The shop front is very welcoming and that's one of the most important things that drew us in to eat here. There are tables and chairs on the footpath outside, under an awning, ready to accommodate plenty of people (COVID-19 restrictions allowing) in relative comfort.
The inside of the shop is olde world in style but with modern touches like lighting and the timber work is old style but made much more recently.
When we were served at the counter (for our orders to be taken) the young lady was very enthusiastic but she didn't know what was available. Almost everything that we wanted to order she had to go to the back of the shop and check if there was any available. And for other items, when we asked what they were like, her reply was something like, 'oh, they're pretty good.' There was nothing to inspire confidence in the food that we were to be served.
I ordered scrambled eggs and the homemade beans, along with a flat-white coffee made on soy milk. And a hot cross bun - with butter, not margarine.
As it turned out, the young lady who took the order was quite correct. The food was pretty good. But as I said, nothing to inspire confidence in what we were about to be served. And I'm sorry to say, my fears were realised. The eggs were okay. They weren't hot. The beans were cooked well but the sauce had been burnt. I couldn't escape the burnt taste in any mouthful. The toast was done well - as I requested it - very lightly toasted.
The coffee was warm.
The hot cross bun was fresh but not hot. I didn't ask for it to be toasted, but I didn't expect it to arrive at the table cold! It came on its own small plate, with the butter, as requested. But there was no knife, either to cut the bun in half, nor to spread the butter. Were we expected to use the same knife, that arrived later with the scrambled eggs and homemade beans, for cutting the bun and spreading the butter?
And finally, with finger food definitely having been asked for and served, why were there no serviettes? (As I look around at the other tables, I see that some, but not all, have serviettes. Yet the same person has served all of the tables.)
Attention to detail matters. Sometimes it makes the difference between a person returning to the business or not. Or spreading good words about the business. Or not. Or writing a positive review - or not. read more
