Coltman’s Kitchen
High St, Peebles
We are not in the Borders very often, an issue we are keen to make a point of rectifying in the near future. Gladly, one sunny Sunday I found myself in the pretty town of Peebles. The rain had finally abated just long enough for us to take a leisurely stroll along the high street.
Peebles is one of those vanishingly rare towns that still has nice local shops with everything on sale from fruit and veg to inviting trinkets and a bric-a-brac. It also has a lot of cafes for such a small place, so I was spoiled for choice.
At one end of the high street, however, Coltman’s Kitchen stood out to me. That was because not only was it tiny and cute, with a sage green wooden exterior, but also because it was packed to the gills.
It was so busy when we entered that it looked for one devastating moment like we would not get a seat.
Mercifully, the staff made a few quick rearrangements to furniture and found my party of four a space in the corner.
How thankful we were. Coltman’s, which has a restaurant and bar as well as its delicatessen-style cafe, was stocked with a bounty of amazing options.
To one side of the tills, there were gourmet meat and vegetarian pies, sausage rolls and sandwiches.
Below them, three or four multi-layered salads.
To the right, a counter filled with show-stopping sweet treats, cakes and scones. I had hit the mother lode. I ordered a chorizo and red pepper pie with a side salad of tender stem broccoli and olives and pepper.
The pie and salad combo were the best two things I’ve had this year, maybe even in many years.
Next I ordered a plain scone. Again knocking it out of the park, Coltmans’ version came with the holy trinity: scone, clotted cream and a glass jar of jam.
The scone itself was quite dense, almost like a Paris bun, if any reader is familiar with that. A cross between a scone and a cake, it was quite sweet and absolutely delicious with a flat white coffee.
Visit this cafe as soon as you are able.