On our second day in the Blue Mountains we realised that by the time we had all gotten ourselves out of bed and properly dressed, it was well and truly past breakfast, and possibly even late for lunch. Instead of pulling out the pots and pans and getting busy making food, we decided to wander to nearby town Leura in search of a good feast. It was a search which brought us to Leura Gourmet Cafe & Deli, which was a darling little place that is indeed deceptive in its appearance.
In the front of the shop was a small deli filled with gastronomical goodies which would fill many-a-bellies. On the one side was a fridged counter much like what you would find in a typical delicatessen, displaying various cuts of hams, smoked salmon and the like. On the other side was a stretch of jams, chutneys, sauces, oils, vinegars, local coffee and even rocky road! The jars came in all shapes and sizes and their colours provided an invigorating contrast to the bright green walls.
Towards the back of the store was a large dining area where tables were buzzy and filled with giant plates of mouthwatering food. The soup of the day seemed to have been Pumpkin Soup with a loaf of crusty bread, which seemed highly popular with the locals - not surprising given the single digit readings on themometres over there.
Chicken, Potato and Leek Pie - $17.90Even though we were highly tempted, none of us ended up ordering the soup as the menu made it extremely hard to choose just one particular dish. HL chose the Chicken and Mushroom Pie pictured above, and as you can see, the top pastry was a sheet of buttery, flaky and soft pastry which was just delicious. The salad was above the lettuce, tomato, cucumber garden salad average, but nothing all that impressive. It was definitely generous in serves as well.
Corn Fritters with Yoghurt Dressing - $18.90AL chose the Corn Fritters with Yoghurt dressing which I found to be a tad on the sweet side. She enjoyed the dish nevertheless and the corns were bursty and sweet - just the way it should be.
Toasted Baguette with Ham, Capsicum, Grain Mustard, Artichokes and Chives - $17.90Now what ws this? Well... long story short it was a baguette my ladies and gentlemen, except that it was rather overwhelmed by the amount of toppings layered on top of it. VH simply could not finish the plate, despite how wonderfully tasty it was. I'm a huge fan of those artichokes, and I found them to be perfect for the occassion.
Lasagna served with Salad - $17.90JL, feeling like he could eat a cow, chose to roll with the lasagna. Any other day I think the dish would have made him one happy man, but it just did not hit the spot for him that day. While the taste left little to complain about, the portion size was a bit lacking compared to all the other dishes. The photo may not show it, but beneath the thick layer of sauce is a very thing mound of lasagna. Suppose it will keep us coming back for more? Yes? No?
Chicken Liver Paté served with Thick Toast, Salad and Raspberry Yoghurt - $17.90And lastly I decided to take the road less taken and ordered the Paté. Don't ask why, but I really felt like that was the thing for me that day. I'm one of those people that actually gets cravings for chicken liver. Once again, don't ask why.
That Paté was quite nice and smooth. I'm not sure how to really critique it because while I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially with the accompaniment of the raspberry yoghurt (GENIUS!) I couldn't say that the paté was anything out of the ordinary or spectacular. It's definitely good paté and they give a VERY generous portion. I presume that they expect their patrons to take home since we saw other patrons doing so, and that the waitress eagerly offered us a doggy bag.
Stupidly I declined the offer to doggy bag the leftover paté for later, and found myself craving for it yet again by dinnertime. FJKEJSIFESLJFIS!!
Leura Gourmet Cafe & Deli
159 The Mall
Leura, NSW 2780
Tel: (02) 4784 1438
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