The Locale

Went for lunch yesterday the 12^th February the meal was great and so was the service.

Overpriced and unfriendly service. Save your dollars and your time and go somewhere else. Disappointed.

Lunch with two friends at this once popular café today. Everything is looking a little tired here, especially the chicken and pumpkin salad I ordered. Looked like it had been mixed in a giant bin at the beginning of the day and is just plopped on plates as required. Greens are limp, pumpkin is a mush and the shreds of chicken were dry. Cherry tomatoes in the salad were soft and definitely past their use by date. It is disappointing to find they make freshly squeezed juice only to be told you can’t vary the combinations on the menu. Again, pre-​made and watered down. You have lost our family Locale :(

How do I know I’m back in Newcastle? Avocado on toast costs $ 15.
Have been here on 3 occasions, since my coffee-​loving mother and sister discovered it.
— Ice chocolate is mind-​boggling, and would double as a dessert. I couldn’t stop laughing. Very indulgent and delicious, but something to take the place of dessert or share. The hot chocolate isn’t bad, but since they are made in the same style as a cappucino, they tend to be a bit milky and not quite hot enough.
— I complain about the price but the avocado on toast is like crack. Delicious and highly-​addictive, I wish I could buy it by the tub. And on two pieces toast, you get a veritable mountain of avocado (mixed with tomato, onion and heavenly balsamic glaze). If it were cheaper, it would be something I would struggle to resist as a regular meal.
— The fish and chips is pretty darn good too, though our chips were slightly undercooked. But the fish was as good as I’ve had in Newcastle — not excessively greasy, perfectly cooked and fresh. Unless you are starving, another good share-​dish. It doesn’t come with salad, sadly.
The prices are high but everything I’ve tried is good. The prices online don’t always match up with the prices you are charged. The atmosphere is very hipster-​trendy-​look at me write my screenplay on my Macbook, with a mix of students, young adults and families.
Overall, a place I expect to see more of — but due to the price point, not quite as much as I would like.

Hip little café with excellent customer service and menu.
Lots of hipsters but not overdone in my opinion. Very family friendly, small town/​suburb vibe, quite busy but excellent customer service and prompt food delivery!

Ate here today, recommended by place we stayed in, and positive Unilocal reviews.
Absolute waste of time and money.
Very popular obviously, too popular really.
I had the Spicy Mexican breakfast. Corn fritters, poached eggs, bacon, guacamole, relish and rocket.
Meal took ages, and everything was cold. Corn fritters had 3 – 4 corn kernels, stodgy and tasteless.
Must have been cooked for ages, in the middle was cold. Poached eggs were cold and full of cold water. Relish was awful, tasteless and dry. How you make relish dry is beyond my comprehension. The very small amount of guacamole was bland and not spicy at all. Bacon was cold as well.
Partner had the Healthy Neighbour. Not so healthy when served on a board with cracks all over it, very unhygienic and certainly not healthy.
Overpriced and not worth the long wait.
1 star for the coffee, at least that was hot, as ordered. Otherwise it deserves no stars.
Not recommended and wouldn’t go back.

Yes its full of hipsters and all the trends of the day (plants in the window for example). However somehow it was still delicious, original and right priced. Good job.

Excellent breakfast and lunch spot! It’s always busy and loud inside, yet the service is excellent. The food is so good! It’s also in the entertainment book if you want a value. My fav is any dish with their pulled pork!

This is a mix of modern and rustic décor giving it a very hipster feel. They have featured single origin coffees that are overtly promoted with tasting tips and thorough descriptions.
The hard floors make it very noisy inside when there are a lot if people.
The food is fantastic and the coffee sports a unique flavour and is totally delicious.

Love this place. And it’s getting better all the time. The outside area has been extended and is quite Quirky.
Food is good and interesting menu choices.
The salted caramel milkshake is a big favourite.
Now open in evenings for tapas.

I can’t remember the last time I paid $ 19.50 for a salad and felt like I’d actually gotten my monies worth. Today, I did. Ordering the pumpkin and chicken salad at The Locale (a rec from local Newcastle friends), I left with not an empty space in my stomach nor a regret in ordering this deliciously fresh salad of poached chicken, rocket, fetta, red onion, pumpkin and bacon. Cherry Tomatos were said to make an appearance but I don’t count two as worthy of a starring role.
Our meals (we were dining in a group of 4) were prompt to arrive after ordering and our waitress was quick to attend to any additional requests like salt or pepper for the table. We’d reserved a table on the advice that this local spot gets quite busy on a weekend. No kidding. We arrived at 1pm to an almost full café and with high level quirk with an all day breakfast menu it’s not hard to see why.
While I didn’t have a coffee here (I opted for their green juice of kale, celery and apple — do it — it’s big enough to be a meal itself) I’m told they have their own roast that is altered monthly. This might be considered «suburban» by locals standards, but if you can get past the drinks being served in mason jars with handles, you’ll do just fine to see how grand this café is.

A friend recommended this place and I was keen to visit. I was not disappointed. It’s refreshing simple with recycled furniture that doesn’t look just ‘old’. very nice. The coffee and food was great and service really friendly and helpful.