First Look: Fox and Bow Red Hill

Posted on 19 December, 2022

The beloved Farrer icon has opened a second café at the Red Hill Shops and, yes, Spanish Eggs are on the menu.

Eagle-eyed southsiders recently spotted a new resident at the Red Hill shops and we can now reveal it as the second iteration of beloved Farrer café Fox and Bow.

It’s been a quiet first week for the café as far as news and social media go, but that’s because the café itself has been anything but quiet. When word quickly spread that the new resident was helmed by Canberra hospitality legends Alex and Nicole Piris and son Jack, it was all they could do to keep up with demand—and it’s not hard to see why.

With the promise of the same team, same menu and same vibes as their beloved Farrer café, Fox and Bow Red Hill is a breath of fresh air for Red Hill residents, making the most of the views out across the leafy suburb, with an expansive outdoor seating area that’s perfect for groups and families. A once quiet local shops, Red Hill has seen a reinvigoration in recent years thanks to the Red Hill SupaExpress and Red Hill Butcher, building a local hub that Alex and Nicole are excited to add to.

“The beauty of this space is the view,” says Alex, gesturing to the greenery visible from the café’s wide windows. “And the outdoor seating area is just made for summer.”

The size is likely the only real difference between the cafés. Fox and Bow Red Hill is almost double the seating capacity of Farrer, Nicole’s interior design skills transforming the long cafe into an airy space filled with white panelled wood, sage accents and a sweep of teal tile.

“Fox and Bow’s atmosphere has always been very down to earth,” says Nicole. “But this has been a chance to create an expanded, slightly grown-up version for another community.”

However, some things don’t need to change. In music to the ears of fans of Fox and Bow’s Spanish-inspired fare, the Red Hill café will have the same menu for the time being, meaning inner south fans can spend less time spent travelling to get their hot little hands on a Foxed Benedict (jamon serrano croquettes—heaven), The Bomb Eggplant Toastie or Casablanca Salad (a firm HerCanberra office favourite).

Alex adds that the only notable change comes in the form of coffee from Melbourne’s Axil Roasters, whose team recently took home the title of 2022 World Barista Champion.

The best story about the café, however, has to be its fairytale inception. While the Piris family had been keeping an eye out for a second Fox and Bow location, it almost wasn’t Red Hill that was chosen. In late September, Alex and Nicole had dropped their daughter off nearby and stopped into the SupaExpress, happening to walk past the space.

Immediately recognising the potential, they contacted the former owners and after just five weeks of hard work courtesy of Jack and his colleague Dan of Fox & Hammer Projects, the results of that fated supermarket run speak for themselves.

“Right place, right time,” smiles Alex. For him, the café is a true reflection of his family—from his passion for food and community to Jack’s construction talents and Nicole’s interior vision.

While they’re chuffed with the results of their hard work (and the warm welcome from the locals), Alex says his main goal is to foster community connection with a new neighbourhood.

“For us, what’s the most important thing is the connection you make with your locals and how it evolves over time. We’ve been in Farrer for eight years and we love our connection to community. We can’t wait to do that here.”

Photography supplied