Good times at the Snug Café

  • In a bank of snow on the Snug patio a person warms themsevles by a closed brazier with a brave little fire inside
  • A group of revellers raise a cup in the warm yellow room of the Snug Cafe
  • Lights in the Snug glow as snow surrounds the little wooden building
  • A couple of chess players in the Snug courtyard contemplate the posision of their two-foot-high chess pieces
  • Drummer Buff Allen, multi-instrumentalist Rob Bailey and supreme guitarist Teun Schut are crammed into a tiny alcove of the Snug.
  • Men with shades collected under a sun umbrella smiling
  • A chef at the Snug smiling by the stove in cozy lighting
  • Familiar old faces of local islanders in front of the Snug
  • Four golden-agers crooing.

There’s nothing corporate about The Snug. It’s a family establishment that serves gourmet food and drink in a funky old building with wooden floors, where people share stories and ideas is an atmosphere of good humour and warmth. It’s a favourite meeting place on Bowen for the locals and visitors alike, and a hub for people just arriving or waiting for the ferry from 5am to 4pm every day of the week. People arrive on bikes and in yachts, by ferry and kayak, on foot and horseback.

Beyond its normal role as the living room of the community, the Snug also hosts wedding receptions (for which it provides top-notch catering), charitable events, music nights, Robbie Burns Day scotch tastings and even giant chess games on the patio. The Snug is always humming.