Good grub for river rats
At Rivers Cafe, Alastair Paulin discovers honest food made with pride and care for hungry paddlers.
Like so many Canterbury folk, I made the trek to the top of the south over the summer break. Having spent many years living there, I am all too familiar with the road over the Lewis Pass and my family has its food traditions along the way.
This time we spent a night in Murchison, which I highly recommend, and with the Commercial Hotel – once home to giant burgers – now closed, we headed to Rivers Cafe for dinner. On the warm evening before New Year’s Eve the place was packed with families from what sounded like all around the world, and diners spilled out onto the outdoor tables.
Rivers Cafe is a funky former garage, and the decor nods to its past with an old bicycle hanging from the ceiling and hubcaps high on a wall. But it also has solid wooden tables made from giant flitches and comfortable oversized wicker chairs. The decor is eclectic: a collection of olive oil cans and dried flowers grace one corner while the rock garden outside is great for energetic kids.
The wait staff were sun-kissed and friendly and gave the impression that they spent their days kayaking the wild rivers that give the cafe its name and Murchison its special character.
We took a table, were given menus and told to order at the counter. The modest paper menu was supplemented by plenty of offerings from a blackboard menu but the cabinet food was off limits for dinner.
My largest teenager and I briefly wrangled over who would get the lamb shank and who would get the steak but there were enough choices to keep everybody happy. Given how busy it was, we were not surprised by a long wait for our meals and our friendly server swung by to tell us she had checked with the kitchen and our meals were on the way.
This is not the place to go with a dainty appetite. The plates came piled high, built for people who had been paddling all day (as opposed to people who’d sat in a car most of the day).
My lamb shank ($30) was as falling-off-the-bone tender as expected and came with a kumara mash that needed more seasoning and a salad with too much raw red onion that was on the 1970s hippie cafe end of the spectrum. But it was fresh and plentiful.
The teen chose the other vegetable options with his $32 steak – fries and sauteed vegetables, which were tasty, just crunchy courgettes, capsicums, broccoli and carrot. In retrospect, kumara mash and vegetables would have been the best choice to go with the mains. The steak was medium rare as ordered but could also have used more seasoning.
A burger ($18) came on a giant bun, with a fried egg, mushrooms, grilled onions, lettuce and tomato. The pattie was tasty but a bit buried by the over-large, dryish bun.
My wife’s tabouli salad ($18) came loaded with shredded chicken but again had too much raw red onion and could have used more of its dressing.
Chicken nachos ($17) for the youngest boy turned out to be the star. It was well-balanced, loaded with tasty chilli beans, chicken, cheese, chilli sauce and sour cream. Despite his tender age, the youngest is the nacho expert of the family and pronounced these the best he’d ever had.
I tasted, tasted some more, agreed with his assessment, and he was lucky to get the plate returned to him!
Dessert was a selection of excellent milkshakes, loaded with icecream and flavour, and we wandered out into the warm breeze full, well taken care of and happy.
Sure, there was room for improvement on some dishes but this was honest food made with pride and care, served in a charming space with warmth and hospitality.
For a small-town cafe on one of the busiest nights of the year, that counts as a win.
If you do find yourself overnighting in Murchison, a bonus delight is the Sweet Dreams French bakery across the street from Rivers Cafe. I was the first customer in the door at 8.30am on New Year’s Eve for a warm pain au chocolat that rivalled the best I’ve had. This small gem tends to run out of pastries before closing time, so be in early.