Rating: ***** You don’t have to crack out the Michelin starred-menu to impress, says Andy Richardson.

It ought to be quiet. After all, Tuesday lunchtimes are traditionally as flat as a Dutch field in the restaurant trade. And yet, Ludlow’s Green Cafe bustles with the nervous energy of a high school prom.

Customers flit in and out, waitresses shimmy between tables and the kitchen seems to run with the smooth efficiency of a German automobile.

Although the Green Cafe is a relative newcomer to Shropshire’s gastronomic scene, it’s already earned itself an enviable reputation.

It features in the 2011 Good Food Guide, sandwiched neatly between Ludlow’s Michelin-starred eateries, Mr Underhill’s and La Becasse. Those two eateries are good companions for the Dinham Weir-side Green Cafe, for there are many parallels to be drawn.

Although the cafe’s more esteemed neighbours specialise in high end, fine dining – unlike the Green Cafe, which has a bright and breezy, low-cost menu – the three eateries share many traits.

All specialise in seasonal, local produce that shows off the best of Shropshire. Food is prepared from scratch on the premises and no corners are cut – you won’t find the sous chef in the aisles of Tesco stocking up on ingredients that can be sold on at a premium, unlike a number of other, nameless eateries across the county.

If you see pasta on the menu of the Green Cafe, you’ll know it’s been made in the kitchen that day.

If you see a sauce, it’s been boiled, reduced and seasoned by people with consummate skill. In short, the Green Cafe is a showcase for all that’s good about Shropshire food. The ingredients were grown, reared, picked or pickled in the county and then treated with tender loving care by chefs with a passion for great food.

My friend and I visited to talk about Ludlow’s forthcoming Food Festival, which, although not scheduled to take place until September, seems like only weeks away in the minds of its organisers.

We were ushered to a table for two by floor-to-ceiling glass doors, overlooking the picturesque River Teme.

Inside The Green Cafe, Dinham Weir, Ludlow

A waitress brought menus to our table and offered a complimentary course of bonhomie, as she welcomed us and took our order.

There is no pretence at the Green Cafe. It specialises in simple, earthy dishes; the sort that Londoners describe as ‘fashionable’.

So fresh leaves, perfectly-prepared soups, home baked breads and deliciously hearty bowls of meaty fare feature regularly.

My friend opted for a bowl of the unctuous cauliflower soup and was presented with a warming bowl of creamy savouriness.

It was pure delight, lifting the humble cauli to another level. Sometime later, as the bowl had relinquished its steaming contents, the crusts of her bread became a mop to remove any final traces.

I opted for a delicious gnocchi with a meaty ragu sauce. The gnocchi were wonderfully light and almost fluffy while the ragu revealed complex layers of flavour as herbs and seasonings elevated the ingredients.

We could happily have quit there and then, returning to our desks replete from a wonderful lunch. But then my friend spotted the dessert menu and soon a panna cotta with raspberries and a carrot cake were winging their way from the kitchen.

The panna cotta was a rare delight. It was nubile and seemed to shiver with anticipation as it arrived at our table. It was wonderfully light and the creamy, sweet taste were a perfect match for the sharp, acid raspberries that filled the plate. My carrot cake, meanwhile, had been baked with impressive skill and had risen like the morning sun. It towered above the plate and was served with toasted shards of coconut and a dreamy frosted icing.

“You can try a little panna cotta if you like,” my friend offered. Like a gold-digger on a date with a millionaire, I didn’t need to be asked twice. My fork moved like a rapier across the table, moving the cooked cream with indecent haste across the table.

The Green Cafe is more than the sum of its parts: it’s what happens when a team works together in perfect harmony, creating a showcase for the best of local food.

It has an impeccable location, beside the tumbling waters of the River Teme. It has an excellent head chef, Clive Davis, and magnificent sous, Laura Bolt.

Its front of house staff are attentive and charming while the menu celebrates ingredients that are harvested nearby.

The wonder of the Green Cafe is that it’s not yet decided to open each evening, for a dinner service.

Although Ludlow has many eateries, that’s something of a wonder. Our lunch bill was a miniscule £21 and we’d taken our fill of hearty cuisine for that. If Davis and his impressive team were to open into the night time, they’d surely be turning punters away at the door.

The last time we visited the Green Cafe it earned a creditable four out of five. Since then, it’s raised its game and therefore receives a rare-as-hen’s-teeth top rating.

There are guide books and then there’s the Good Food Guide.

Less is more, keep it simple.

If there’s a better lunchtime venue in Shropshire, I’ve yet to find it.

ADDRESS
The Green Cafe, Dinham Weir, Ludlow SY8 1EG
Telephone: 01584 879872