The Flavour Report with Derek Goforth: Reviewing the American-inspired menu at Geraldton’s Hog’s Breath Cafe

For the same reason I resisted reviewing Dome Cafe in Geraldton, I have put off visiting and reviewing Hogs Breath, as I felt our locally owned and run eateries should get priority. But a lot of people have sung the praises of the American-styled restaurant and have asked why I haven’t said anything about it. So off we went for a quick bit to eat before the cinema. We needed to be in and out in under an hour, so I was hopeful the service would be quick. To be honest, I cannot fault the service at Hogs Breath one bit. For a “chain” restaurant they really do offer a local, family-friendly atmosphere. Both the young lad greeting us and taking us to our table to the supervisor who spoke to us on the way out — the service standard was top notch. As for speed, the food was at our table within 15 minutes of walking to our seats — again I can not fault them. We decided on a few appetisers for this visit, with garlic bread (with cheese), curly fries and the finger food combo (which had calamari, chicken tenders, filo prawns and loaded potato skins) all with a few dips thrown in. The garlic bread was honestly the nicest I have ever tasted. It must have come straight out the oven to our plates. It was hot, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and enough cheese and garlic to give it a real flavour hit. The chips were exactly as they needed to be — hot, crispy and salty. Not many of them, but we did order appetisers, so we didn’t expect huge portions. The finger food combo was a bit of a letdown however. Most of the stuff on offer could have just come from IGA and been reheated on the day, with the exception of the squid. The calamari was exceptional — crisp, soft and packed a real pepper punch. The dips themselves were a nice addition, plenty of them and the server replaced one when asked. At more than $50, even for appetisers it was on the expensive side, but I do believe you pay a little extra for the “American” experience too. If you didn’t want to travel out to Chapman Valley for your American type fare, I would recommend giving Hogs Breath a try as a close second. And if you like your garlic bread, you are most certainly in for a treat!