New Barnard Castle cafe aims to spice things up

A dash of Sri Lankan spice makes the newest addition to Barnard Castle’s café scene a bit different.

Yasho’s kitchen opened at the top of The Bank in late June, with a selection of traditional homemade curries from Yasho Sujai’s homeland.

There’s also an assortment of pastries to cover all tastes.

Yasho had previously traded at the market, building up a customer base over the past year. So when the old Butty Market premises became available, she was eager to expand.

“This is a little upgrade but it’s more work as well,” she said. “I had good customers at the market so I’m 100 per cent sure it will work out well here.”

The business is a one-woman show, with Yasho doing all the cooking and preparation in between bringing up her two children.

Sri Lankan curries are typically gluten and dairy free and Yasho points out a distinctive flavour.

While spicy, the aim is to preserve the flavour of the protein – whether meat or vegetable – ensuring each one is distinctive.

And with a menu that changes each day, regular visitors will have plenty of opportunities to sample different dishes.

For Yasho, running a café is a big change from her old life in Sri Lanka.

“My original job was a draughtswoman,” she said. “But when I got married I moved to England in 2015 and changed career.

“It’s not always been easy, I lost my husband in 2019, but I worked in a few cafés then decided to set up my own business. It’s good to work for myself.”

Early responses have been encouraging – but in a town with plenty of places to eat, Yasho promises to do things differently.#

“I like a cheese scone, but I’ve never baked one and I won’t be doing them here,” she smiled. “There are lots of places to go for that, but I am the only one doing this.”