Green beans and a pineapple plant sit idle on the table bench. Old posters of stamps hang on the walls and a wooden ladder rests on the bookshelf. Curious? It’s just what café Co-Owner Beau Field wants his customers to think.
“We want people to remember the little details about our café. People are curious by nature, so we want them to notice something and ask ‘What’s the story, where did they get that from?’” he says.
The café interior is comfortable and inviting. Together with Co-Owner and Chef Robin Neaves, the pair spent a lot of time planning the perfect décor, menu and coffee offerings for its opening in mid 2012.
“Curious Goose has really taken off in the short space of time it’s been open and we’ve tried to serve consistently good coffee. No matter where you are, you can’t get away with average coffee,” says Beau.
Thanks to local roasters Industry Beans, Curious Goose serves The Ducks Nuts blend, which Beau describes as the perfect foundation for milk and black coffee, with plenty of body and brightness from the Costa Rican beans.
“It offers chocolate and hazelnut flavours that cuts through the milk, but most importantly it maintains consistency,” he says. “Our guarantee is to make coffee the way our customers like, regardless of whether it’s a soy, skinny or decaf coffee. If the customer leaves happy, then we’ve done our job.”
Two ‘coffees of the day’ rotate weekly. Crowd favourites include a Panama from Carmen Estate and a Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia, both of which Beau says are “clean coffees” and perfect for cold drip.
“We were one of the first places to offer single origins in the area,” he says. “More and more people are learning about what it is and we’re happy to educate our customers if they want it.”
A bookshelf in the corner displays a collection that forms the cafe’s book swap service. Each book is stamped with the Curious Goose trademark stamp and customers are invited to take a book and replace one in return.
“People waste so much in society, so why not swap books?” says Beau.
A 1920 Japanese cake cabinet displays a collection of pastries and cupcakes. Rob serves a range of food with a hint of Mexican. This includes a Mexican tuna cobb salad, burgers, focaccas, roasted pumpkin salad, and salt and pepper squid, using fresh quality ingredients and herbs.
Breakfast is served from 8am to 4pm to give weary local residents time to enjoy breakfast for most of the day. The café is famous for their big brekkies with an open omelette, goats cheese and sweet corn.
From age 15 Beau has been involved in hospitality. He worked as a waitor at restaurants and bars in the United Kingdom and then partnering with Rob to start Curious Goose last year.
The pair have really thought about their customer’s needs and practicalities, such as generous tables with enough space to spread a newspaper and put a pram.
“We want people to take time out and relax. No one should be rushed when they go to a café,” Beau says.
When Curious Goose closes for the day, customers can venture into adjoining pizza bar Hava Gander where Beau insists more “fabulous coffee” is served.
Beau’s passion for coffee and quality customer service shines through the café and invites ‘the curious’ to stop by and enjoy the coffee he loves to make. “I love not knowing what the day will bring,” he says. “That’s what I love about this job.”