Edins Natural Kitchen is in the old William Taylor Jewellery shop at 15 Carlton Street in Hockely. The Jewellers had been in the city since 1854  and closed for the last time in December 2012. As you pass by you may be forgiven for thinking that they are still there as their name is still prominent on the awning at the front of the shop. Inside it is much bigger than you expect with the front shop room converted into the café, a lot of the old vintage display cabinets have been left inside and it has the feel of a cross between a deli and an old curiosity shop. Upstairs there is a much larger table service area and when we went in on a Saturday lunchtime the whole place was full of people and full of waitresses bustling around with trays of coffee and sandwiches.

Although it was busy we still found plenty of room downstairs and had a choice of tables, we opted to sit at a side table close to the counter where the newspapers and food magazines were so that we could browse through their leaves casually while awaiting service and our chosen offerings

A couple of items jumped out at us from the menu, and not because they were highlighted in red pen, (no that is just my limited photo-chopping attempts during my food hunting trips). For myself I had eyes only for the ‘Crab, Lemon Mayo, and Chorizo‘ sandwich, my companion was drawn towards the ‘Broccoli and Stilton Tarts‘ that were sitting in the counter looking appealingly at us

The Broccoli and Stilton Tart was an interesting little snack, it looked the part sitting prettily on the plate drizzled in balsamic and accompanied by a small green salad. The Tart itself was very focused on the Stilton side of things. If you like Stilton you will enjoy this as it is quite a powerful mouthful of Colsten Bassett Cheese. The Broccoli tried to join in but it’s main role in this party appeared to be looking green. The pastry was light and flaky and the salad was simple but a nice addition to the plate. The Tart was declared a success and a decent snack for lunchtime.

I went for the “Crab, Lemon Mayo, and Chorizo Sandwich” on White Farmhouse Bread. I did like the sandwich, it was mostly all crab paste with some thin slices of chorizo. if I was making it myself I would have used chunkier chorizo, crab meat, and a much thicker layer of lemon mayo spread on the roof of the sandwich. For a sandwich titled such as this on the chalkboard I was hoping for a little more excitement in my mouth. I guess though that it is all about the ingredients and to make this sandwich how I really want it I would probably be paying twice as much as it costs just on the Crab and the Chorizo. I am getting a bit fussy I suppose. If you like crab you will like this sandwich, it really is all about the crab.

Apart from the tarts, sandwiches and other savoury lunch and brunch items on offer, you’re eyes and desires are accosted by an assortment of Cakes and Pastries that adorn the counter.

There were plenty of freshly made deserts at the counter as well including a rather excellent looking and untouched tray of yummy ‘bread and butter pudding’.

We only came into Edin’s for a lunchtime (or rather a brunchtime) snack but there was plenty of options on the menu if we had wanted to turn it into a proper sit down meal situation. In particular I had spotted a ‘display case’ full of pies that I quite fancied trying with an accompaniment of some promised mash potatoes.

Edin’s Natural Kitchen is the child of Edin Gondzica local restaurateur who also runs the ‘bohemian’ cafe Edin’s on Broad Street. You can check out what is happening across all his establishments on Facebook and Twitter. You can also read more about another one of our trips where we ate at Edin’s on Broad Street here.  That visit had inspired me to recommend Edins in the ‘Meals for under £10’ in a recent issue of Olive Magazine (Feb 2014 edition).

Edin’s Natural Kitchen is just a short walk into Hockley, just walk along Carlton street and look out for the blue William Taylor awning. You can get here easily from both the Lace Market Tram stop and the Old Market Square Tram stop.

I like both places and there is enough variation, quality and value on both menus to keep you coming back.