Friday, April 20, 2012

The Baron, Castle Hill

So, first things first. Although The Baron's address is listed as "Castle Street, Castle Hill" you'll find them tucked away on Old Castle Hill Road.  Don't make the mistake that we did and wander around Castle Hill for 40 minutes wondering where the hell a) you are and b) where the cafe is!  And for the record, Google Maps - you are NOT my friend. OK?


The address conundrum is simply explained. The Baron resides on the outer-rim of the enormous Castle Towers shopping center. Shopping centers really do my head in now that I'm "an old lady" (back in my 20s I could happily spend all weekend inside one of these places...but not any more).


It's a blessing not to have to go inside this monotonous shopping center to find a great neighbourhood cafe bursting with fresh and flavoursome locally-sourced food, wonderful coffee and friendly staff.  The cafe has a really unique vibe with it's urban, industrial styling and minimalist approach to the decor.


First order of the day is an Iced Coffee ($4.50) for both myself and The Boy.  The Baron does a really sophisticated, minimalist looking Iced Coffee - not a dollop of cream to be seen anywhere, just a great-bodied espresso poured over vanilla ice-cream. 


The Boy orders the BLAT ($8.50) and I'm surprised at how huge this sandwich is for the small price tag.  Crammed between two thick slices of bread is a mound of crispy bacon, tomato and avocado. It's gone in less than 60 seconds.


Keen on ordering something vegetarian I'm told that the Young Man's Salad (which changes daily) is a Mushroom Bruschetta with asparagus and Persian Feta. Sounds great, but it's obvious from the first mouthful that there's quite A LOT of (tasty tasty) shredded pork and bacon lurking in this Mushroom Bruschetta. Whilst I'm not a vegetarian by any means, I prefer not to eat meat when out and about as I like to eat free-range for ethical reason.  That said, I'm not going to dump a perfectly good meal in the bin if it inadvertently has meat in it - that would be a waste of food, and I'd feel pretty bad that the animal died only to end up in the bin for my "ethics". Turns out The Baron actually serves up free-range pork anyway - from Schultz Butchers in the Barossa Valley.  I'm happy to hear this as that BLAT looks like a good option for next time.

So the long and the short of it - really really good mushroom and pork Bruschetta, with perhaps just a little too much oil drizzled over the salad as a dressing.
 

And who is The Young Man I hear you ask?  You'll see his Polaroid, along with all the other staff members stuck to the back of the Coffee Machine for easy reference. This visual aid might be more for the staff's benefit however as The Baron turns into a small bar once the sun sets over Western Sydney. And who is The Baron? Well, he was the first free-man to own land in this neck of the woods.


The Baron is at Shop 461, 4-16 Castle Street (Castle Towers Shopping Center), Castle Hill.  Like I said though, you'll find them down on Old Castle Hill Road, next to Games Workshop. 

The Baron on Urbanspoon



33 comments:

  1. I saw Suze instagram that BLAT a few weeks ago and if it didn't involve going to Castle Hill, I'd be there. Unfortunately, nothing on this earth could induce me into that particular shopping centre, or to attempt the lack of public transport out there.

    But that is a tasty looking Bruschetta, although it seems so very strange to advertise a salad and not specify that there is meat in it? I can only imagine vegetarian customers being quite put out.

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    1. Castle Hill is pretty far from anywhere really...other than Parramatta! Luckily the cafe is outside the shopping center so we don't even need to go inside. The Bruschetta was just a little mistake by our waitress...poor gal, and the cafe were really good about it. I reckon a vego person would've know just by looking at it that something porky was lurking.

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  2. I did go (sorry never replied to tweet!) and the food was excellent I had blat took my mum and she had grilled vege salad. But the coffee was really disappointing, very ordinary. I've heard it's good though so I will try again. Also the atmosphere just seemed to be lacking, loved the set up though, maybe it was just me that day

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    1. I went back today and had another iced-coffee...it was really great. Obviously the ice-cream helps that along a bit. Great cafe, so glad it's local for us.

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  3. interior of this place looks great and the food looks awesome too... but i can't bring myself to go to castle towers. as always lovely photos!

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    1. You don't have to go inside Castle Towers...and you could even park at the Library and walk up like we did. It's worth it...trust moi!

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  4. food looks great here! i havent been to castle towers in ages - but will have to visit when i am in the hood next time! great photos :)

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    1. Do you come to Castle Hill? That's a mega hike for you guys, but The Baron will make it worth it.

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  5. To be honest I've never venture that far into suburbia and doubt I ever will get to Castle Hill. Without a car it's simply inaccessible for me. Nice looking caf that wouldn't be out of place in Newtown.

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    1. It's a great cafe for locals, but it would be a day trip with an overnight stay for you guys!

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    2. Can't believe all these comments about how far and inaccessible Castle Hill is! 45 mins on the M61 express bus straight down the M2! When I lived in Alexandria it would take me that long or more to get home 5kms away in the city traffice! And when I lived along Maroubra Beach too.

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  6. I'm wanting a BLAT now. You have the best food down there.

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    1. We do don't we...lucky you're a good though so you could whip up an epic BLAT I'm sure.

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  7. such a nice cafe out at castle hill! i'll have to bug my bf who works in castle hill, to try that out!

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    1. If I worked in Castle Hill I'd be at The Baron everyday...

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  8. loving your photos miss P! Also like the dual photos- what program have you used? love it!

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    1. Hi GG...I just place the photos side-by-side in PAINT (in the Accessories folders of all PCs). I'm not very high tech am I?

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  9. P.S. your blog is AWFULly wonderful .. ha ha ha

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  10. The BLAT looks fantastic! I hope that salad wasn't given to you as a vegetarian option, because that would be awful for someone that didn't eat meat!!

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    1. The salad changes every day...poor girl just fluffed up, happens to the best of us (man, it was TASTY though)!

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  11. I'd eat that BLAT in about 60 seconds as well! Not sure I would have persevered for 40 minutes though! You're hardcore!

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    1. I was SO determined to find the cafe...luckily the food came out toot sweet.

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  12. Mmm the BLAT calls to me in my dreams

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  13. Hello BLAT - you will soon be mine!

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  14. I went to Castle Hill once.. can't say I would ever go again. I was lost trying to find the Castle Hill markets and then proceeded to be lost so such a long time :/ The Baron looks great, fab decor, though not sure if I would be bothered to go Castle Hill again lol. The ice coffee is just an afogatto :s

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    1. LOL...the Castle Hill Markets are on Showground Rd. I made The Boy drive me a few times before I was confident to go on my own. I know where you're coming from.

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  15. Ive read lots of great reports about The Baron, but havent got there to try it yet, the food looks amazing!! It is tricky to find if you arent familiar with the area, lucky I live locally and used to work across the road from towers so I know it well, pretty sure that it used to be a dry-cleaners. I don't understand the castle-towers hating from previous commenters though, its a breeze compared to parra westfields or macq centre -plus free parking! It is more difficult if you dont have a car, however you can get a bus straight there from the city :-)

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  16. We got SO lost! And the thing with being lost is if you have no idea where you are you don't even know which way to start walking. We didn't park in Castle Hill (the first visit) as the carpark seems crazy on the weekends (I never park at Westfields either - oh boy, crazytown). The Baron is well worth a visit...great food, friendly owners. I love it there.

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  17. Took us FOREVER to find The Baron too! Us West End Gurls love your blog Miss Piggy! We reviewed The Baron last month, check it out on www.wegwegwegwegweg.blogspot.com
    Young Man's Salad sounds so so good gotta try it next time we're there! Happy blogging :)

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  18. have walked past The Baron and thought it looked great and will go there some day. Am vegeterian though so hop that doesn't happen to me. Understand mistakes can be made but with bacon you know as soon as it hits your lips there's meat in the dish. This will not stop me from going there.

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