Websters Market and Cafe, 61 Webster Street, Ballarat
I’ve been here a few times now and tried various things on the menu. During summer one lunchtime a friend and I shared a divine roast cauliflower salad with some sort of sauce that had me licking the plate, and the lamb and lentils, which was also nice, but forgetful, compared with the cauliflower. What a shame it hasn’t been on the menu since.
My breakfast choices vary between the Seasonal Greens Bowl (greens, quinoa, almonds, halloumi, avocado, poached egg) and the Mushrooms and Kale (again, with some sort of plate-lickingly-delicious sauce that’s not quite sopped up by the corn bread). The cacao chilli hit the spot on a cold winter morning.
But….one morning an unrestrained dog came into the café and sniffed around the patrons. Bad enough, but the barista then captured the dog by the collar and took him outside. Barista, dog and owner seemed to know each other, but from a hygiene perspective, having a dog in a café is NOT ON. Do what you like with pets in your own home, but keep them out of public food places. I watched the barista come back in and go straight into making a coffee. No hand-washing or wiping took place. When I paid I mentioned that I was concerned at his lack of hygiene after touching the dog, and without missing a beat, he said he’d used the anti-bacterial solution before he made the coffee. I was so stunned by his immediate, and incorrect reply (after all, I had been facing him and watching carefully), that I let it go, and haven’t been back. I miss the mushroom and kale dish, but can’t quite bring myself to venture back just yet into what now seems to me to be an unclean venue.
Visit Websters Market and Cafe’s website at webstersmarketandcafe.com