Berrima General Store & Café — Restaurant in Berrima

Has Diego just given up?!?

 Walked in to find it crowded well beyond any consideration of CoVID, not a mask I sight… My partner and I decided to sit outside.

We each ordered a mid-range main, both under $20, a coffee each, and each a small canned drink, I also ordered two of the rather large melting moment cookies to have with coffee… basically $65… after carefully looking over the menu a second time I realised that all sides were extra, so when the staff at the counter had asked if I wanted the chips or the salad with each, it wasn’t a choice of complimentary side as suggested, but a nice bit of scalping.

Coffee was unceremoniously dumped on the table with the courtesy of muttering the word “Coffee” at us, burnt and barely drinkable, and more than half an inch shy of full… then the melting moments a few moments later, both just tossed on a single saucer, I gave the saucer to my partner, and leant sideways over the sidewalk to keep the icing sugar off me… no napkins in sight…

Then the food came, while my partners slow cooked lamb sandwich was reasonable, however, napkins would have been nice… also cutlery!!! (I did find some after a moment, in an old tomato can on a nearby bench… I can’t remember which CoVID safe standard that is from though…)

After making it just over a quarter through my burger, I felt the tase was just not right… this is when I noticed the beef was not just undercooked, but raw right through, it had vague grill marks on the edges, but was straight, cold, pink raw mince meat. (Photo’s on goggle)…

When I stood up with it to return, a waitress came out, and before even getting over to me, she asked “What’s wrong, it’s not cooked?” In a flat, over it voice, she then asked if I wanted it heated or ifI would like it replaced, I asked for my money back… she said, yep, ok… then walked in, and just handed me $20 from the till, this was clearly a regular part of the job…

No apology, no comp for the rest of the meal, this was meant to be a nice celebration for my partner and I, it was an unpleasant disappointment, and an experience that left a foul test in the mouth in more than one way.

There is some lovely cafe’s nearby with brilliant food, and friendly service, in fact quite a few,...

My friend and I came to Berrima for the day to look around. We were recommended this place for lunch, by one of the local clothing boutique stores, to try this cafe, as it was an interesting mix of Italian and Asian food on offer. We both wanted the same dish (the lentils) which they’d sold out of at 12.15pm on a Monday? so we ordered the lamb ragu and gnocchi as second choice. My gnocchi tasted undercooked (doughy and a funny pink colour), so I sent it back to check if it was supposed to be that way. I was given a mini cooking lesson on how the gnocchi pops up in the boiling water when ready, so it’s fine. Then he mentioned I would taste it myself but… so I just went back to my table and ate around the gnocchi pieces. My friend’s ragu was under seasoned and lacking depth and flavour. It was made with shell pasta rather than tagliatelle which was strange. I ordered a homemade lime lemonade which tasted like cordial - so sickly sweet. And I found the energy of the waitstaff really nonchalant and uncaring. The table next to us weren’t impressed with their sandwiches either. Such a shame as it’s a great location and has lots...

We have just returned from “another” wedding in the Sthn Highlands and it was great fun and obviously an important event - great fun and outstanding venue!

Speaking of which we visited for the second time another “outstanding” venue -The Berrima General Store!

Sunday, mid morning - in need of coffee and food we wandered in looking for a spot in the sun! The place was heaving, full of locals calling to each other and lots of people just enjoying an easy Sunday before heading back to city life. The food - yummy, interesting, tasty and well cooked - the bloke in the Italian Rugby jumper explained that the Bakery (theirs) was closed while the owners were in Italy on their honeymoon - good sign. The service - friendly and actually happy to chat and laugh before rushing to drop more coffees, Mexican eggs or Brecky wraps to other tables! So fun watching relaxed, friendly service compared to our local cafe in Sydney.

The verdict - if you are down south, want a coffee, great bread(I am reliably informed - more reports next visit) - stop/stay in Berrima and explore a...