Cafe Culture - Monkey Tree, Newbury

T: 01635 226420 Open 8am until 3pm Monday to Saturday

DENZIL Carlton runs a café with a difference. After opening earlier this year, Monkey Tree has already established a reputation for amazing burritos and his Yorkshire pudding wraps are also a firm favourite.

“Our peak trade is lunchtime, when people pop in for a wrap or a burrito to take away”, explains Denzil. “We prepare everything on the premises and I’m always on the lookout for supplying something that bit different, to make us stand out from the crowd.”

He certainly seems to be achieving that and is particularly keen to promote vegan options. He will soon be introducing his vegan tuna melt, made from jackfruit, and a coronation chicken wrap using seitan, a meat replacement.

“Newbury is a very cosmopolitan town and customers are happy to try something new. The homemade cakes we have on the counter are also vegan – they don’t taste any different from normal cakes and it just shows that delicious food can be created this way.”

That’s not to say that Denzil doesn’t also offer regular meat and dairy fillings and most of his mornings, along with his two staff, are spent preparing and packing lunctime orders booked via the online service Bring Me Lunch.

The café also started a Pay it Forward initiative in July – when people come in to buy their food and drink, they can leave a donation on the counter, so that those in need can come in and pick up a sandwich or a coffee. “We have some regular visitors who make use of the service,” explains Denzil. In fact, at the time of going to press they had already given out more than 100 free servings.

Tucked just off the main street, Monkey Tree offers a refreshing alternative.

Monkey Tree, Newbury
2 Northcroft Lane, Newbury RG14 1BS
Open 8am until 3pm Monday to Saturday
FB/Instagram/Vegan/Vegetarian

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