Offbeet, Chesapeake Mill, Wickham – PERMANENTLY CLOSED

UPDATE: The Deck, Emsworth have taken it over, so watch this space….

UPDATE: March 2019 – PERMANENTLY CLOSED. You can find them at Sunnyfields Farm, Jacobs Gutter Lane, Totten, Hants, SO40 9FX. There is a restaurant and cookery school. Although we’ve not yet visited them at this location, they have been there for a year or more.Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,

UPDATE: March 2019 – PERMANENTLY CLOSED. You can find them at Sunnyfields Farm, Jacobs Gutter Lane, Totten, Hants, SO40 9FX. There is a restaurant and cookery school. Although we’ve not yet visited them at this location, they have been there for a year or more.

UPDATE: 27/07/2017 – see bottom of post.

UPDATE 04/07/2016 –  see bottom of post. 

**************************

You don’t have to be a vegetarian, vegan or be gluten intolerant to enjoy what Offbeet has to offer. It’s based inside Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, which is also worth a visit in itself as it has an eclectic mix of ‘up cycled’ (is that the word nowadays?) furniture, antiques and bric-a-brac for the home and garden on a couple of floors and it’s always nice to have a mooch around.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Three shot flat white made with beans from Winchester Coffee Roasters

My first visit to Offbeet was whilst cycling around the country lanes of Hampshire and of course one has to stop now and again for sustenance. The savoury muffins on the counter did indeed look divine and I’d already had cake at a stop before so it was a toss up between that or a sweet muffin. Well of course the sweet won over the savoury which it does every time with me. Sitting outside in the sunshine by the River Meon, I enjoyed a delicious coconut vegan & gluten free muffin which was very fresh and tasty.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Coconut muffin

I was very pleased with my flat white which I wasn’t too surprised to find out was from Winchester Coffee Roasters, the same coffee which Springs Café in West Meon had – alas, they have gone :'( . I almost bought a bag to take home with me but they only have whole beans and I haven’t got time to faff around grinding beans in the morning (plus I had no way of carrying it home). I’ll stick with the Attibassi coffee I buy in Chichester for now.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Outside seating by the stream

I vowed to return one day for lunch with my husband Geoff. The only dish suitable for him would have been the bubble & squeak so I was disappointed to find that it was no longer on the menu. Apparently it’s for the winter only. Geoff’s more of a meat and two veg kind of person and doesn’t care for chickpeas, hummus and salads. I’m sure had he tried something he would be pleasantly surprised and would have enjoyed it.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Menu

I think everything on the menu I could have eaten so I found it quite difficult to decide. I really wanted to try the cloodles, I keep seeing this everywhere now ever since I saw the gadget to make them on the television show ‘Big Box, Little Box‘ a few weeks ago. I’m not a fan of courgettes but they did look good, like noodles. Actually I don’t like noodles either, but I’m willing to try them 😉 .

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Smashed Avocado on superfood bread

I chose the smashed avocados on Offbeet’s own home-baked superfood bread with seeds – which tasted superb – with the chilli flakes giving it that little kick, topped with a fresh salad of mixed leaves, extra virgin olive oil, coriander and lime and a sprinkle of pistachios. Very nice indeed.

Again I had a nice flat white, three shots this time seeing as that’s what I normally had at Springs.

Geoff just had a strawberry & almond muffin which I had a taste of and it not only had ground almonds but also chunks of them too.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Geoff’s strawberry & almond muffin

After my avo’ I had a courgette lime & raspberry muffin which looked very pretty with a drizzle of icing on top and then sprinkled with petals.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Pretty Courgette, lime & raspberry muffin

It tasted as good as it looked too.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Very fresh and tasty

We sat inside in the older part of the mill as it was rather a gloomy day and chillier than it had been recently. Little jam jars were on the tables with fresh wild flowers in them, newspapers to read. There’s another room with seating which contains the counter and the rather tempting display of cakes and where packs of coffee and blenders are available to buy.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
The cafe interior

The mill has a history, the timbers in the construction of the building are from the United States frigate, Chesapeake which was captured by the Royal Navy during the war of 1812. There is a special ‘Heritage Room’ with the history of the mill and of Wickham which is very interesting.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,

We rather greedily took home a cake each to enjoy later that evening. Cherry & almond muffin which was similar to Geoff’s strawberry & almond with the chunks of almond but also topped off with masses of ‘cream’ (obviously not really cream, I’ve no idea what they use, I’m guessing soya).

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Cherry & almond muffin

And a slice of blueberry drizzle cake topped with blueberries.

Cafe Meon, Chesapeake Mill, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Mill. Wickham, Hampshire, cycling, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free cafe, vegan cafe, vegan cafe Wickham, vegetarian cafe Wickham, muffin, savoury muffin, cloodles, food blog, food blogger, winchester coffee roasters, flat white, three shot flat white,
Blueberry & lemon drizzle cake

Everything is made fresh on the premises, the staff are very pleasant, friendly and helpful. They have cooking courses available and come September they are hoping to have evening meals with live music. Sounds like a great idea.

Definitely a place worth paying a visit so long as you’re not fussy like Geoff and as I can’t go with him if anyone fancies lunch there with me do let me know 😉 It’s just around the corner from Wickham Square where we have reviewed Greens and Lilly’s.

Ambience 8
Service 8
Quality 8.5
Value 8
Return – yes I already have, three times! This will now be my ‘go-to’ café when in Wickham.

Living life, loving cake
A x

UPDATE: 27/07/2017:

I call in now and again to Offbeet mainly whilst cycling and to purchase a coffee and cake.

Today we had a delicious lunch. We had the ‘Totally Beet Naked Burger’ which is “A bbq beetroot, sunflower seed and rosemary burger, melted cultured cashew cheddar, salad leaves, pickles, crunchy mango slaw, heritage tomatoes and a portobello mushroom bun. Served with rosemary polenta chips,refined sugar free BBQ sauce and smoked salt”. The polenta chips were amazing.

We were quite full after all that so we shared a strawberry, almond & ginger cake.

It’s still an excellent place to eat, delicious food, great presentation and friendly staff.

If you want lunch there I suggest you book ahead!

vegan livelifelovecake, vegan restaurant Wickham, vegan cuisine, vegan, vegan wickham, vegan hampshire, naked burger, beet burger, gluten free restaurant, gluten free wickham,
Totally Beet Naked Burger
vegan livelifelovecake, vegan restaurant Wickham, vegan cuisine, vegan, vegan wickham, vegan hampshire, naked burger, beet burger, gluten free restaurant, gluten free wickham,
Strawberry, almond & ginger cake

UPDATE 04/07/2016 :

Now called Offbeet and is fully vegan and gluten free. We revisited last week and it still offers fantastic tasting food all beautifully presented. Definitely worth a visit.

8 Comment

  1. […] ← Café Meon at Chesapeake Mill, Wickham […]

  2. Ok, we didn t visit Cafe Meon by accident, someone had mentioned it to me and seeing as we were in the area we dropped in, initially for coffee and cake, but we read the menu and decided to have a meal. Adventurous and well compiled menu, I am vegan my wife is not, but we ordered the same meal (.

  3. […] cycling or walking or even shopping but on Friday we headed west because Geoff was playing golf in Wickham later that afternoon. We decided to pay Villa Romana in the High Street a visit, I’d been […]

  4. I went in for lunch on 20th. The wooden seat was so cold it was 3 hours before my *** came back to life. The outside walls had no insulation, were cold and had green stuff on them, the inside walls needed decorating, the ceiling did not exist exposing the rough and ready construction. I have been in better workman’s cafes. The soup was an improvement than the slow service but I shall not return. Why did I not complain, I was a guest.

    1. Sorry you had a bad experience, we’ve never had a problem although I can understand it might be chilly in that part of the cafe, especially in winter.

  5. […] for. Another mill (watermill) not too far away is Chesapeake Mill in Wickham where vegan restaurant Offbeet is […]

  6. Ann Bartholomew says: Reply

    Went for lunch today. Three children and two adults. Service appalling, waitress rude. We were told off for moving a chair even though we still needed to have one 7 year old child having to sit on our lap. Told they needed the chair back in 20 minutes only to see chairs stacked in a different room but would entail staff having to bring chairs through. Had to ask three times for some hot water, then when it did come had to ask for a cup to pour it into. £96 later for a one course lunch seems pretty steep to me. And it was cold. Needless to say we won’t be returning. So disappointing

    1. Wow, that was costly especially after a very disappointing experience. That’s sad to hear as whenever we’ve visited Offbeet it’s always been really good. I’ll have to repay them another visit soon.

Leave a Reply