The Lott, Cooma

The Lott, Cooma

The Style: The Lott in Cooma has that clever knack of being both trendy and rustic, cutting edge and cosy. It is a mish-mash of rough, warm wood and wicker baskets full of fruit clashing with bright,garish splashes of colour and the most amazing light fixture made of collanders and bare bulbs. The Lott has a wine barrel topped with free tasters of the gourmet oils, sauces and breads which are sold there as well as cupboards and shelves heaving with fresh fruit and veges, homewares, gardening gear, plants and of course, plenty to fill your tummy with over a Snowy Mountains Coffee.

Warm interiors and open kitchen, The Lott, Cooma

The rustic touch, The Lott, Cooma

The Taste: The Lott serves up a pretty high class menu - lots of nice ingredients teamed up in simple but delicious combinations. On a good day, the food at the Lott is faultless - just the other day I had some of THE best pancakes I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, it isn't always this way - I have also been dished up a pile of dry crumbs posing as a muffin (although I suspect this was the fault of the disinterested teenage waiter who microwaved it for way too long, forgot to bring it out and then, after a gentle prompt served it cold.) I do think that you are more likely than not to get good food here but I wish it hit the mark every time because then it would be a seriously great place to eat rather than a good one which has the occasional slip into mediocrity. And one last thing, the mushrooms at The Lott are cooked in olive oil - not a scrap of butter to be seen. Biting into a mushroom to have a big squirt of oil coat your mouth is not too pleasant and so hopefully they might switch to butter soon!

'Breakfast with the Lott', The Lott, Cooma

Scrambled eggs and mushrooms, The Lott, Cooma

Smoked trout eggs, The Lott, Cooma

Strawberry and ricotta pancakes, The Lott, Cooma

The Service: Like the food, the service at The Lott can be amazing one day and horrendous the next. The more experienced staff do a great job and really keep the place ticking over. The problem is, there are a lot of bored, disinterested looking kids floating around the floor some days which makes you feel like the service at McDonalds is something to cheer about. The Lott expanded a while back and it is great that such a place exists but beware for the service to see-saw depending on who comes to your table.

Free tasting - The Lott, Cooma

The Price: The food at the Lott is a little more expensive than an average Cooma cafe and on a good day when a perfect combination of really good ingredients comes your way, it is worth every cent. There have been a couple of times where I have thought that the pricing hasn't matched the service or the food but the good meals and experiences are starting to outweigh the bad so hopefully this is a sign that the management are ironing out some of the teething problems which the expansion may have created. Lets just hope The Lott didn't get too big for its super-trendy boots!


The Location: The Lott is located at 178 Sharp Street (Snowy Mountains Highway), Cooma.

Homewares for sale, the Lott, Cooma

Kuma Pies, Cooma

Sweet cabinet, Kuma Pies, Cooma

The Style: Kuma Pies is a cosy pie and pastry shop. It has cabinets bursting with morsels that make your mouth water just to look at them. The shop's decorations have an African theme and the dining area has bright cushions stacked on the lounge-style seat which runs along two walls. There are also a few tables outside where pooches are welcome to join their humans for a snack.

Pie cabinet, Kuma Pies, Cooma

Cherry danish, Kuma Pies, Cooma

The taste: This is definitely not the place to come to if you are on a diet. Nearly everything on offer involves either lots of pastry, lots of sugar or lots of both! But if you have worked up an appetite after a day skiing or if you just feel like a good breakfast to to start the day, Kuma pies will have something for you. The pies are good with a stack of flavours on offer but for me, the sweets are the thing - my all time favourite is the cherry danish with tart, sour cherries and the smoothest creamiest custard wrapped in crunchy, flaky pastry. There are several danishes, tarts, biscuits and cakes on offer so if you have a sweet tooth, you have some tough decisions to make. Kuma Pies also do coffee and tea to wash everything down. Interestingly, Kuma Pies has been rated at number 2 on the list of restaurants in the Snowy Mountains by Lonely Planet (Click here for the Lonely Planet review).

Vanilla slice, Kuma Pies, Cooma

Fruit tart, Kuma Pies, Cooma

Flat white, Kuma Pies, Cooma

The service: Friendly, fast and fun. Kuma Pies is open weekdays and Saturday mornings.


The price: The pricing at Kuma Pies is on par with your average pie shop or bakery.


The location: Kuma Pies is located on the main street of Kuma - it is at the southern end of town.

Ham and cheese croissant, Kuma Pies, Cooma

Butter croissant, Kuma Pies, Cooma

Puppies welcome! Kuma Pies, Cooma