Berry Sourdough Bakery and Cafe

In a town scattered with bakeries, hot bread shops, and a famous roadside doughnut van, it's a tough call deciding where to blow your carb intake for the day in Berry. But if you drive through the town centre and veer right off the main road, you'll find a likely candidate in the form of a regular whitewashed terrace house with a not-so-regular queue of customers winding halfway down the street.

Brother owners of Berry Sourdough Bakery & Cafe (or 'the Sourdough' as locals fondly refer to it) Joost and Jelle Hilkemeijer offer more than a mouthful of a name; their range of organic, hand-crafted baked goods and dine-in menu are a testament to the cafe's semi-rural location and ex city dwelling chefs ­– or as some might call it – the best of both worlds. An old school Alan Scott oven is used by a team of talented bakers to create such bready offerings as rye, corn, Levain Blanc, olive and brioche; each rested for a minimum of three hours and set to rise in willow baskets (the kind you can probably remember from your grandma's house).

For the pastry contingent, the brothers have hired a French-schooled-Japanese-hailing pastry chef who puts out croissants touted as some of the best in the country. But the buck doesn't stop at over the counter baked goods; the in-house breakfast and lunch menu is a high country affair – more manor than farmhouse – with a focus on fine local produce. From the homemade jams and preserves served with their house special sourdough, to the French toast with organic maple syrup, local smoked bacon and baked honey and pistachio ricotta, the menu dresses simple, high quality produce with some fancy modern trimmings. They also appear to be serious about their coffee, serving up speedy, boutique-roasted ristrettos and takeaway lattes to hordes of sleepy locals.

For a more substantial lunch plate, there's homemade chicken liver parfait with sourdough toast and papaya salad, spinach and ricotta ravioli with Mittagong tunnel mushrooms, and an abundance of local seafood options including local South Coast rock oysters, or zucchini and haloumi fritters with cured ocean trout, roe and cucumber. Told you this wasn't just a bakery.

Whether you're stopping off to pick up a fresh baguette and some pastries for a homemade afternoon tea on your Berry long-stay, or for a lazy brunch with the paper, Berry’s Sourdough Bakery is sure to please, as it has been since opening in 2003. It's the best thing to happen on this side of the Shoalhaven River, well, ever.

Berry Sourdough Bakery & Café - 23 Prince Alfred Street, Berry NSW