Pretty Ombersley may be a tiny village but it's charm has made it one of the most sought-after commuter spots in the Midlands. On the outskirts of both Birmingham and Worcester, it's nestled amid Worcestershire's rolling hills and regularly named among the most desirable places to live in the UK.
Just as eye-catching as the white and black timber framed properties along Main Street is the rather regal looking Checketts cafe. The frontage is a grand affair that resembles a castle and there's more touches of elaborate medieval styling inside, like the huge intricately carved old wooden doors at the back of the room.
It's a cosy rather quirky haven inside with plenty of nooks and crannies for a gossip over brunch, lunch or one of their many coffees. There's timber walls alongside wooden tables and everywhere is dotted with old fashioned bottles, jars of jam for sale, vintage paintings and faux foliage that make it feel like you've wandered into an antiques shop.
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It used to be the site of a butcher's shop but now has the polished edge that comes with high-end cafes. There's odd pieces of distressed furniture and shabby chic that aim to make it look a little dishevelled. The two unisex toilets even feel a little like going to the loo in a barn.
I nestled down in a cubby hole just as the brunch menu was finishing at midday. Instead, I'm in time for the lunch offerings that start from 12pm, but I find out, that isn't necessarily a good thing.
It's bustling already with half the tables full and it's lunchtime on a Thursday, I can only imagine how busy it must get at weekends with locals, walkers and day-trippers heading out for this semi-rural flavour of the countryside.
Menu at Checketts
The Lunch menu offers eight meal choices along with a wide range of pizzas. Apart from a soup of the day for £9, the rest are pretty hefty for a big lunch.
If opting for pizza, there's seven options ranging from a Margherita to Truffle and Holy Cow, which has a barbecued beef brisket topping, all priced between £12 and £15. There's also a 'confit garlic bread' for £12 that all come direct from Checkett's in-house pizza oven.
I'm surprised there's not much available on this menu for less than £15. Even the lighter dishes like a mezze bowl with cous cous, humous, whipped feta and warm breads is £16. There's a harissa salmon salad bowl, tandoori skewers or king prawn and chorizo linguine for that price too, and I wondered why everything seems to have been set at that steep price no matter the contents.
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Scouring the page for sandwiches, I find Checketts filled ciabattas of either a beef brisket or a Mediterranean veg with pesto, which both come with fries. I do a double take at the price as they are £15 too, as is a ploughman's that includes a pork pie.
I'd just missed out on the Brunch menu, which was extensive and had slightly cheaper options, but that ends at midday on the dot. On there you'll find a bacon or sausage bap for £6, eggs on sourdough for £8, a bowl of tropical oats for £9 and a pancake stack for a tenner.
Although the Checketts full English, whether regular or vegetarian, is £14. Maybe that's why it was so busy when I arrived, with those making it in for the lower priced food. You can see photos from inside Checketts and its food in the photo gallery below.
Review of food at Checketts of Ombersley
Trying out a couple of dishes with my guest, we plumped for the Checketts-filled ciabatta with Mediterranean veg and the pork belly loaded fries, both costing £15.
They turned up piping hot with tantalising aromas that made me forget the price for a moment. The ciabatta bread was some of the finest loaf I've ever tasted and the flavours were outstandlingly fresh.
Pesto that surely was home-made, creamy garlic mayonnaise and chunky roasted aubergine, onion and pepper slices alongside delicious skin-on chunky fries. I couldn't stop eating the chips, they were so perfect. The right balance of soft potato filling, crispy exterior and not too oily either.
Thankfully, there were plenty of fries to go around with the pork belly dish. This was more decorative than the plate of ciabatta and looked almost too pretty to eat.
Topped with juicy pork pieces in a sticky barbecue sauce and nicely blackened in places, there were colourful sprinklings of vibrant green spring onion and hot red pepper slices on top. The sweet and spicy aroma wafting from it made me quickly tuck in and the taste was sublime.
Probably one of the heaviest lunches I've had in a while but lip-lickingly good. Checketts prides itself on using local produce and its wine list is even made up of bottles from Stourbridge's Halfpenny Green vineyard, near the Shropshire border at Bobbington.
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Other local businesses on the drinks menu are Worcester's Peopleton Press craft cider, Suckley's The Hop Shed brewery and Piston gin.
Service
There's friendly and efficient table service from the moment you walk into Checketts. The front of house and waitress who served us couldn't be faulted.
Although not super fast, food arrived within around 25 minutes but was freshly cooked and steaming hot. There's a laid back atmosphere in the coffee shop, so the mood isn't aimed at rushing customers but letting them lounge as long as they need.
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Prices
While the coffee and drinks prices are around average, the food prices are very steep on the lunch menu. They seem to have been set at a £15 or £16 level whether it's for meat or vegetables.
I don't think a sandwich of any kind, even with chips, should ever be over £10 and the inflated prices did ruin this visit for me as it was always at the back of my mind. Lunch for two people with one main dish and a coffee each came to an eye-watering £37.50.
Overall verdict
There's a lot to love about Checketts of Ombersley - the chilled out atmosphere, shabby chic furniture and delicious, high quality food. Yet as good as the grub was, I just couldn't get the extortionately high prices out of my mind.
That was the only thing that ruined the overall experience for me. So for that reason, I've docked it a star to a four star rating.
I think the overall price of £37.50 for two for lunch at a local cafe, however stylish, was staggering. That didn't even include alcohol and heavily involved chips, plus bread and veg, which aren't even the most expensive produce to buy.
When I think about how much every bite was costing, as tasty as it was, I just couldn't believe it was value for money. Maybe, the label of 'most desirable place' has gone a little to Ombersley's head and I was paying for the location.
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I can understand why Checketts is popular, including that there aren't many other options in tiny Ombersley. It does have a lot going for it but if you go and want to spend a little less, maybe get there well before midday to try the more economical Brunch menu.
Where is the Ombersley coffee shop?
Checketts of Ombersley is in Main Rd, Ombersley. Use postcode WR9 0EW to find it.
Opening hours are 8am to 5pm from Monday to Thursday, 8am to 7pm on Friday and Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sunday.
