Tucked away on the corner of the Farrer Shops is Fox & Bow, a cafe that recently opened up. I got there early on a Sunday morning, around 9.45am, to find a few people enjoying the sunshine outside. You can’t help noticing the large colourful mural along the wall outside which has additional seating. One side of the cafe has large windows which are left open with a counter set up on either side of the window, and more outdoor tables. The fit out inside is urban with a mish mash of chairs, exposed brick wall, hanging plants, a beautiful wooden communal table and an open kitchen. The front counter displays cakes galore such as pear frangipani tarts, blueberry and rhubarb tarts, carrot cake and hazelnut roulade. Piping that leads to a tap providing free water to diners has the Fox & Bow signage cleverly installed. The drinks menu is available on the blackboard on the wall behind the counter. I started off with the ‘Ohh Darla’ smoothie ($6.50) with watermelon, berries, pineapple and lemon sorbet. This was cold, zesty and a little bit naughty with the scoop of lemon sorbet on top. Yum! Dr L had the ‘Shake it off’ milkshake ($5.50) with vanilla infused honey, malt balls and ice cream. I ordered a soy mocha too ($4.20) which had a thick layer of foam on top. The Huevos ($15.50) stood out for me on the menu and I’m so glad I ordered it. I thought it was such great value for what I got. This consisted of chickpea and pork hock ragout with chorizo, morcilla and two baked eggs, with black sausage, char grilled pepper, tomatoes and grilled sourdough on the side. This differed slightly from what was stated in the menu, but I think it was for the better! I absolutely loved this. The soft pork hock pulled apart easily and the ragout was full of flavour. The grilled pepper was surprisingly good too. I was expecting some heat but it was very mild and seemed to have been pickled giving off a nice acidity. Big chunks of chorizo and delicious black sausage. My only minor complaint – not enough sourdough to mop up all that ragout. One friend ordered the ‘Big Kids Pancakes’ ($14) – buttermilk pancakes with raspberries, hazelnuts, maple syrup and caramel popcorn. It looked delicious. I may need to try it next time. Mr STTA ordered the ‘Ms Fox’ ($17) with toasted sourdough with smashed avocado, two free range eggs, Tassie smoked salmon, lemon and parsley grilled haloumi on gluten free bread. Dr L had the ‘La Mexicana’ ($15) – two soft shell tacos stuffed with two fried eggs, avocado, chorizo, slaw and tomatoes picante. At around 10.30am, a musician started setting up outside and played live acoustic music. All of us just wanted to stay there and listen all morning, and we did just that until midday! I love the mood at Fox & Bow. It’s upbeat and lively, but not noisy that you can’t have a decent conversation. The live music is a bonus and we really enjoyed listening to the talented musician. The menu caters to those with gluten allergies and vegetarians. Prices won’t break the bank either. Orders are taken at the counter and tap water and glasses are self serve. It doesn’t take long for drinks to come out. The wait for food is about 15-20 minutes which is reasonable especially as it was a busy morning. The cafe is kid friendly with a ‘Little Rascals’ menu and I noticed plenty of prams and little ones. It’s also dog friendly with a couple of dogs sitting outside.
Fox & Bow is open seven days a week and has all day brunch on both Saturday and Sunday.
Foodgasm 8/10
Price 9/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 25/30
Giveaway! The owners of Fox & Bow have graciously provided a $60 gift voucher to one of my awesome readers. To enter the running to win this voucher and try out Fox & Bow yourself, simply:
Leave a comment on my FoodPornJournal Facebook post to say you have done so (the link to this post will be up)
I will assign a number to each person and use a random number generator to select the winner.
Open to Australian residents only. Competition closes at midnight AEDT on 30 December 2014. I will announce the winner on Facebook and this blog post on 31 December 2014. I will get in touch to provide the winner’s voucher as soon as possible. If the winner does not contact me within a week of the announcement, I will reselect a winner.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Edit: And the winner of the $60 gift voucher is Tatum Freeman! Congratulations 🙂
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