Mount Larcom Cafe – Mt Larcom QLD

Mount Larcom Cafe

Firstly “Happy New Year” everyone and let’s bring on a massive 2022. I’m going to kick the year off sharing a story about one of the toughest ladies I’ve ever met. The lady is Julie Beel and the story led me to the tiny town of Mount Larcom and her business the Mount Larcom Cafe

Mount Larcom is situated right off the Bruce Hwy approximately 80km south of Rockhampton and Julie’s joint can be seen from the Highway. The building has been here for over 110 years and was once operated as a thriving bakery. Julie has been at the helm for just over 9 years and dishes up every food item thinkable. Open 7 days a week from 7am to 3pm (weekends can vary) this is a funky and quirky little cafe.

The past 2 COVID years has been horrific for Julie and her staff. With limited foot traffic and consistent lock downs the cafe has had extremely quiet periods. I’m the darkest Covid time Julie was forced to lay off most of her staff and nearly shut the doors, which would have been a travesty as the place has exceptional food particularly Julie’s home made 🥧’s. Speaking of 🥧’s I was getting a tad hangry so it was time to get cracking and check out the menu.

To be honest I have stopped here a couple of times over the past few years and tried many of Julie’s creations, but on this occasion I was keen to give her Curry Beef Veggie 🥧 a crack. I met a grey nomad in the car park before entering the cafe and he smashed his curry beef 🥧 in about 5 bites, so I was very excited about this review.

🥧THE REVIEW 🥧

1. Value for Money – All Julie’s 🥧’s are $6.50 and this represents pretty good value. They are not massive nor skimpy but overall a very good sized 🥧. 8/10
2. Meat Ratio – Simple answer – Bloody FULL !!! Photos will not lie !!! This bugger was about to burst open at the seams. 10/10
3. Meat Flavour – Beautiful !!! Mince, chunky steak, curry beef, all your winter veggies, salt, pepper and Julie’s special ingredient !!! I did ask what that was, but she said she’d be forced to kill me if she told me, so I left it at that. Every single bite of this 🥧 was a wow factor. Excellent flavor. 9.5/10
4. Pastry – Photo’s will show top and bottom bakes were ever so slightly under baked. Apart from that I really enjoy this pastry. The stability was perfect and the top bake had incredible flavor, plus super flakey and the top had a nice golden color to it. Overall very good. 8.5/10
5. Serving Temperature – Spot on perfect !!! Julie nailed this one. No waiting required. 10/10

Overall Rating
🥧🥧🥧 46/50 🥧🥧🥧

Every time I stop here the 🥧’s get better and better and this experience was no different. This 🥧 was a perfect blend of meat, veggies and curry and I absolutely loved every bite. Only blemish was the slightly undercooked top and bottom pastry. This can be very difficult to get right using the aluminum trays. In terms of value for buck, this 🥧 was reasonably priced and full to the brim.

This cafe is a absolute belter !!! What ever food you want Julie will cook for you. It’s got plenty of parking available (caravans included) plus adequate seating to chill out and dig in. As previously mentioned the cafe is only a stones throw off the Bruce Hwy making this stop a must and very assessable. Trust me you won’t be disappointed with any of the food on offer. Business wise this cafe has experienced difficult times over the past 2 years, so I asking a huge favor, please don’t forget this place when your traveling up or down the Bruce Highway.

Julie you truly are an amazing woman. Your determination and tenacity during the past 2 years would have seen most people throw in the towel. You were one of the first bakeries to sign up for my charity day and had no hesitation donating money when it was you that was struggling big time. I will be forever grateful for that and wish you all the best in 2022.