Café Oswald's at Cranstons Food Hall, Penrith, England

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Cranstons is a Penrith institution, and its café, Oswald's, is one of the most popular brunch spots in the town.

Since I moved away from the area, I don't get there nearly as much as I used to, but it's still my go-to place to meet the girls for brunch. Today I got there a little earlier than them, and was greeted by a very pleasant chap, who advised that there weren't currently any tables available to eat, but there was a low coffee table in the window. As we were planning on eating, I chose to hold off, but there are bar stools and chairs by the counter so you don't have to stand to wait. My friends arrived shortly after, and we only waited about 5 minutes before a table became free.

The trouble with not meeting up as often as we used to is that when we do there is LOADS to catch up on! This means that when the lovely lady came to take our order, we were, of course, not ready - so we each ordered an oat milk chai latte, which I would highly recommend, they are lush!

Once we were ready to order, I opted for a "breakfast stack", which is black pudding and haggis on a slice of "more?" artisan sourdough, topped with a poached egg. Last time I ate at Oswald's I'd been a little disappointed in the service times, so I was pleasantly surprised that the food came out quickly, and was cooked to perfection. The egg was the ideal balance of hard white and runny yolk, and the meats were delicious. The only (minor) issue I had was that the sourdough, whilst super tasty, is quite tough to cut through with the knives provided. They could have done to be a little sharper!

All in all, this was one of my best visits to Oswald's so far - for the food, the service, and of course the excellent company!

At a Glance Information:

• 🐶 No dogs except guide dogs

• 🚽 Toilets are upstairs, very clean, and there is some fab artwork on the walls in both the corridor and the toilets themselves

• 🚗Parking is free and plentiful, but Cranstons does tend to get very busy!

• ♿ Oswald's is upstairs, but can be accessed by the elevator

• ///refilled.punchy.wake