THEY'VE been named the best cafe in the South East two years running, are famous for their mouth-watering sausage rolls and are considered the hub of the waterside community.

The Lovely Little Cafe in Dibden Purlieu certainly lives up to its name.

It was twice crowned Best Cafe in the South East in a national competition organised by SIG Roofing after receiving the most public votes in the area and also scooped a SOStar Award recently.

Owner Martin Smith, who also runs the New Forest Catering Company from the premises, has been at the helm for seven years.

The Lovely Little Cafe is open for takeaways during lockdown and their Sunday roasts and themed takeaway nights are going down a storm with local foodies.

And Martin and his family have been keeping customers company via live family cook ups on their Facebook page.

A McDonalds style drive thru was set up in the car park, the venue hosted a charity music festival and at Christmas, there was a festive market and fire engine visit to enjoy.

Bosses have even turned their hand to feeding the vulnerable this year. Martin set up the Waterside Meal Support Page and delivered 500 meals for children in October half term with the support of local people. The cafe teamed up with a charity at Christmas and produced 150 Christmas day meals for those that needed it.

That's all while losing up to half a million pounds worth of catering work and seeing cafe sales fall by around 80 to 90 per cent.

Martin told the Daily Echo: "It's been a real fight, but we're a hub of the community.

“We have an exceptional team and great local suppliers.

“We also have an open kitchen - people love seeing their meals created and being part of the atmosphere.

"We really enjoy working with each other and that shines through to the customers. Even when it's chaotic we’re still laughing and joking and getting the job done.

“We use locally-sourced food as much as possible. When people come into our cafe they’re supporting three or four local independent businesses as well.”

"We just specialise in using local suppliers and producing home made rustic foods

“We’re not huge - there are only 24 seats inside - and everything we do is simple but well done."

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