Wine for a living: No whining at the Hub!

https://www.facebook.com/thehubbathurst

The Hub spot in Bathurst was like a mirage in the desert. After moving from Queensland, in an area aplenty with boutique cafe's & coffee shops, I eyed off the variety of cafes in Bathurst with interest and much speculation..
Was I going to find something to whine about in the land of petrol fumes & farming trucks? Needless to say I have an eye for those who stand out and those who are umm...lack lustre..

We first lunched here with a 3yr old, whose main object in life is to politely take as much limelight as possible, so after choosing a less populated area of the eatery ( a lovely front room corner spot) facing the street our host (and owner) armed with the standard water bottles & menus came with pencils & paper to quickly sort her out as well. Ahhh sigh of relief....and a smile formed on everyone's faces as within 2 minutes everything was...serenity..

I know you are probably shaking your head muttering something along the lines of "why would you bring a child to a coffee shop anyway" but there is a certain amount of education in 'whats good' in our lives as well as the basic meat & 3 veg. She has a fine appreciation for smoked waygu beef, Barossa smoked twiggy sticks, black truffle Parmesan smoked tomatoes & olives & must smell every wine we pour. "hmm strawberries I think!" she says..all knowingly...

I managed a deli for a while and well, she was caught in the crossfire of awesome foods and great gastronomy.

The lunch menu was well endowed and had something in every price bracket, I would of like to see more in the $12-$14 mark, MM (Mr Morsel) had the Cajun Chicken burger which sat high and mighty on the plate as if to say.."c'mon, I dare you" MLM (Mother in Law Morsel) had the Vietnamese prawn salad, delicate, well balanced and lovely until she dropped a precious prawn on the floor...devastated..maybe a couple more prawns on this dish we needed, LMM (lil miss morsel) had a open ham n pineapple fingers (great kids selection), and I devoured a well endowed BLT, the use of a local Trunkey Creek bacon intrigued me and was nice to see some local pride. I am not sure how much more local product was utilized as we hadn't quite moved here yet and were on the rental prowl..(hence the hunger).

The Hub seems to be a benchmark spot, plenty of events and activity surrounds this place and I know how much work that involves. Not just work but passion as well, the staff seemed happy and well organised, the drink selection had some depth and the cold drinks were indeed cold.

With seating inside and out in the courtyard with nooks & crannies to hide out in, a large selection of reading material is at hand.

Curiosity compelled me to return for a coffee by myself, once again I found happy staff, courteous prompt service. Once again the owner was on the ground shaking hands with regulars, stopping to ask if everything was ok and often handling a tray of coffees. The coffee here is also by a local roaster Fish River Roasters who seems to have pretty good market share over the local coffee houses, the brew was well ground and as a result not bitter, one shot was strong enough for a standard latte.

This is a place you want to stay and have more, in fact I did, I prolonged my visit with Banana Bread drizzled with honey, creamed butter served with blueberries & strawberries. Perfect. The only thing that stopped me from having another coffee was no Wi Fi. In the current technology epidemic, that really is a must, then this could of been a tax deductible effort (and another yummy coffee).

Things I liked; service, good coffee, good menu selection, the owner interaction, events, happy staff,

Things that would be better; Free WiFi,

Keep it fresh!

The Breakdown is;

Food:	Australian
Price:	$$ - $10 to $20
Type:	Cafe / Hosts Themed Events
Alcohol:	BYO
Service:	DIne in or Takeaway
Payments:	AMEX, Diners Club, EFTPOS, Mastercard, Visa
Features:	Child Friendly, Live Music, Outdoor Dining, Romantic
Use of Local producst:	YES!!