Fox and Bow is the kind of cafe every suburb needs

Mind you, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more eclectic collection; yes, there's the standard IGA, but throw in a dog groomer, a cosmetic tattoo parlour, another couple of restaurants - Nepalese and Sri Lankan - and the shopfront for GG's Flowers and Hampers (and here I was thinking this was an online-only venture), and you've got yourself a vibrant mixed bunch.

And the rose amongst the thorns - OK, that analogy is stretching it too far - is Fox and Bow.

Headed up by Alex and Nicole Piris, the cafe has set a new benchmark for the suburban cafe since it opened in 2014.

We love how involved in the community the cafe is. Its social feed is full of photographs of produce harvested by the nearby Namadgi School, from the gardens of Farrer neighbours, there are posts about fundraising events, learning opportunities for staff and customers. Most of Farrer probably survived lockdown thanks to the selection of dinner packs on offer when the industry pivoted. But how many local cafes were doing wood-fired quails with puy lentils, eggplant curries and seafood bisque?

Back in 2016, the cafe became the centre of a planning stoush when the ACT government removed a basketball hoop from a nearby laneway despite the life it injected into the small set of shops.

Now that same laneway is being used for dinners, on a Friday and Saturday night while the weather holds out. There are fairy lights and long tables, live music and the charcoal grill is rolled out with a special menu that extends beyond the daytime offerings.

Here we're talking about wood-fired chickens, done with a Filipino touch, served with garlic rice and green papaya, or 400g of rib eye with chimichurri, roasted red peppers and fries, desserts with a Spanish influence, basque cheesecake with mango gelato and a whey caramel and crema Catalan, with stewed local plums, most likely from someone's garden. Pull together a table of eight or more and the set menu, which offers a little bit of everything, will set you back $70pp.

I pitched this review on the back of the dinners. The review algorithm here is incredibly convoluted, even I don't understand it sometimes. Can we review cafes? Does it have to be dinner? I once remember a heated argument about whether ordering at the counter ruled a venue out. But hey, I'm the boss, so I'm here at Fox and Bow.

But I'm here at lunch. We don't book but manage to secure a walk-in. Which I think was incredibly lucky because when we set to leave an hour later the place is full and people are waiting for tables. The young staff are keeping up. Meals are delivered quickly, orders remembered, everyone is polite and friendly and welcoming, even on this busy weekday lunch shift.

The hardest thing about a lunch review like this is ordering enough food to formulate something of an opinion without looking like you're waiting for someone else to turn up. But we manage it here with a few judicious choices.

First up are the smoked trout croquettes ($20). I've always been a sucker for the idea of a croquette. This small-town girl once thought KFC croquettes were the height of gourmet dining, yes, things have changed. On this plate, the actual croquettes are the star. Smoked trout via Jindabyne is rich and flavourful, shaped with light mashed potato and fried golden brown. On this occasion, the poached eggs were a little over, not enough of that runny yolk and the dijon dill and sour cream sauce was a little watery.

The Casablanca salad ($19) was vibrant and colourful, full of roasted pumpkin, quinoa, pistachio for texture, mint, parsley, peas and feta, corn and tomato, some cranberries on the day. The kind of salad easily replicated at home. Ours could have benefitted from some more caramelisation on the barbecued corn and the pumpkin, but nevertheless, it was refreshing and full of flavour.

Hard to skip a burger here too. The que pasa amigo fried chicken burger ($23) passed the test with flying colours. An organic breast with a great crunchy coating, tender to bite with just a little kick, offset by some coleslaw with chipotle mayonnaise, cheese, streaky bacon and jalapenos, on a soft bun that held its shape. Served with crispy shoestring fries, flavoured with a little paprika. Spot on.

A cup of Seven Miles coffee for dessert with a selection from the sweets cabinet. A jam doughnut and a Portuguese tart, both delicious, next time I might try the vanilla slice, for they looked good too.

Fox and Bow is the kind of cafe that every suburb needs. One that feeds its customers with a sense of belonging and gets that same vibe back in return. It's hard to squabble over a firm poached egg when there's just so much right about this place.

Address: 4 Farrer Pl, Farrer ACT

Phone: 6286 4816

Website: foxandbow.com.au

Hours: Monday to Sunday, 7.30am to 2.30pm. Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 9pm.

Owner: Alex and Nicole Piris

Dietary: A few vegetarian options

Noise: No problem

Outside dining: A few tables available and the dinners are in the laneway