more cafe, busselton

beans : Yahava Kintamani

leaf :  Tease silk bags

soy : yes, Vitasoy

caffeine free : green smoothie with banana & spirulina $8.50

dunk : cranberry & white chocolate shortbread $3

fork : double chocolate pecan brownie with double cream $4.50

spoon : baked raspberry & white chocolate cheesecake $6.50

knife : banana & pistachio bread with honey butter $8.50 or French toast with maple syrup & strawberries $13.50

plate & bowl : roast pumpkin & tahini salad

footprint :  office flats, thongs

latte price : $4.30

service :  familiar and obliging

open :  Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to mid afternoon

More Café filled a gaping, dowdy hole in the Busselton scene for a funky café with great coffee and affordable, fresh food.

Created by the former (and now reinstated) head chef at The Goose, Gary brought his years of experience and travel abroad to the plate, along with a hip design sense from his partner, Chelsea. Graphic monochromatic wallpaper, exposed brick and concrete get a kick of colour with whimsical light shades, band posters and plastic orange stools.  Generous use of glass makes the most of the corner laneway location and you will usually find me in the window bench seat catching a few morning rays.  The café is very popular with the town lunch crowd, so it is best to visit outside the midday hours if you want to linger.

The fridge display is stocked daily with salads, panini, quiche, fritters and tarts (with gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options available). For a fast, healthy plateful at a friendly price, the salad selection is hard to beat. The blackboard menu has faithful all-day breakfast fare and comfort food choices, including nasi goreng - a nod to Gary’s Indonesian surf trips.  Caffeine is extracted from locally roasted Yahava beans and is consistently rich and smooth. There is no hesitation to serve milk extra hot and there is very little delay from the barista to the table.

A stack of regular customer cards are stored on the counter, next to the tempting friands and muffins, and horoscopes from the West Australian are stuck to the back of the coffee machine, so you can check out what kind of day you should be having.  The magazine selection was once the best design fodder in town, but sadly, the new owners haven’t been renewing the stash.

More Cafe has been in new ownership for over a year and so far they are upholding the excellent standards that Gary and Chelsea established. Long may it continue, I'll be back soon.