There are lots of cafés around the place that have a cool bowl of water sitting in the shade to help our canine friends cope with summer, but how many have a separate menu for doggies? DAVID TURNBULL knows of one.
Bittersweet café in Green Square at Kingston would have to be the most dog-friendly café in Canberra.
There are lots of cafés around the ACT that have a nice, cool bowl of water sitting in the shade to help our canine friends cope with the soaring temperatures through summer, but how many have a separate menu for doggies?
Out the front at Bittersweet, you’ll see two boards – one with the menu for humans, and a second for dogs.
And what does it offer? Puppachino (lactose free milk), dairy free and gluten-free Doglato, kangaroo jerky and doggie muesli bars.
Inside there’s an honour roll that we should really call a “rogue’s gallery” of photos of Bittersweet’s canine customers.
Bittersweet’s owner Nabin KC is an unapologetic dog lover.
“When you have a dog, they become a part of your family,” he says.
Growing up in Katmandu in Nepal, Nabin had a labrador named Moli.
“I always felt really close to Moli… and now… I see a bit of her in all the dogs that come in here”.
Nabin came to Australia in 2015 to study accountancy.
Raised in a poor family in Katmandu, he only had the opportunity to study in Australia because his grandmother mortgaged her house to raise the funds.
“I promised her I would pay her back” he says, “and I did.
“Originally, the plan was I would study and return to Nepal, but I fell in love with the lifestyle here, the freedom and I wanted to stay.
“Once I got my diploma, I decided to work to pay my grandma back.
“Still studying, I took on jobs as a labourer, a cleaner, a kitchenhand, removalist… you name it, I did it. I worked and worked and worked.”
By 2021 Nabin had grown tired of the pressure of life in Sydney and moved to Canberra to be near some cousins who’d moved here.
“I just loved Canberra from my first visit,” he says. “I got a job in a café at the airport, then became the chef at Bittersweet.”
And now he owns the place.
Nabin likes preparing good food, but he prefers to have contact with people.
With a welcoming smile, and happy eyes, he is a natural in hospitality.
“I like engaging with people, hearing what they’ve been up to, sharing a joke. It’s just how I am,” he says.
And the dog thing?
“It’s simple. I love dogs. That’s all there is to it,” he says.
“It’s funny, I might not remember every customer’s name, but I remember their dogs, and I remember the customers from their dogs.”
Inside Bittersweet the “rogue’s gallery” is adorned with star lights. The gallery grew so fast, Nabin soon ran out of space, and had to make cards instead. This all happened without advertising or promotion, just from word of mouth.
And the people appreciate good food, good coffee and a genuine smile when they see one. The dogs reckon it’s alright, too!
Some of Bittersweet’s ‘rogue’s gallery’
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