I stopped in here on a cold, wet day after a punishing hike in the rocky valleys around Blackheath. It was inviting: cozy, unpretentious. But I figured it would be a typical small-town cafe, with ordinary fare. I just wanted anything after my exertions. The menu looked ordinary: fish and chips, steak sandwich, beef pie, sandwiches, the usual.
But the food was uniformly excellent. I had fish and chips, but the flathead fillets were moist, delicious, and perfectly-battered, not greasy. The chips were obviously made there, and fried just right despite their chunky size. The side salad escaped the default lettuce-and-tomato-and-cucumber throwaway by including sun-dried tomatoes and just a spoonful of wonderfully creamy dressing. With a little pot of garlic aioli to season every bite, I was in heaven.
My wife had the steak sandwich and said it was the best she could ever recall having. The meat was thin but still juicy, the onions plentiful and caramelised deep into toffee-territory. Her mint tea was made with fresh herbs, too.
For dessert, we each had a chocolate brownie with nuts. It was well-presented on the plate, but a bit cold, just out of the dessert case. They were only to happy to heat them up when we asked, though, and they were delicious.
To outward appearances the Wattle Cafe looks like any other cafe, but we found the food quality to be uniformly excellent. It's a super Blue Mountains stop after a hike. read more