The General Cafe — Restaurant in Kangaroo Valley

Ahhh Kangaroo Valley, the little village that did. The township has become the bespoke choice for those wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and get back in touch with nature and country style living.

The owners of The General Cafe, Tony and Mon, come from an impressive pedigree in the restaurant industry having owned and operated the two hatted Lochiel House restaurant in the Blue Mountains and Tony making his mark at the famous Bayswater Brasserie in Potts Point.

The General fits perfectly into the Kangaroo Valley streetscape with the venue giving you more than just cafe vibes; there is fresh bread on sale, kombucha mothers, pickles, spices and other sundries giving that county market feel to the whole experience.

I want to talk about the positive’s first because there are a lot of them. The food is the most important part of any cafe experience and breakfast here pushes past the hum drum eggs and bacon eight different ways. There is real creative thought gone into the menu and Tony puts on a regular and changing breakfast special that is inspired by local ingredients that are fresh and in season.

We opted for the French toast, Tartine and Egg Fu Yung. The French toast was done perfectly. Fluffy thick cut bread soaked in eggy goodness and cooked to perfection. The caramelisation of the bread paired with banana and bacon was a show stopper, delicious!

Now for the Tartine… And what is a Tartine you ask? A tartine lacks the top slice of bread that a sandwich is known for and is instead served open to draw attention to its presentation. What could be a mere filling is instead on full display in an artful manner and boy is this an impressive display of the open faced concept. Thick cut house made bread is topped with garlic, pea puree, fresh goats cheese, mint, sauerkraut and cos leaves. The combination is fresh and summery and a feast for both the eyes and the belly.

The Eggs Fu Yung are Korean style wok fried eggs, short grain rice, kim chi, coriander, pine-nuts, sesame seeds and umami salt. I added smoked trout which paired well with the Asian influenced dish. This is hearty meal and the Kim chi packs a good hit of chilly. I love the out of the box thinking on this dish but it’s not something I would rush back to order again. It’s hard to explain, it was delicious but not “damn, that’s my go to dish from now on” kinda thing.

The coffee is nice and well made. Beans are sourced locally from Rush Roasting in Bowral. Our cappuccino’s were great, maybe a little weak for our taste but that’s subjective so full marks on the drinks.

Ok, the not so positive points. Unfortunately this great food and coffee was let down on the Sunday we visited by pretty lack lustre customer service. Before we made the trek to Kangaroo Valley I tried calling ahead to book a table and confirm if there was pooch friendly options. All I got after an hour of trying was a busy signal; not a great start.

On arrival the place was busy, and I get it, it’s a Sunday, the weather is nice and the place is packed, that’s great for business. But the service was frantic at some points, clumsy in others and unorganised overall. Which is a shame because when we did interact with staff it was always polite and friendly. Unfortunately I think it was just too busy for the staff to cope. So things like our table wasn’t cleared after the last guests and we had to search out menus and staff to take our order sadly effected the overall experience. This is also disconcerting when there is a 13% weekend surcharge, a tax you hope ensures good service is maintained at busy times.

Overall it’s absolutely worth making the trip to The General Cafe and enjoying what they have to offer, service issues aside the experience is enjoyable...

We visited this café in Kangaroo Valley today hoping for a coffee and some breakfast, but unfortunately the experience was incredibly disappointing. The owner is an aggressive tyrant, and I suppose from the murmurs I hear around town and the plethora of 1 star reviews ONLY directed at her I suppose I'm not the only one who's noticed her enormous character flaws totally unsuited to hospitality.

On entering, there was no clear signage saying “wait to be seated,” no host at the door, and no staff directing us. Seeing a spare table, we sat down, looked at the menu, and were just about to order when the owner came over and asked if anyone had seen us in. We explained politely that we had seated ourselves because there was no signage or staff at the entrance. She told us the table was reserved (though there was no sign indicating this), and when we asked if there was another table available she said she would check.

Instead of helping us, she walked over to two other people—who had not been waiting—and seemed to prioritise them. She then turned back to us and told us to get up from the table. It was an incredibly uncomfortable and dismissive way to treat paying customers.

We decided to just order takeaway, but even then the rudeness continued. When my partner started ordering food and a drink, the owner cut him off mid-sentence and said, “I’m only up for the coffee.” The tone throughout the whole interaction was curt and made us feel like unwelcome intruders rather than customers.

To add insult, when another guest nearby offered us their table as they were leaving, the owner brushed it off and told them not to bother because we were “just getting takeaway.” It felt like we weren’t the kind of clientele they wanted in their café.

Having worked in hospitality for many years, including managing Michelin-rated restaurants, I can honestly say this was one of the worst displays of customer service I have ever experienced. Hospitality is about making people feel welcome, and instead we were made to feel like a nuisance.

We truly regretted going here, and I would not recommend it. There are plenty of cafés in Kangaroo Valley that know how to treat their customers with basic courtesy and respect—sadly, this is not one of them.

Dear owner, If you need a designer to make you coherent 'please be seated sign' I'd be more than...

After a few days without network coverage, we wanted to check our emails whilst having breakfast before hitting the road. I parked in front of this cafe - checked the wifi on my phone - no less than 3 different networks called "General"...all good - so I turned off the engine and here we go. "CAn we have breakfast?" - "Sorry you (me, wife + 2 teens) cannot sit inside - parties of 2 max" - well, fine then, we'll seat outside. After ordering our drinks and breakfasts, I inquired about the wifi password - "we don't have wifi" Well...that's not starting well is it?

Waiting for the coffee, my wife goes inside to ask for the bathroom. The manager (owner?) very rudely asked her whether she was a patron!! TBH if you cannot remember a customer's face 2 minutes after taking their order you may be better of in another trade!

Coffees come (OK, not best but no complaint). 5 minutes later, coffees consumed...still no BF. 10 minutes....15 minutes. Eventually our eggs arrived...TBH the sourdough is good...but the presentation is so bland that it is unappetizing! Even if I did no pay the $5 for a "side" (aka a slice of bacon or of avocado LOL) they could have put on a bit of lettuce or parsley to liven it up a dash, or at the very least offered some ground pepper! (no salt or pepper on the table either :(. Last details on the eggs: using a plate with such a "texture" is an awful idea for food that you "scoop" like that. It makes a grinding noise each time you slide your forks under the eggs (think nail and chalkboard). Eggs consumed quickly (we're outside at 8:30AM on a cold day...) - I went inside to pay - and could see the same manager(owner?) engaged in a lively chat with a table of 3 people! I guess the "2 max" is not a problem when you are a local/friend...

There are plenty of great coffees in the area - I'll know to avoid this...