I took my daughter to Huddersfield’s new ‘heavenly’ restaurant and agreed on one thing

At lunchtime on Thursday, Marsden village center was incredibly busy, so I was relieved to grab a parking space on Peel Street, almost directly opposite the newly opened Cafe Oi restaurant.

This corner of Huddersfield’s Colne Valley seems to be thriving at the moment and I wasn’t surprised to see Cafe Oi already quite full of couples and families with only a few empty tables available.

Cafe Oi, which specializes in the kind of street food you might find in Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia, already has a strong following from its previous base in a booth at the bottom of Station Road, Marsden (now occupied by Prendi Cucina Italiana) .

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I haven’t been to Cafe Oi before, so I decided to take my 10-year-old daughter, who is always happy to try new and interesting dishes. We had to wait a few minutes to be seated and soon we were ready to order our food at the counter/bar.

I chose six pork and ginger dumplings (£12) from the four dumpling options available, the others being lemongrass chicken, xinjiang lamb and vegetables.

From the side menu, I opted for Vietnamese spring rolls (£7.50) and kimchi cheese fries (£8.50). A can of 7UP (£2.50) and a bottle of Lucky Buddha beer (£4.80) completed the order.

The fries were indeed “loaded”, not only with cheese, but also with spiced spring onions and a taste of chilies, although they were certainly not overpowering. The little dumplings had a deliciously soft texture with a vibrant and flavorful filling that we both enjoyed.

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They were served with soy sauce/vinegar and another bath full of crispy chili flakes floating in some lovely oil. There was also a sweeter dip that could best be described as plum sauce. My alert daughter made sure I didn’t exceed the correct quota of three dumplings.

The spring rolls were served cold, which was unexpected and not really to my daughter’s taste, but I enjoyed picking out the delicate and flavorful flavors.

The service was friendly and efficient and the atmosphere relaxed with a Portishead tune playing in the background. A ceiling fan kept the place breezy as it was a bit muggy outside.

Every morsel was gone from our table and it was time to leave, but not before my daughter saw the ice cream selection. She chose a chocolate miso cup (£3) and declared it quite epic.

In fact, we both agreed that the food at Cafe Oi was not only heavenly, but also healthy. My daughter gave it 8/10 and said she would like to see a wider selection on the menu, including food served without condiments. I don’t mind a limited menu when the food is this divine.

Cafe Oi is located at 9 Peel Street, Marsden. Business owners are currently in a scramble to get extended hours because the restaurant is currently required to close at 6 p.m.

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