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Town eatery should give peace a chance
QUEUING for food at a service bar is only something I do happily when there is no other choice.
I usually only make exceptions at airports, motorway service stations and hospitals – but one lunchtime this week I got in line at Worksop’s Cafe Neo.
One of my dislikes about these pressurised food line-ups is that I find it very difficult to make decisions – especially when I’m hungry and there are more decisive people waiting behind me.
I had to strain my eyes in an effort to read the tiny print of the large menu behind the service bar.
As I approached the serving lady, she gave me a cheery smile and checked I was happy for my lasagne to come accompanied by garlic bread and chips.
She also gave me a metal post with a number attached. The post looked like it had accompanied a good few chip dinners before and its surface was clouded with an unpleasant-looking grease.
I was pleased to see that there were proper sauce bottles available as I hate having to contend with those ridiculously fiddly packets in order to get brown sauce on my chips.
Adorning the dark red walls are a series of paint-splashed canvasses, which seemed to scream out an effort to appeal to a young, student market.
But certainly this Monday lunchtime, the place was a teenager and office worker no-go zone.
It bubbled over with over-excited children, who had possibly been allowed one too many fizzy drinks to celebrate the first day of the Easter holidays.
The menu also boasts kiddie portions that push-chair laden mums were buying for their little angels, who all appeared to eagerly scoff down their food and then throw plastic bricks at each other inside the play den.
There are also cartoons showing on a TV screen and I was certainly pleased to spend a few minutes watching Tom and Jerry.
I began to look at the menus on the tables to see what other choices were available – had my eyesight been better when I was queuing.
There is certainly a good range of food on offer with jacket potatoes, sandwiches, full breakfasts and at least five different types of Italian-sounding coffee.
The menu was slightly off-putting with an unfortunate repeat misspelling of ‘sandwhich’ and I also object to being told that food is ‘delicious’ or ‘scrumptious’.
During the 15 minutes my lasagne took to arrive, I saw that many parents and children were enjoying their lunch, coffee or snack at Cafe Neo.
At only 5.90 for lasagne, chips, garlic bread and a coke, it was certainly quite good value for money and it was tasty, hot food.
Cafe Neo is a friendly diner offering good food at reasonable prices and it seems an ideal safe house to take young kids.
But, for me, it was the first time in my Guardian-working life that I can safely say that I went back to the office for some peace and quiet.
by Jen Foster
Star rating HHH
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Weather for Worksop
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
