The first pot goes on at six, and somebody is usually already waiting.
A coffee house a block back from the water at Bellara. Breakfast all morning, a short lunch, and nobody will ever ask you to move along.
Opening hours
| Monday to Friday | 6am to 2pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday and Sunday | 6:30am to 2pm |
The kitchen stops half an hour before we do, so 1:30pm on a normal day. After that it is coffee and whatever is still in the cabinet.
We keep tables for groups of eight or more. Anything smaller, just come in, and if we are full there is a bench outside that most regulars prefer anyway.
Public holidays
- Christmas Day, Closed25 December 2026
- Good Friday, 7am to 1:30pm26 March 2027
- Easter Saturday, 7am to 1:30pm27 March 2027
- Anzac Day holiday, 10am to 2pm26 April 2027
Twelve Tern Lane, since 2019
The shop had been a video store, then a bait and tackle place, then empty for two years before we took it. We kept the floor because it was beautiful under all the lino, and we replaced more or less everything else ourselves over one very long summer. People still come in and tell us what used to be here, which we like.
The menu is short on purpose, because ten things done properly is worth more than thirty things done at the same time. Most of it is made in the kitchen out the back. The bread is not, and we are happy to tell you exactly where it comes from if you ask. There is no wifi. That was not a decision when we opened, it was just a thing we had not got around to, and by the time we noticed people were coming in because of it we decided to leave it alone.
The room
This is what the room is actually like on a weekday morning. Nobody has moved a chair for the photo.
What two regulars said
We wrote both of these. They are here to show the shape of the section, and on a real cafe's site they would be replaced by whatever that cafe's customers have actually said, word for word.
My husband and I have been coming in on Saturdays for four years and I do not think we have ever had to say what we wanted. Somebody starts making it when we walk in. That is worth more to us than the coffee being good, and the coffee is good.
We drive over from the mainland most Sundays, which is a fair way to go for breakfast, and the chicken sandwich justifies it on its own. No music, no television, nobody hurrying you out. At our age that is most of the appeal.
Things people ask us
Do you take bookings?
For eight or more, yes, just ring us and we will work something out. For anything smaller it is first in, best dressed, and it moves faster than it looks.
Are you dog friendly?
Outside, absolutely. There is a water bowl by the door and most of the regulars know your dog's name before they know yours.
Do you do takeaway?
All of it. Ring ahead and it will be sitting on the end of the counter waiting for you.
Is there wifi?
No, and there never has been. People read, or talk to each other, or stare out the window at the weather, and it turns out that is the whole appeal for a lot of them.
Can you do something without gluten?
Anything marked on the menu can be made without gluten containing ingredients, and the bread costs $1 more, which is on its own line on the menu. We cook in one small kitchen though, so if you are coeliac please talk to us first and we will be straight with you about what we can and cannot promise.
Is there somewhere to sit outside?
Four tables on the footpath, shaded until about eleven. They are the first to go on a nice morning.
Finding us
Tern Lane runs off the main road a block back from the water. If you are walking down from the jetty it is about five minutes, and you will smell the place before you see the sign.
Street parking along the lane, and a small car park at the far end of it that almost nobody uses.
Directions on Google Maps