The historic market town of Skipton has a high street with quaint archways which open out into pockets of shops and a castle at one end of town. Skipton is also home to the well established family chocolatiers, Whitakers, who are famous for the classic mint crisps.
Filmore & Union is a cafe that has a motto of “Pure, natural and wholesome”. The cafe has entrances at the front and back so this makes the entrance level very busy as there is a constant flow of people. Luckily, there is an upper level which we asked to be seated on. This was so much better and relaxing and a lot more spacious than the smaller space on the lower level.
As it was the weekend, the brunch menu was the one on offer. The Bench Press Goodness Bowl sounded interesting. It was a mix of avocado, feta, maple pecan sweet potato, quinoa, poached egg, hummus and mixed seeds. The Goodness Bowl had a creamy coronation cashew dressing.
To make The Bench Press a complete balance of nutrients, it came with a choice of protein. The chickpea and sweetcorn burger would have made a good choice but unfortunately Filmore & Union had run out of it. Instead, we were offered any of the other proteins and the red lentil and feta cake was chosen instead. The flavours and textures of The Bench Press Goodness Bowl were great and it was delicious.
The soup of the day was a beetroot and feta one. The soup was strikingly vibrant and it was not overly earthy. The flavours balanced out with the saltiness of the feta. It also came with some seeded bread.
A couple of side orders completed the brunch. The sweet potato wedges were big and chunky but they were slightly burnt. The dipping sauce of raita went well with the sweet potato. A small ramekin of smoky baked beans was also had.
Filmore & Union have a good range of drinks including smoothies and juices. The hot chocolate with milk and cacao was satisfyingly rich. The decaf soya flat white was a smooth coffee. Other milk options were whole, skimmed, almond, coconut and oat.
Dessert was skipped this time as all of the brunch items had filled us up. By the counter on the entrance level was the display of the cakes. These were all gluten free. Unfortunately most of them were displayed uncovered.
The service at Filmore & Union was good for ourselves. The staff explained all the items in the Bench Press bowl. The thing that was noticed was that other customers were waiting a long time for coffees, additional breads and cutlery. They kept having to chase up the staff for such things.
Filmore & Union was reminiscent of Australian cafes with their range of healthy options and drinks. If you are feeling adventurous, there are different lattes such as turmeric, matcha and charcoal ones that you could give a go.
Filmore & Union, 66 High Street, Skipton, West Yorkshire, BD23 1JJ
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