It seems that running a successful café these days is about finding a niche and being the best you can be in that zone. Very important in an increasingly competitive market.

I have just come back from two days down south where the choice of cafes has increased exponentially over the last few years and I thought I’d take a minute to give a plug to my favourite Busselton café.

As I walk the street searching for a café the things I’m looking for are:

– very good coffee – no point otherwise!

– interesting and diverse quality food – I don’t really like the generic Dome menus

– friendly staff

– a relaxing vibe that doesn’t say ‘you’ve eaten your meal now rack off’

– sensible prices – I am happy to pay a bit more for decent food, but I don’t want to pay dinner prices at lunch time

When I came to Busselton yesterday I had the best part of a day to spend somewhere doing prep work on the computer and as I contemplated where to head I found myself gravitating back again to More Café, a great little operation that fulfills all the criteria I listed above. I have been there each time we have been in the south west this year and I realized this time that it has now become my preferred option on these visits.

The More crew have been in operation for 14 months now and seem to fill a unique niche in the Busso market. If you go to Busselton your choices are many. You can play it safe and go to Dome – boring and predictable but at least you are pretty sure of what you’re getting… You can pay a bit more and go to Samovar… I never have… it looks nice inside, but I just can’t pay that much… You can head down to Equinox on the beachfront… this used to be my favourite mainly because of the baci cheescake, but the coffee is pretty average… You could drop into the bakery and get a pie… but that’s so 1987…

Or you could try ‘More’. If you do I reckon you’ll be going back.

The coffee at More is Yahava and the couple of big flat whites I had yesterday were definitely in the very good category. The food is fresh and interesting. Yesterday I had some lime tart with double cream on the side. The lime tart was sensational, but the use of real cream rather than that stupid ‘aerosol’ version makes all the difference. I almost had two… Then for lunch I ordered some cauliflower, broccoli and cheese soup, again very nice and plenty of it.

Most times I have been there the vibe has been relaxed, cranking up a bit around lunch time as the locals come in. These guys have done a great job of hitting the mid price range, but with very good food. The other thing I have observed them doing each time I have been there is wandering around and asking people what they think of their meals. Openness to feedback and learning is a valuable attribute, so next time in you’re in Busso give them a go!

They are at 65 Kent St just near Hillzees surf shop and across the road from Dick Smith’s.divx ms 45