Candelo General Store Cafe — Restaurant in Candelo

(4.5 stars) Big on charm, Candelo General Store & Cafe delivered everything I want from a cafe. Housed in a striking setting dating back to 1904, it could easily have relied upon “ye olde” charm rather than well-made coffees, and an interesting breakfast menu delivered equally fast. Seated in the stone courtyard, I’d barely had a chance to take in the historic setting when my cappuccino ($4.50) and flat white ($4.50) arrived. Temperature perfect, they both made good use of Wild Rye Roasting Co. beans showing balanced bitterness and good strength.

The brekky burrito ($18) looks deceptively simple, but from having made a few of these at home, can easily become a sloppy mess. Insulating the pliable wrap with baby spinach leaves gave this one great structural integrity, standing up to scrambled eggs and a tasty mix of diced chorizo, corn, onions, capsicum and coriander bound with a great, smoky chilli barbeque sauce. You can also get a tasty chorizo add-on ($4) with the plump potato, leek and thyme roesti ($17) moistened with poached eggs and salsa verde. It just wanted for some salt, but that was available on every table.

The tiny town of Candelo was established when settlers found good grazing land inland from Pambula. It fills up with people on the first Sunday of each month for the Candelo markets, where stalls wind along the bank of the Candelo creek. If you pop into this cafe for lunch after your market, there are burgers and tacos backed with a fairly pedestrian selection of wines but a good list of craft brews including some that use locally grown (Bemboka)...

This was to be a pit stop of ours on the way from Eden to Wagga Wagga. Instead of getting country comfort, it was more akin to hipster, and you could’ve convinced me I was somewhere around Sydney’s Newtown to view the menu. Even though I would’ve been comfortable with fried eggs and bacon, the food I ended up trying (fritters and burrito) were sensational. The beautiful smell of their coffee told me this was no ordinary café when I went to order. I delighted in a cacao smoothie. I’ve not had a more refreshing smoothie and I was tempted to finish it before my breakfast arrived. I particularly liked the different settings people were invited to be seated at. Out the front in the shade, inside in the cool, the side in sunlight, up a path under a parasail; each setting had differing furnishings. I’ve marked it as a favourite. If only one day I may be close by so as...

This cafe came highly recommended. Went with my 6 year old daughter today. Food was great and quick service despite being quite busy.

I had the toast with avocado & feta & the little one had the kids burger & chips (they have a kids menu as well). Both were delicious.

Lovely location with a great feel & easy listening music in the background. Owner came over to see if everything was fine and made the effort to chat with my daughter which was a nice touch.

Will definitely be going back as the rest of the menu looks great and it was a...