Simon Haslam
Booth is a brand-new cafe in Byron, just down from Aldi, just focused on coffee with about a dozen food items that all taste good, just started up by a young bloke (Austin) who, working in cafes and travel, who had always wanted to start his own cafe and felt like it was the time to do so.
Not many people drink double espresso, and I took it as an omen when I turned up last Saturday morning, that of the two people who ordered at the same time I did, one woman ordered a double espresso and one bloke, who lived nearby, seemed pretty damn fussy about exactly how much milk went into his keep-cup.
‘Very good guys, you made my day,’ he said when he left. I had the feeling that, despite the increasing number of tourists coming to Byron, it’s not that easy to get a ‘satisfied customer’ in the centre of Byron. Austin Metcalfe-Smith admits to having ‘the normal pre-opening jitters’ prior to his opening week, because he knows Byron people can take their coffee very seriously, but, he says, ‘I was confident in my products’. The coffee he uses is great, by the way, but if you’re not a purist you can have a Vietnamese Iced Coffee, a Manuka Mocha, a Golden Mylk… this is Byron, you know.
For some reason the double espresso seems to be a coffee that people who aren’t that into coffee, or who have had their coffee business quite a while, just don’t seem to get right. I know most people order their coffee with milk, so a stronger approach normally works better with cow milk, sometimes it’s the grind, sometimes the temperature and sometimes I reckon it’s just about not bothering too much about cleaning the machine.
Anyway, mine was spot on; fresh, alive and smooth but full of flavour. Somehow, I felt like ordering another straight away, but after years of counselling I don’t necessarily just do stuff like that, and I’m glad I didn’t as an hour later I was still feeling the energy. Wonder drug. Also, having had breakfast about four hours prior, I loved the Aunty mushroom and cheese toastie – light, full of flavour, $10. If I worked in Byron, I would definitely add the $15 haloumi mushroom rocket burger, or the $15 fried chicken burger, or the special $10 bacon and egg roll for to the weekly lunch mix, especially on Wednesday when the burgers are all only $10. But then, if you’re more into a Coyo bowl, this is also the place. And you can browse the Divine Goddess yoga wear next door.
So, what’s the secret with the coffee? Partly it’s paying a lot of attention to the details when you’re on the machine, but also the coffee never is more than two weeks old – Austin was there for the first roast by his supplier ‘Freelance Roasters’ in Queensland. They pick the best beans, he says, and because he not only sells the beans, he also sells them freshly ground for you to use on your stovetop at home, he has a fair throughput of beans through the shop. My double espresso, by the way, was a single origin.
As for the menu, he seems to be getting the same positive feedback from others as he did from me. Austin has done a lot of cooking throughout his life, and it didn’t take him any time at all to come up with the menu, it’s just what you’d expect and just what you want – straight from the subconscious perhaps! There are GF rolls available, and a changing variety of sweet treats – he’s engaged a local baker to keep the freshly baked daily offerings changing.
Booth has a clean look with the logo tiled into the wall, a lovely friendly woman was helping behind the bar, friends kept coming in to say g’day when I was there – I really enjoyed my coffee and food, and the chat, I reckon it’s a good place to check out in Byron.
Booth: Shop 3 /1 Byron St Byron Bay
Open 6am–3pm Tues–Sat, 7am–2pm Sun and Mon.
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