January 19, 2023
As my first Veganuary comes to a close, I thought I’d highlight a local café that’s gotten us through the month with their vegan treats – The Quirk Space! A disclaimer: my in-laws are best friends with the owner’s parents so we order treats from The Quirk Space more frequently than we would otherwise! But we absolutely adore all the food she puts out. And as a fully vegan café, they fill the vacuum left by Elaingel closing in Bletchley in May 2020.
The Quirk Space is a vegan café and shop located in Olney, just a short drive outside of Milton Keynes. It’s a great space and they’ve done a lot of work on it over the past year!
My first experience of vegan treats from The Quirk Space was summer 2020. My in-laws surprised Ben and I with a delivery of sausage rolls, peanut butter cups, and brownies for our anniversary! Every piece was absolutely delicious. The sausage rolls are now a family favorite, I always love a dark chocolate peanut butter cup, and the brownies are some of the best I’ve had.
You can get all manner of vegan treats from The Quirk Space. In addition to the sausage rolls, they have pasties and curries for lunch, so many tasty cakes and sweets, and lovely coffees. As I am dairy free, it’s so refreshing knowing I could happily eat anything at the café and not deal with any nasty side effects!
The Quirk Space is striving to create a welcoming space for everyone regardless of dietary and lifestyle choices. To that end, they don’t noticeably “play up” their vegan ethos to put off any omni guests. They are just happy to be serving delicious, animal-free food to anyone who visits.
A thoughtful addition to the café is a food and homegoods shop. The Quirk Space stocks a range of vegan “dairy” products like Mouse’s Favourite cheeses and whipping cream, and various accessories like headbands, reusable coffee cups, candles, and tote bags.
I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite item or two from The Quirk Space’s menu – I’ve loved everything I’ve had from there so far. But if you like croissants, they are a must. They warm up crispy and flakey in the oven for a lovely breakfast treat, and you would never know they were completely vegan! And getting an oat mocha before a walk around Emberton is always a good idea. The Quirk Space is a great all-rounder vegan shop that this city is lucky to have.
