The Borough in Downton has a buzz and warmth in the atmosphere. Locals love it and it is well worth driving out of your way to spend time in this gem of a café.
New Valley News spoke to owner Simon Bromilow to find out how things were during Eat Out to Help Out scheme and what changes had to be made to accommodate the new rules.
“We have been lucky because of the weather, being able to have tables on the street outside the café and in the courtyard,” Simon said. “To begin with, customers were anxious to come out, but slowly they became more confident.”
Changes have had to be made to accommodate the new Covid 19 rules.
“Working out the staff rota has been quite hard,” Simon said. “Every day we have a different pod of staff. There are three different groups on the rota which are rotated during the week. We have to limit the number of people behind the counter.”
“Because of fewer staff, we have had to slightly restrict the menu as our kitchen is very small and can currently only accommodate one person cooking.”
Many locals are thrilled to have the café back up and running, a central meeting place, for people to get together. “The Borough is an important space for people to meet up in a safe, socially-distanced environment, and generally people are pleased to be able to get away from their own kitchen tables and come and drink and eat at ours.”
The menu at The Borough Cafe, is one of those that does not overload you with too much choice. Have a bacon waffle, with golden maple syrup, or a cleverly named BBC, a hot paninni with melted Somerset brie, Wiltshire-cured bacon and cranberry sauce. There are home-made quiches, New Forest smoked trout paté, or create your own sandwich, baguette or wrap, and of course, a wide choice of freshly-made cakes.
Simon remains positive about the future: “The month of August has been a challenging but fun time to work in. Obviously things will change when the weather turns, but we plan to open the upstairs seating to extend the current capacity, serving locals and visitors to the area.”
www.theboroughcafe.co.uk
70 The Borough, Downton, Salisbury SP5 3LY