While the West Coast is large area, there are only a handful of cafes that open into the evening to satisfy the hunger of tourists and locals alike.
Small town coffee shops offer not just a place for a caffeine fix, but an experience filled with community charm and local character.
Recently new owners have taken to the kitchen of Queenies Cribs in Queenstown, formally Broken Halo, and have implemented a new menu, opening times and a fresh happy welcoming atmosphere.
During the changeover, the new owners have been finding their feet and working on making the business their own. While sometimes change is hard to swallow in a small town, everything done so far has been supported strongly by locals.
The café does a mixture of food including toasties, local pies and pastries, to sushi, brekkie classics, a hotbox selection and barista-made coffee. There are sit down meals and takeaway with many of the foods being homemade and designed and created by owner and chef Paul.
The weekend just gone saw Queenies Cribs open for the first time from 4:30pm – 7:30pm Thursday through Saturday which has given locals and travellers a new choice for dinner or a quick snack.
When entering you are welcomed with a pleasant greeting from one of the staff, which gives a sense that you are important to them and not just another number waiting for food.
The dinner menu is well thought out with a good mix of pub classics, schnitzel, parmi, burgers and fish and chips. They also have specials such as Chinese, and the hotbox is packed with grab and go bites.
With such a selection a choice is not easy, however a lot can be learned about a chef from how good their pulled pork is, and as I’m a porkivore, the pulled BBQ pork burger with chips was the go.
Despite being busy, the team were working together, and the food was ready, fresh, and in a short amount of time. And as we were eating in, they delivered it right to where we were sitting.
The burger is simple, pulled pork, picked zucchini and slaw with a side of chips. But simple doesn’t mean easy, because there is no where to hide if the ingredients aren’t good.
The pork and slaw were plentiful with the slaw not overpowering nor too wet. Thankfully the pork was the star of the burger and was moist, flavourful and fun-on-a-bun. The chips were cooked to crispy perfection, and the meal was just the right size to fill the food factory.
The new owners have really taken this local café by the burners and turned it into a place where people want to go, food people want to eat and a place that will be recommend to others.
Queenies Cribs – 7 Orr Street , Queenstown, TAS
