Comestibles has been a godsend to me during Lockdown – as I’m sure it was to those who live in Midhurst for their groceries and household supplies. Cycling out into the countryside we were having to take a picnic with us, which was fine, although it did get a bit squashed in the saddle bag. Soon we started to miss our coffee and cake stops.
About a week into May some restrictions were lifted so Geoff and I rode over to Petworth hoping to grab a coffee and cake but the place we hoped to get one from (and the only one open at that time) was only serving takeaway coffees to customers who were buying groceries etc., As we were on our bicycles there wasn’t any way to carry toilet rolls or a sack of potatoes so we set off home via Midhurst. There we found, quite by chance, Comestibles in Red Lion Street. I didn’t even know it existed.
The deli/cafe (think The Southsea Deli) have lots of groceries available. During Lockdown they made good use of the area where they’d normally have a few tables and chairs for customers to eat in, by stocking more products. I believe a couple of tables have been re-instated in the past week so a handfull of people can now sit inside. They serve local tasty Mud pies, local cheeses, yogurts, milk from Goodwood and cold meats as well as a plethora of jars and cans, pasta, cordials and more. They even had bags of flour and… what was during Lockdown, gold dust, aka YEAST!
The oat milk flat white was very tasty and Geoff enjoyed his flapjack. He said it was very gooey and sticky and a little too sweet for his taste but I would’ve liked it. Funny that because I bring him home one every time I visit and he never complains, in fact, he seems delighted and very disappointed if I don’t.
Comestibles became my new place to visit, and the only one for a short while until other eateries starting opening up. The staff are very friendly and it’s a lovely cycle over to the West Sussex market town of Midhurst. To get there I have to go over the South Downs and then run along beside it on the roads beneath. It’s a beautiful area with birds, wild flowers, horses, sheep, farms, cottages and scenery. I love it.
I would sit underneath the porch at the church where there’s a line of benches in the square, sheltering from either the sun or the rain. It was here I got chatting to a couple of cyclists, one of whom I came across on another visit and we swapped phone numbers. Since then we’ve ridden a few times together or met up at the deli and have also been on a walk together.
At first, I didn’t know that Comestibles offered a takeaway menu until my new friend mentioned it. I thought it was just coffee, cake, crisps and groceries. She also said that she pre-ordered her lunch so that it would be ready for when she arrived which helps them and her.
I do that now and I order a hummus and veg wrap, a coffee and any frozen vegan cake they have – “surprise me” I say. I take the cake home for later, and a flapjack for Geoff, of course.
The wrap is lovely and is filled with cooked red/yellow peppers along with the hummus and a few leaves. Geoff has had the Coronation chicken sandwich before which he enjoyed. A friend of mine had a slice of their delicious looking quiche.
I’ve been many times now and arrange to meet different friends there or sometimes if we’re off for a walk in the area we’ll stop and grab some lunch on the way.
The vegan banana & chocolate cake is delicious, moist and very chocolatey with a rich chocolate topping.
The vegan carrot & pistachio cake is also yummy and has raisins and coconut in it too. Quite frankly I find it hard to choose which is my favourite.
Apparently the Bakewell tart is very nice too and I took one home to Helen (aka Felicity Macintosh). She liked it but the flapjack is supposedly ‘the best in the world’, she says.
But what, I hear you cry, does the word comestible even mean? It means articles of food, edibles ie., Comestibles is stocked full of comestibles.
Ambience – n/a – takeaway
Service – 8
Value – 7
Quality – 8
Overall – 8/10
Living life, loving cake
A x