spend our money in independent cafes and takeaways. So after searching Harrogate we bring to you a series of lunches (or breakfasts) that can be eaten fairly cheaply and also help out the small businesses rather than chains.

Today we visited Palm Court Cafe.

It's above the Farrah's shop on Montpellier Hill but is quite spacious for an upstairs cafe. It's over two floors so we climbed a second flight of stairs to the Garden Room.

Seated next to the window you get a lovely view of the Crown roundabout.

After looking at the menu we chose Ploughman's lunches. I had a Yorkshire cheese one and JD had the pork pie one. Both £6.25.  There were plenty of other options around £5 including Toasted Sandwiches, Rarebit and Soups. We always have water to drink and it came served with ice and lemon. Lovely on such a warm day.

The food was well presented and looked appetising. Especially the doorstop bread and butter served with the Ploughman's. Palm Court Cafe make everything they serve themselves and the bread was delicious. JD's pork pie was a huge slice and it had chorizo in it which gave it a nice flavour (he let me have a bite). We polished off the lot. It cost us £12.50 for the meal so on budget, hurrah :D

They serve quite a large range of teas and coffees. They also have a lot of delicious looking homemade cakes. I might have to visit again for tea and cake with my daughter Leigh.

Give Palm Court Cafe a try, it's a hidden gem!

Oh Burger! 24: Sweet Potato, Butter Bean & Feta Burger

I always feel a bit suspicious of vegetarian burgers because they don't hold together well when cooking but I'm giving this one a go anyway. Wish me luck!

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes (cooked)
1 can butter beans
100g feta
1 tablespoon red pesto
1 egg
Salt & pepper

Combine everything in a bowl and mush it together with a fork. Form into patty shapes and place in a frying pan pre-prepared with a few tablespoons of oil. Cook until firmed up on each side.

As expected they're an absolute bugger to turn over. But JD managed it and soon we were eating vegetarian burgers. We had ours in a bun with some spinach leaves.

It was a nice tasting burger. It did have a lot of debate in our house as to whether it's a burger or not. It's not burger like in texture but it is encased in a burger bun. The vegetables were too mushy to feel like we were eating a burger. We all enjoyed it either way and it made for a nice meal.

Ratings: JD - 1 as a burger, 4 as a food Emma - 3 Leigh - 3