Owl & Elephant Café

On Sunday 25 January I participated in the Crush Festival in the Adelaide Hills – a multitude of venues with local food and wines.

I selected Uraidla and was enticed by the food on offer and the associated wines.

The late breakfast was green eggs and ham at the Owl & Elephant Café.

Sounded good. Sounded fantastic. I was thinking of Dr Seuss and green eggs and ham. It was described as an uber cool café.

The food was crap. Very disappointing.

It was an overcooked egg with a green/grey mix (and supposedly ham) in a bread base, curled at the edges. It was cold and served with a cold fried tomato half.

I’d rate it at 1/10.

The waitress was surprised that I didn’t enjoy. (She did ask how I found it.) There was no offer to redress my concern.

I should have selected the rhubarb and quince on rye toast. That did look appealing.

The coffee, a latte, scored slightly better (at 4/10). The milk was good, but the coffee had no depth or finish. There was no lingering after-taste. Rather disappointing.

The café needs to buy better beans. You get what you pay for when it comes to beans.

At least the coffee was hot.

Moving on to the wines.

My favourite Hills winery Basket Range was there.

There was a small range available for tasting and sale.

All were excellent, especially the reds.

My favourite was the 2010 Cabernet blend (of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot). I bought a few bottles to take home.

Am I being too harsh on the Owl & Elephant Café?

I could have just said that it was average rather than crap.

No. They put food on my plate and deserve an honest appraisal.

How often do we accept mediocrity and not challenge it (just to be nice, not wanting to offend).

Most businesses appreciate honest feedback.