No 28 Cafe - Holt

28 High Street

Holt

Norfolk

NR25 6BH

Breakfast served

Monday to Saturday from 8am till 11.30am

No 28 is easy enough to find on Holt High Street.

First impression were good, the interior of this cafe was clean and well lit.

I sat by the window, there's also tables outside if you prefer eating al fresco.

On a trip upstairs in search of the bathroom I discovered another dining area.

The full English cost £8.95 and included toast and a hot drink, pretty reasonable for Holt.

Ketchup arrived in a small pot but it was just enough for me and it seemed far better than wrestling with frustrating sachets.

A decent filter coffee arrived first.

The breakfast arrived nicely presented with a quality sausage and nice pair of eggs.

Fairly standard white toast was served with real butter.

The thick bacon and large sausage were both good quality.

Although quite pale looking the sausage tasted excellent and the texture was really firm and meaty, I'm not sure of the supplier but No 28 had certainly chosen wisely.

Large and juicy mushrooms, a giant tomato and beans served in a ramekin.

A nice pair of eggs ended up on top of the buttered toast, delicious!

I was going to be in Holt for the day so couldn't resist finding somewhere I hadn't yet visited for breakfast. With very little online presence No 28 wasn't obvious at first, thankfully a reader of the blog made me aware of them though. Once in Holt I headed along the High Street, took my exterior shot and headed inside...

Upon entering - This well lit cafe was spotlessly clean, the tables were well laid out and first impressions were good. If you prefer eating al fresco there are a small amount of tables outside, it was a really sunny day but I decided to sit inside by the window. There's full table service here and each table has menus, salt, pepper and sugar already on them, sauces are offered before the food arrived and are served in a small pot. Often places offer sauces after the food arrives but offering it before hand seems like a much more sensible idea to me as you are all set to eat then with no waiting around. The cafe's a great place to relax in whilst watching the world go by on Holt High Street. I later ventured upstairs in search of the bathroom and discovered plenty more tables up there too so a much bigger place than I first thought. Before leaving I simply settled my bill at the counter though I'm sure I could have asked for it to be brought over. 8/10

Service - Once I'd found a table and chosen from the menu a very efficient young chap came over to take my order. The usual breakfast options were given regarding eggs and toast and I was asked if I wanted any sauces. The coffee arrived first followed by sauce, cutlery and finally the breakfast. I was left in peace to eat and as I paid on my way out I was asked if everything was ok. A very pleasant experience and I was made to feel really welcome. 8/10

Contents - 1 sausage, 2 bacon, 2 fried eggs, 2 large mushrooms, one large tomato, beans, 2 slices of toast & butter and a hot drink. 7/10

Presentation - The layout was tidy here and the food filled the large plate quite nicely. The sausage may look quite pale but I didn't even notice at the time as I was so focused on what a good quality looking banger I'd been served. The giant tomato was served whole but sliced to let the heat in, it sat proudly in the centre of the plate surrounded by the other nicely placed items. Beans served in a ramekin always gets the thumbs up from me as it makes them far easier to transfer onto the toast. 8/10

The food - An truly amazing sausage with a really firm and meaty texture, really delicious and a perfect choice of breakfast sausage, pure pleasure to eat! The quality bacon was pretty impressive too, especially between some of the hot buttered toast with ketchup. The fried eggs were nicely cooked with runny yolks intact and the beans were piping hot. The tomato was fairly firm but really tasty and the mushrooms really juicy and delicious. Certainly a breakfast that was enjoyable throughout and filled me up nicely. 8/10

Value for money - £8.95 seemed like a fair enough price to pay for a breakfast that included toast and a hot drink, especially considering the quality of the ingredients used. 7/10 

Veggie option - No 

Overall - I really enjoyed eating at No 28, great service and a nice relaxing environment inside. The breakfast was surprisingly filling and the highlight was most definitely that superb sausage. I was surprised to see no vegetarian full English breakfast on the menu but despite this No 28 seemed to be ticking all the right boxes and serving the people of Holt and beyond rather well. Definitely somewhere I would happily return to for breakfast again. 7.5/10

The 2015 Greek Food Adventure

 Day 1 - Destination Corfu, click here.

Day 2 - A trip to Dassia, click here.

 Day 3 - Off to Ipsos, click here.

Day 4 - Parasailing and cocktails, click here.

 Day 5 - A trip to Corfu Town, click here.

Day 6 - Back to Ipsos, click here.

Day 7 - A day at the beach and a restaurant with a view, click here.

Day 8 - a stunning cheese pie and a disappointing sausage pie, click here.

Rabateszone top 50 food bloggers infographic

Credit

The Greek Food Adventure - Day 8

A stunning cheese pie and disappointing sausage pie!

 

It was our last day in Corfu but as our flight wasn't until this evening we still had plenty of time for a final walk to the beach. I was really going to miss the amazing tomatoes grown in Corfu so had some sliced over some bread for the last time.

As Dassia was the nearest beach we headed there for a final look at the sea.

I hadn't eaten a Mars ice cream in ages, I'd forgotten how nice they were.

We stopped at the the local bakery on the way back to the villa as we wanted to buy Kiki some of the biscuits we'd tried there on day four. I bought this mystery can of drink there, nothing new and exciting had been discovered though, it was just plain lemonade.

Something exciting was waiting for us back at the house though, Kiki had made us a huge cheese pie!

This was Kiki's own special recipe and it tasted amazing!!

With a couple of hours to spare we went for one last walk in a direction we'd not yet explored, we spotted this cat on top of some bins.

I was guessing these were possibly olive trees and the nets were used to catch the olives.

Back at the villa we packed our cases, this painting of the villa on our bedroom wall had been painted by a previous guest. My wife decided to leave Kiki the painting of the house that she had done the other day.

It was finally time to say goodbye to the amazing villa and our lovely host Kiki, our stay here had been perfect and I really hope to return again someday.

One last Ouzo for the road!

We waited for our transfer bus at Joy's Cafe in Kato Korakiana. It was a chance to try their frappe, certainly the best I'd tried yet with a nicely whipped top.

The transfer bus arrived on time and we left Kato Korakiana behind.

Apart from the odd thunder storm that always passed quickly the weather had been really hot here all week, I started to wonder what the temperature would be back home in the UK.

The airport was really busy inside so we got some fresh air whilst we still could. It's always sad leaving a place behind, I felt quite envious at those that had just arrived on this beautiful island, lucky them!

Corfu airport had just one place to buy food, Everest Olympic Catering.

This sausage and tomato pie looked promising, it cost €4.50 and I couldn't wait to take a bite.

Oh dear.. not quite what I was hoping for but quite comical!

I was hoping to buy a sandwich on the plane but by the time the hostess trolley had arrived there was very little choice left. Not the end of the world though, I'd certainly experienced some amazing food during my week in Corfu!

The Greek Food Adventure - Day 7

A day at the beach and a restaurant with a view

It was our last full day in Corfu and we decided to spend it on the beach in Dassia taking it easy. Before leaving the villa I tried some of Kiki's homemade tomato marmalade, very sweet and delicious spread over some bread and butter.

This old vehicle close to the shop in Kato Korakiano had been long forgotten.

As I mentioned before Dassia isn't a particularly wide beach, it's home to Dassia Ski Club though and I was about to photograph some parasailing from the back of the boat.

Having been up in the parachute a few days before I was looking forward to seeing it from the other end of the rope.

It was quite tricky trying to take photos whilst the boat moved suddenly and water splashed up over the edge, all this at the same time as holding a conversation with the chap controlling the boat! 

After photographing the parasailing I took a walk along the beach and this sign stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't resist it so went back to sell the idea to my wife!

Read my breakfast review here.

Having just eaten a full English breakfast and 3 cheese pies I decided to walk it off and explore the shops in Dassia, there were more shops here than I was expecting.

I didn't buy anything from the shops except this Mythos with added lemon, quite refreshing.

You can't beat the real thing though! We returned to where we had eaten breakfast and cooled down with Mythos in frozen glasses.

I'd been meaning to try one of these all week, despite the watermelon appearance they actually tasted more like bubblegum.

This air con device in our bedroom definitely deserves a mention, I couldn't have got much sleep without it and often sat underneath it after returning to the house each day. 

A cold can of beer was always a good way to relax as was a puff on some red astaire.

As it was our last evening we decided to eat at Panorama Restaurant.

It was pretty empty when we arrived but the owner seemed glad to see us.

This was not currently on offer at the restaurant due to the lack of customers, a shame as something we hadn't experienced all week was Greek entertainment. Back in 1987 I remember going to a Greek night where we smashed plates on the way in, ate great food and danced without a care in the world after consuming way too much wine!

Everything on the menu looked great, we just had to decide on my final meal.

As I passed through this area it was a sad sight to see how empty it was on a Friday night, we were the only customers here.

The view from the Panorama Restaurant is breathtaking!

One of my favourite discoveries this week had been Mythos, such a nice beer!

As there was no butter I poured some olive oil and a little vinegar over some bread, delicious!

Once more we ordered a Greek salad.

We ordered some Dolmades to share, another great discovery this week.

These homemade meat balls were superb, I tried one but my starter was on it's way over.

My starter was listed on the menu as sausages so I wasn't too sure exactly what would arrive. I was delighted when this giant sausage (a bit like a saveloy but with a much more coarse texture) arrived on a bed of chips. 

This swordfish looked excellent, I started to wonder if I should have ordered this too.

Taking photos in such a low light was proving tricky, some Moussaka arrived at the table next. Moussaka wasn't Panorama Restaurant's strong point though, a tad dry.

My wife ordered some aubergine salad, not quite what she was expecting but really nice.

My choice was the Stifado, a classic Greek dish that Panorama Restaurant did so well. Stifado is a meaty stew with beef and baby shallot onions. The sauce which is made slightly sweet by the onion tasted amazing and the beef was really tender.

Toothpicks were often found at many of the restaurants we had visited in Corfu. I don't often find them at restaurants back home anymore which is a great shame.

By the end of the night we were still the only customers at The Panorama Restaurant. I really hope business picks up here as the owner was lovely and the food was excellent.

Click here for Day 8
A stunning cheese pie and a disappointing sausage pie!