The Hatter and the Hare

A very nice place to visit. Nice food with a small amount of vegan, low gluten, and allergy friendly dishes. great coffee and other beverages. The cakes are an absolute treat. Friendly service and a pleasant atmosphere, albeit noisy. Prices on the high end of reasonable. Extremely limited parking on site and very little on that side of the road. Pet friendly.

Very busy cafe in Bayswater, I went here on a Thursday morning and it was already quite busy. The interior is beautiful, the indoor plants and chandeliers and colour of the walls add a nice touch to the ambience and feels very cosy. Best interior decor I have ever seen in a cafe. I ordered the ‘Off with their heads’ dish with kumara and corn fritters, which is actually vegan too. They have gluten free and vegan options. I highly recommend the fritters, they were delicious, a bit oily but had nice balanced flavours with the white bean pureé, charted corn and puffed rice giving it a nice crunch and flavour and the smashed avo and cucumber giving it a refreshing light taste. The flavours blended very well together and it was reasonably priced for cafe food. You can also add extras on top of the extensive food menu such as hashbrowns. I thought the hasbrown was nice and crunchy on the outside however it wasn’t cooked properley and the potato was still slightly crunchy in the inside and undercooked. Hence minus one stars. Other than that, it was still a good hashbrown at $5, and made with real potato shreds. I also ordered the white tea and butterfly pea flower which was very milky and had a hint of floral. It also had the texture of foam rather than liquid milk. It was okay and decent but didn’t have much flavour and tasted more like milk. I wouldn’t order the drink again, but hatter and the hare has such an extensive drink menu there are many other options to try. My friend ordered the hot chocolate and she said it was quite bitter and rich, it is available in percentages of 50% or 70%. If you are not a fan of dark chocolate definitely get the 50% and they provide sugar at the table which you can mix inside. They also have other drinks too. Overall I left feeling full and satisfied for the food and ambience. They also have a wide selection of cakes and desserts at the front of the cafe near the pay area. If you are a dessert lover, definitely check them out as there are many options to choose from. Cakes, pastries, tarts, etc. with different fillings all there. I likely will be back as I enjoyed my experience. Service is good. Tight car parking area so make sure you come early for a car park or park in another street. Also they only allow you to stay for a maximum of 1.5 hours so be aware of that if you were planning to stay longer to chat. However this wasn’t a problem for me.