Pig & Pastry Café & Deli

Lurking in a parade of shops just behind York racecourse, the Pig & Pastry is an easy place to miss. This friendly, buzzy, arty café/deli serves fresh, homemade food at credit-crunch prices, which explains the merry mix of customers. Seating is around long wooden tables for sharing, so you might end up squished in between a group of yummy mummies & workmen in high-visibility jackets. Illy coffee, scones & cakes still warm from the oven are a treat, & wholesome sandwiches on home-baked bread are cheerfully dispatched – try Yorkshire ham & egg mayo or the more oddball haggis, bacon & sweet chilli. It’s a grand place to pore over the papers & earwig some local gossip.