in Hereford and Café Below in St Mary Le Bow Church, London.

The Michaelhouse Centre opened in 2002. It breathed a lease of life into a church that was badly in need of some refurbishment, and it now consists of the Michaelhouse Café (opened 2008), meeting rooms, exhibition space, performance space and the medieval Hervey de Stanton chapel, where the services take place. It also houses events - one of our relatives had her wedding reception there in 2005. We were particularly taken by the photography exhibition that was behind us, showing unusual views of the Cambridge just outside.

You enter down a small flight of stairs, via the old entrance of the church. The area of the café (formerly the nave of the church) is unexpectedly bright and bustling, as the exterior feels a little austere. The food service counter area is straight ahead, and to the right is the medieval chapel area which is now used for services. Whilst this may sound like a disjointed set up, it's been designed so seamlessly that it feels perfectly natural.

The lunch menus change by the day: we opted for a deliciously spicy aubergine ratatouille with basmati rice, served with a salad, though the other daily specials included the Michaelhouse beef burger and a lamb shoulder with chickpeas. Food is served immediately at the counter, so whilst there's no table service, it's great if you don't have a lot of time but are hungry for a hot meal. The Michaelhouse is also very good about using local suppliers: the meats come from local Cambridge butcher Andrew Northrop, the smoked salmon from the River Farm Smokery, and, our favourite, the goat's cheese comes from Wobbly Bottom Farm, near Hitchin.

We visited during a weekday lunch time, where the two seats on the outdoor terrace were taken by two girls having an animated conversation. Inside, the range of fellow customers was nice to see, including what appeared to us to be an impromptu PTA meeting from a local school, and a couple of pensioners enjoying coffee and cake. There were no students in evidence, though, and we felt sure this was because they all know that if they arrive for lunch between 2.30pm and 3pm, they can take advantage of the 'hungry students happy half hour', when students can fill up a plate of the remaining hot lunches for £3.95.

We'd been told by those in the know that the cakes at Michaelhouse are excellent - so we'll certainly be back to this little haven to try them out.