Location: 5 stars due to being on quiet Gawler St, walking distance to most of Mt Barker town centre. Kudos to Nick and Lola for securing this prime bit of real estate! The space: 3 stars. I can say that a strong effort has been made to create a OH&S hazard free, cozy atmosphere which accommodates multiple group sizes and singles. It's nice having the opportunity to sit at the window counter and people watch, or even sit outside. The lighting is nice, with those faux antique oversized glowing elements. I have withheld stars due to the white ceiling which was also a bit low. For some reason this bothered me, welcome to accuse me of having poor taste ;-) Also having easier access to the bathroom would help, but they have plans to do this, so this rating aspect is set to change - also due to the fact they're planning to expand upstairs. Watch this space. The food: 5 stars. Nibbles platter was delicious. Turkey bagel was delicious. Ridiculous berry, cream and brownie dessert was ridiculously delicious. The drink: 5 stars. They have something like 15 South Australian gins plus a Spanish one. Who knew any of these places made gin?! Tastes great too. The service: 3.5 stars. Stars were lost due to it taking a slightly noticeable period to serve food. Stars were gained because Nick is able to tell you the origin of basically every ingredient, a significant amount of which is locally sourced. So, it's worth the wait but some may not get the attention Nick gave us. When serving occurred, staff were friendly. Perhaps they could do a visit to each table containing waiting patrons to make sure their waiting is acknowledged, and a blurb about the localness of the foods could be available as a brochure on each table or it could be part of the standard patter of all staff with patrons to impress upon them the significance of the experience, it being a bit of a showcase of South Aussie produce. It's nice to feel proud of your state, and all customers should be given the chance to feel that pride through awareness of the efforts made sourcing produce, drinks etc. This could very easily be 5 stars with a showcasing type adjustment to service. Tourists would also be into it. Summary 4 stars: so proud my home town has developed to the point where it can have a quiet little gin bar. What the hell man. I'll have to move back there.

Went to Toro last night and was amazed at how professional they remained even though they were flat out! My friend and I were served in a relatively timely fashion considering how busy it was, good on you guys -definitely recommend the churros 😊