Holly HY / 23 August 2025 / Categories: Food & Drink, Coffee Shops, Restaurants

Pennbury Farm what a difference a revised menu and new staff can make

The vegetarian board £12 is one of the nicest things I've ever eaten

I used to think Pennbury Farm was kinda urgh, OK, nothing special. I'd been a few times maybe two or three years ago and the memory of three beans on toast, not only three beans, that would be sad but three different kinds of beans, homemade, one was barbeque, not sure what the other two were but struggled to get it down, had put me off returning. It had been busy downstairs so we were ushered upstairs and I remember sitting in a barren room being served by a disinterested waitress and thinking just eat it, there are people starving in the world.

When a friend of mine recently described an experience she had had and a vegetarian board she said was so good she was desperate to go back and have it again. So good she said she couldn’t stop thinking about it, I wondered if she was talking about the same place.

She was so enthusiastic about the food she did make me want to go back and find out for myself and you know what it was like a completely different place.

When I arrived I was greeted by a smiling server in a smart black uniform with branded pennbury Farm T shirts and aprons, politely asking if we had any allegies she needed to be aware of before showing us to our table.

The place was a hive of activity, very, very busy but she managed to find us a spot on the comfy couches near the entrance without a reservation.

The ordering process had not changed, you go up to the counter to order and pay but the service again was happy, warm and positive, a complete 180 from how I remembered it.

And OMG when the food arrived, with tap water served over ice with massive wedges of lemon we felt like we were eating lunch in a 5 star hotel resort.

The abundant platter served with delicious warm flatbread had everything on it you could think of, a veggie delight with so many different tastes and textures. fresh aspargus, green beans, Mediterranean couscous, homemade coleslaw, crunchy pickles, salad, a pot of sweet peppers, a pot of freshly made guacamole, flavoured hummous, delicious salty feta cheese, the only thing on the plate not plant based, a massive bunch of grapes, succulent black and green olives honestly it was a veggie paradise, exciting and abundant creativity at it's best for plant based foodies and so extremely colourful I was compelled to snap a picture.

What a turnaround. I couldn't believe I was in the same place. I've already returned 4 times in the space of a month to have the same thing, twice on consectutive days it was so good and the best thing of all, no two platters have been exactly the same, so the chef is obviously adapting the offering depending on what he or she has to work with so you can return to order the same thing without any worry about getting bored and always excited about the twist on a classic you are going to find. The other day it was a side of acidic pickled red cabbage which added a whole new dimension.

They have tables outside to enjoy a sunny day and the inside setting is bright, modern and rustic with warm roaring fires in winter to get toastie around enjoying fresh ground coffee or hot chocolate and delicious award winning ice cream from Purdecks in the summer if you get in quick enough. Every time we have tried to buy and try the ice cream it’s been completely sold out.

They have also extended their offering of plant based cakes, granola bars and snacks for anyone trying to eat less diary so all in all definitely a place to put on your radar if you find yourself in Leicester and in search of a great breakfast, coffee, lunch, brunch or afternoon tea spot.

I haven’t tried it myself but I overheard someone talking about how fantastic the Sunday brunch is too so I might be checking that out myself in the very near future.