Walking along the main strip in Dunsborough, WA it's easy to be drawn into this warm and welcoming cafe with it's striking black and white shop-front with trendy timber seating spilling out of the cafe onto the footpath. As you enter the cafe, your eyes are drawn to raw timber shelving along the walls, brimming with local products and neat little gift ideas. And I have to note the feature wall lined in birch tree wallpaper.
The current owners took over the cafe about 18 months ago, which was previously a specialist tea house. They decided to continue the extensive range of black, white, herbal, fruit, honeybush and green teas - which is available to try in the cafe or if you prefer the teas are beautifully packaged up on the shelf to take with you. And if you fall in love with one of the teas, the good news is you don't have to travel back to Dunsborough to re-stock, all teas are available for purchase online from
www.wildandwoods.com.au
The layout of the cafe caters for everyone with tables for meals and comfy couch seating for couples to cosy up. A stash of kid's colouring books and pencils is a welcome sight for parents looking to keep their little ones occupied and those wanting to enjoy the warmth of the sun can perch on the bar stools set along the bench at the cafe front window.
The cafe is clearly a favourite with the locals, and it is easy to see why - the range of homemade and healthy food on display at the back of the cafe is well priced (a vegetable and quinoa pattie is $9.50 or tandoori chicken wrap is $13.50) and the Yahava organic coffee is something special.
Cooked breakfast is also available, and while the menu is short and simple, it is cooked and presented very well. Try the Free Range Dippy Eggs with Toasted Turkish Soldiers for perfectly cooked soft boiled eggs, served in egg cartons - a meal that reminded me of a wonderful family breakfast in my childhood.
In a country town that has certainly found some serious flair in the past couple of years, Wild & Woods is definitely worth a visit - even if it's for a quick coffee and home-made slice.
