CARS and food – together. Could there be a faster, or indeed, easier way to a man’s heart?

I offered both on a plate to my husband this week, when I suggested a trip to Cafe Ambio at Backbarrow, which is attached to (but separate from) the Lakeland Motor Museum.

My husband, however, is not like most men... he is not remotely interested in cars, beyond their capacity to get him from A to B. He doesn’t look at other cars on the road (which always slightly worries me when I’m a passenger), he hasn’t a clue what other people drive, and even if someone held a gun to his head, he wouldn’t be able to tell them the registration number of his car. He’d struggle with the make and model.

So it was inevitable that the first element of our visit to Backbarrow would be entirely ignored, with Gordon striding past the door to the museum without a second glance, his entire focus solely on the thought of grub.

Cafe Ambio is sited on the side of the river Leven, with plenty of outdoor, riverside seating for consumers of cream teas and the like. On a beautiful autumn day, it’s delightful.

Sadly, Tuesday was not a particularly beautiful day – and it was looking like rain when we arrived; so we headed indoors to the light, vaulted-ceilinged cafe. It’s a typical contemporary Lake District building of slate, with wood-clad exterior walls. Inside, it’s all neutral colours, wooden floors, wood and leather furniture and lots and lots of motoring-related artwork.

It was relatively quiet when we arrived for a late lunch - but I imagine that when busy, all those hard surfaces make it a very noisy place to be.

There is no table service for ordering so I queued at the service counter for what turned into a rather lengthy process. One pleasant young man taking orders, making drinks and doling out cakes etc. I’m sure they have more staff at busy times, otherwise I can imagine lengthy queues forming.

We ordered soup of the day – carrot and orange – to share, followed by one of the Ambio specials, chicken liver pate at £7.95 for me, and braised lamb shoulder (£10.50) from the daily specials board for Gordon.

Cafe Ambio is owned and run by Southcott Catering, which has other outlets around the area, including at the new auction mart at junction 36 of the M6.

Southcott’s catered for our 10th wedding anniversary party - which they did magnificently, despite our dog Macduff sneaking round to their van and stealing an entire bread and butter pudding.

So we knew that the food would be good. And by golly it was.

READ MORE: Excellent fish - but burger failed to light my fire

READ MORE: Revamp of the Strawberry in Barrow is a real success

The soup was thick, piping hot, artistically garnished with leaf shoots and a swirl of balsamic syrup which looked like a smiley face; accompanied by two generous hunks of stunningly good crusty bread with black olives. We both loved it.

My pate came on a slate and plate combo (unusual). I’ve had this before at Cafe Ambio, when my friend Cathy first introduced me to the place; so I knew what to expect. It didn’t disappoint. A large ramekin filled with seriously good home-made pate, fresh as a a daisy sourdough bread, a diddy pot of beetroot chutney and a simple but well-dressed salad. Unfussy and delicious.

Gordon’s lamb was also beautifully presented. For a cafe, the standard of the food and presentation is superlative.

Two cylinders of tender lamb, accompanied by baby roast vegetables, a roast beetroot garnish and a large rectangular fondant potato. Gordon’s only gripe was that there could have been more sauce with the dish; but it was not enough to prevent him from throughly enjoying it.

For afters, Gordon had a large slice of lemon meringue pie – another quickly-polished-off hit, complete with crispy, oven-baked meringue (Mary Berry would approve), tangy curd and good shortcrust pastry.

With coffee and water, our bill came to just over £30, which we both considered excellent value.

We left well satisfied and reminiscing happily about our 10th wedding anniversary. By sheer coincidence, who should we bump into on our way out but Brian, the leader of the fab jazz band who had played at our do, heading in with his wife for an afternoon treat.

If only our dear long-departed doggy Macduff had been there to pinch some puddings, our nostalgic trip to Cafe Ambio would have been complete.

LOUISE ALLONBY

Food 5

Service 4

Atmosphere 4

Value 4

Pros

Riverside setting

Spacious interior

Famous for its whopping scones

Cons

Queues for service

Will be noisy when busy