Tucked away in the charming Elwood Village, the Turtle Cafe is a true neighbour food gem. The staff go out of their way to help and the quality of comfort food is superb. They offer a gorgeous outdoor alfresco area, which you see people utilising year round, plus their homey indoor space. The location is exceptional, intersecting two of the major roads in Elwood.
FOOD
Leave it to the kitchen team to create beautiful dishes. All your favourites are on the menu, with their own little twists to make it their own. It’s a small menu, but they have mastered the dishes available.
We went with two completely different breakfasts, a healthy option and a not so healthy option. The Brioche French Toast was bursting of flavour. The poached pear was juicy and the combination of the French Toast, chocolate fudge and whisky maple syrup worked wonderfully together.
For a healthier option, I went with the Yoghurt Jar Mess. The Greek yoghurt used was just the right amount of tart, exactly what you’d expect from a good Greek yoghurt. The berries on the side were extremely fresh and worked beautifully with the yoghurt. The jar was sprinkled with some beautiful homemade granola, which was perfectly sweet. Presentation on both dishes were lovely.
SERVICE
When first arriving at the cafe, the staff were extremely busy, which resulted in not having a table available for us. The waiter who welcomed us, made sure to find us a table. He did mention that it would take 5 to 10 minutes, however seated us at the benches and took our coffee orders while we waited. Our waiter was thoughtful enough to update us on getting us a free table, which was wonderful.
Once we finally got ourselves seated, the service only improved. We were seated at a communal table with a few other people at the other end, however this was fine with us. Despite waiting for a table for so long, the service was flawless and the food was top quality for a cafe.
Although there have been mixed reviews about this restaurant, we found the food and service spot on. Maybe we just came on a good day, but will definitely be back to check out their lunch menu.
