About our Cafe
Finding your way into town is easy, a short detour off the South Gippsland Highway and you’re in Loch, nestled between green rolling hills, dairy farms and pastoral livelihoods, a mix of pretty painted shop fronts and there at its centre is Olive at Loch.
Behind the bright olive green door you’ll discover a little bit of country life, a worn table surrounded by friends, the smell of fresh baking and good coffee, sounds of chatter and tinkling of cutlery on pretty china. The atmosphere is warm, as if stepping into a busy farmhouse kitchen. You are greeted with smiles and a welcome, time given to chatter about your day and discovery of Loch. Then, as plates empty and contented tastebuds wait to refresh, a decadent display of sweet dessert already enticing them, there is a pause, and for a moment you are part of the story; ‘Olive at Loch’.
how to find a Cafe
The story begins …
Rob and I loved to get away, so we bought a kombi van and named her Olive. We decked her out like a little retro camper and she took us on some great adventures, surfn’, relaxing. It was the end of a weekend and we were heading back home. We stopped for a coffee at Loch – and bought the shop. It’s not hard to understand, really. We just fell in love and ‘Olive at Loch’ was born.
What we love at Olive at Loch Cafe
We love our town and its community and support everything Loch from the yearly Wine and Food Festival to the monthly Loch Market. We are a great cafe and a quirky gift and homewares store with a wide selection of kitchen, home and pantry items and gift ideas plus local produce, tasted and tested in our own kitchen, available for you to purchase. We offer catering for functions, picnic hampers and takeaway ploughmen’s platters, so you can eat with us, or anywhere in or about town. We also love to do high teas, please see our High Tea and Function page for all the details. Book a table for you and friends. There are lots of things happening in our little district and we cater for many local groups and gatherings, as well entertaining our visitors from far and wide. We look forward to seeing you at Olive at Loch.
Gifts and Homewares
The cafe and homewares store is filled with country fare. Time worn timber shelves hold quality gifts and interesting delights; books on baking, tin trays, platters and plates, enamelled water jugs, cups, tea-towels and stray baskets. With raffia and paper you create a gift, add a couple of local jams, chutneys, cheeses or a honey pot and fresh baked treat for a gift to share your discovery of Olive at Loch.
Baking with fresh local ingredients
We love to create, the kitchen is her artist palette and the heart of Olive at Loch. In the morning the oven is warm and the first batch of egg and bacon pies rests upon the counter as a hot tray of scones is slid onto the wooden boards to cool. With mixing bowl and wooden spoon she ponders over recipes, a collection gathered over years as cook in catering and cafe. She chooses something special for today, or will she be swayed by the favourites of her patrons. Frittatas and pies, tarts and focaccia, soups, salads and proper, home-made style, sausage rolls and savoury scones. There is always something to inspire the lunch appetite, and with the rich smells of warm fruity scones, tea cakes and slices lingering in the afternoon, there is plenty to fill in the gaps.
