Sweet Caramel Bathurst

Holy sweet mother of .......

They say that first impressions last longest and last impressions are strongest... 

Well first impressions is a feeling of wow. Gold headed lamas at the door greet you as your eye casts out to the huge patisserie with well spaced tables with a range of comfortable chairs whilst allowing that huge open space feeling, deliberately placed furnishings & decor such as giant gold faced rams with black wool on a huge marble table, the impressive diplomas & certificates specializing in patisserie, beautiful polished floors, and flower arrangements that are extravagant, but well placed.  Great lighting and as you would expect from a new place, clean & polished.  I am so pleased that I didn't bring LML...I stood in the entrance trying to take it all in..

gold face ram & 'the' flower arrangement

It is nice to be welcomed and to be taken to a table, even though all I really wanted was a coffee and a delicate pastry of self indulgence.  A lovely display cabinet full of such indulgences leaps out at you at the entrance, I would of loved to know prices before I purchased, not that it made a great deal of difference for an indulgence!

a little of the patisserie selection

I decided on the lemon caramel tart,look at the picture above and see the little round things on all the cakes? Well they all say "Sweet Caramel", as there is no other name placement on walls or the menu, it is on all the cakes, the plates, cups & saucers. Lets hope they survive breakages and the hardships of small business.

I am always curious about the menu so they offer breakfast, lunch & non alc beverages.  I flick to the coffee selection and holy sweet moley...I don't think I have ever seen or purchased coffee for $4.90. Latte/Capp or Chai as I ordered, an eye opening price as it was wasn't the best Chai latte (I think it was syrup which is really sweet, the Chai powder is much more flexible for sweetness.)  The tart was lovely, savouring every bite, with a dollop of caramel in the middle, the pastry case was complimentary to the filling with a small amount of crumble but in retrospect it must live up to the price paid and $7.90 (small palm sized) was on the top side of lemon astringency. As I said; indulgence..

chai latte & lemon caramel tart

on the pricey side, but its all there

So I sat and took a few pics and made the most of my indulgence time, perused the lunch menu, which to me was over priced and upon watching the meals coming out, was mostly chips on a plate, I would of had lunch but the prices put me off, coming from the industry I cant justify supporting that when the competition is so reasonable.  A new restaurant has to commit to the community and gain trust, the breakfast & lunch menu is lacking depth & originality and as mentioned; unfortunately over priced.

All in all, it was pleasant, but would have to tick the no box for a return visit due to a lasting impression of really expensive coffee.

LINKS;
http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/1452499/new-cafes-sweet-smell-of-success/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Caramel/447235792028851


The Breakdown is;

Food:	Australian/ Thai/French
Price:	$$ - $ (16.90 Melt for lunch)
Type:	patisserie/ cafe
Alcohol:	No
Service:	Dine in, table service
Payments:	Cash, Eftpos, Mastercard, Visa
Features:	Bling & lots of space
Use of Local product: NO

Located at 185 George Street – a main street in Bathurst’s CBD – Sweet Caramel is open six days from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive. From Tuesday to Saturday opening hours are 10am to 9pm, and on Sunday from 10am until 3pm