Cafe 1871 — Restaurant in Clare

Café 1871 sits proudly on Clare’s main street, like a café that knows it’s the place to be—and honestly, fair enough.

The breakfast? Solid. Eggs and bacon cooked just right—crispy edges, fluffy insides, everything your hangover hoped for. But then there's The Sauce. Oh yes. A local hot sauce that clearly doubles as industrial paint stripper. It's as if Hades decided to grow his own chillies, wept into them, and bottled the result. One drop had me briefly reconsidering every life choice that led me to this plate.

To be clear: this is not your average “ooh, it’s a little spicy” situation. This is a tongue-melting, soul-evicting, “do I still have lips?” kind of heat. The locals treat it like a badge of honor. You? You have nothing to prove. Save your dignity. Keep your taste buds.

I also ordered a “large” coffee. Now, in the city, that means an extra shot. In Clare, it means a bucket. Like, you could water a garden with it. Or bathe a small dog. That being said—it was Melbourne-level quality. Smooth, rich, no burnt aftertaste, and enough caffeine to give me Wi-Fi signal from the moon.

The service? Unbelievably efficient and charming. Like, “how do you remember all these orders and ask how my nan is?” kind of charming. Either they’re robots, or there’s some serious coffee-fueled wizardry happening behind the counter.

Pro tip: get there early or accept your fate in the queue of regret. This place is swarmed by locals...

This Cafe has great coffee, food and the service is unsurpassable 💞 We were so glad we stumbled across this fabulous place for breakfast/brunch, for the two days we stayed in Clare on a girls trip. We ordered: Dirty chai latte w coconut milk, Dirty chair latte w almond milk, Latte, Cleansing juice, Overnight oats, Pumpkin and cheddar baguette, Egg and bacon on sourdough, And ham and cheese croissant. All were delicious, however I preferred the Dirty chai latte with the almond milk over the coconut milk. Both delicious, I just chose coconut milk for something different. FYI. They organically grow their own produce for their...

This is an outstanding cafe. It cannot be faulted. The food is sublime, the service is attentive and the staff are warm, engaging and friendly. We had breakfast at the cafe. I could have licked my plate clean as it was a delight to eat. The freshly squeezed juice served in a tiki cup was fun. It was garnished with a candied dried orange lid that was also delicious. The metal straw was a nod to sustainability and beats a collapsable paper straw any day. Well done team. It was a wonderful experience to eat at your cafe. I highly recommend the ‘Build a Brekkie’ menu. It was great value...