The first meal my husband ever cooked me was chicken and mango. It was tasty and it was hot.

It was also, as it turned out, the high spot of his romantic culinary endeavours as far as our relationship was concerned. His chicken and mango having succeeded in its aims - reader, I married him - exotic dishes have since been few and far between; although he does make a pretty decent scrambled eggs on toast.

Which brings me to this week's review: the Hot Mango in King Street, Ulverston. I visited for lunch on Wednesday with my sister; and I can safely say that it is without doubt my second favourite King Street cafe.

Undisputed first place goes to the long gone and much missed Salmon's cafe, which was run by some delightful sisters, did the best salad rolls ever, sold the best cakes ever, and was quite simply the loveliest cafe ever.

It was also famous for being the only cafe in town (if not the world) that closed for lunch.

The Hot Mango is on the other side of the street from Salmon's (which is now an Indian restaurant) but it's certainly upholding the King Street tradition for friendly service and excellent food. We arrived at around 1pm to find plenty of room.

Not surprising, as Wednesday is half-day closing in Ulverston and the town is usually quiet. By 1.30pm, however, the place was packed - a great sign.

And no wonder it's so popular. For a relatively small cafe, there's a very comprehensive menu, ranging from all day breakfast dishes, to light bites and hearty mains.

We ordered a starter-sized bowl of roasted vegetable soup to share, followed by an egg mayonnaise sandwich for Nicola and a club sandwich for me. The lovely waitress (so friendly and chatty that in another life she would have fitted in well at our beloved Salmon's) helpfully suggested we have the soup as part of their soup and sandwich £7.95 deal.

The equally charming man also serving that day, then brought it to us, divided into two bowls for us.

Clearly home-made and heartily yummy, the soup was delicious; and the only reason I left some was because of the mega size of the sandwiches which came with it.

Nicola's egg mayonnaise sandwich was a huge doorstop affair veritably oozing with lashings of egg mayo. It came with a large bowl of coleslaw-topped salad and some crisps.

My club sandwich (£7.95) was immense. Three thick slices of fresh toasted bread, top quality bacon, loads of tender chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and creamy mayonnaise. It also came with salad and crisps - and we began to regret the £2 bowl of chips which we had ordered as a side dish.

When I say regret, I don't mean in terms of taste (for they were fresh, crisp and plentiful) but in terms of the other diners who must have wondered who on earth these two gluttons were.

Standing up and shouting "I'm not a pig - I'm doing a food review!" not exactly being a viable or sensible option, we ploughed through it all while attempting (and failing) to look like dainty ladies who lunch.

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In our defence, half of Nicola's egg sandwich was wrapped up and put in her handbag for later - and ditto with my club sandwich, which went home with me and served as a welcome home starter for my husband, who had been way for a week.

After 24 years, the romance which began with mango, is still going strong, in the shape of leftovers from the Hot Mango. But I digress, for we weren't finished yet.

Oh, no. On your behalf, with our sandwiches safely stowed in our handbags, Nicola and I felt duty bound to sample the fare on offer for those with a sweet tooth.

So with a pot of earl grey tea for me and coffee for Nicola we struggled through an utterly delectable slab of rocky road for £1.95, which was crispy and chewy and downright delicious.

By the time we'd polished all that off, the lunchtime rush was over - and we were practically the last people in the place. The cafe is also open on Friday nights when there is an evening menu and bring your own drinks. One I intend to try out in the near future.

Great food, good value, friendly service. What more could anyone want from a cafe?

The Hot Mango is doing Ulverston - and King Street - proud. But it will never quite make it into the same league as Salmon's.

To do that, it would have to start closing for lunch - and I'm not sure that would go down very well with the customers. Or the owners' bank manager.

Food 5

Service 5

Atmosphere 4

Value 5

Pros

Friendly and buzzing

Large menu

You won't leave hungry

Cons

Relatively small so gets full quickly

Decor could be livelier