Dolcino - a godsend for families!
28 September 2015
To say I’m a sucker for café culture is an understatement.
There’s nothing much I like more than settling down in a stylish café with my extra dry skinny cappuccino (but it’s got to be done how I like it).
Indeed when my youngest laddie was a pre-schooler he was so used to going to cafés that we only had to step out of the house and he’d ask “Are we going to a café?”
I put it down to having grown up in Italy where, as a child, our weekly Sunday trip used to consist of a walk to the next village where we’d settle down at a terrace and sip our coffee whilst looking out towards the Alps across Lake Maggiore.
It’s hard to match those views in Leicestershire cafés so that’s where the décor comes into its own and I do like a café to look good: it could be cosy and homely, elegant or fun and playful.
A while back my husband came home from town and said “there’s a new café and ice cream shop in town near the cinema – it looks good.”
So in my eternal quest for a new place to sip a good coffee I headed out to Dolcino, Loughborough’s very own café-cum-gelateria.
Stepping into Dolcino I found myself transported into a cool, aquamarine
world of Vespa scooters (I have a soft spot for the iconic Vespa), colour coordinated Bianchi bicycles and a retro diner atmosphere peppered with large canvases of Italy.
I felt at home.
The huge display of ice creams ranging from the classic fior di latte to unexpected flavours such as jasmine and avocado all elegantly displayed took me back 30 years to my childhood.
Mental note to self was made: the kids are going to LOVE this - must bring them here.
I ordered my usual - a skinny, extra-dry cappuccino with chocolate sprinkled on top – a kind of barometer when testing new places.
Yes, the coffee was smooth but strong and not too milky, whilst the froth was thick and luxurious, just as it should be.
I sat watching the world go by and in the space of half an hour met four families with young children that I know – the ice cream was most definitely proving popular with the little ones and the coffees with the weary parents.
With its spacious, playful-yet-airy feel and the inevitable attraction of homemade ice cream made with quality ingredients, Dolcino manages to be one of those rare places where both kids and parents feel spoilt rotten.
It’s going to prove a hit with families.
I’ve already been back three times with my rabble of three boys (and my borrowed daughter from Germany) and between them they have managed to wade through a substantial portion of Dolcino’s extensive menu of waffles, crêpes – both sweet and savoury – milk shakes and, of course, ice creams. Their verdict has been unanimous: yum!
As for me - a coffee-loving girl at heart – I will simply enjoy sipping an excellent cappuccino and reading the paper whilst my boys are kept busy as they work their way through Dolcino’s delectable dishes.
www.dolcino.co.uk