Let's get one thing right out of the way: I have heard about Say Grace a few times, even though it…read moreis all the way out in Casterton, and everyone has raved about it. There is no doubt it is the "best" (whatever that means) cafe in Casterton, BUT it is not somewhere I would go regularly for a coffee based on my single visit. 4 stars in the Casterton, but in Melbourne it would be getting three, maybe 2.5, as a great cake shop and venue, but not such good coffee. As I don't know what they are trying to be, I'm erring on the side of caution. They grind Lavazza beans.
I had a slice of hummingbird cake, which I thought tasted a lot like hummingbirds. The staff didn't appreciate my queries about how they catch the creatures..... Maybe that's why my coffee tasted a bit like a dusty vacuum cleaner bag. My friend had a sponge roll, which was great, and possibly the biggest slice of cake I have ever seen. It came filled with cream, and topped with berries and bits of mint chocolate. If the rest of the food is half as good as the cakes, this is a keeper as a snacking and dining experience.
Not a lot of seating, so it is probable busy most of the time, which adds to the experience, but we got funny looks asking to take an unused chair form a neighboring table. Maybe the done thing is not to ask in Casterton? Maybe they just didn't like the cut of my jib and undertones of Kiwi accent?
The staff were cold and seemed rushed or flusters by something (see previous sentence above), certainly not service with a smile, and the cakes arrived pretty much as we had finished our coffees. If this was a ploy to make us have another one, it failed on two counts: 1) the coffee was dusty tasting; and, 2) they didn't offer us a second one.
My coffee and cake cost me $9, same for my friend.
Maybe reading this I should give it three stars, but I am trusting the food I didn't try to be good.
