This was our second attempt to come here for brunch. Last time we met at 10.30 and all tables were taken and there really wasn't any movement. We went elsewhere. Last weekend we arrived at 9.30 and we got a table, so it pays to come early.
I had already decided what I wanted the week before, I was excited to order the pikelets with lemon curd, cream fraiche and caramel sauce, (this has changed to berries). LV ordered the Canadian toast with banana, pecans, maple syrup & bacon. We enjoyed both, however the wait was unbearable, it was too long. We waited over half an hour, and it wasn't that busy.
The coffees were strong and hot and there was no wait for them, they were served in smaller cups though.
The decor really makes this place, the mural paint by numbers on the wall is great and really brings back childhood memories of spending hours trying to paint within the lines thinking you are creating a masterpiece. The counter food, well the huge meringues with cream & berries look amazing, so does the coconut ice. The menu is definitely enticing and worth coming back for if you can cope with waiting. In summer the outside tables will be great.
Rating:
Food: 4
Service: 3 (the wait was just too long)
Ambiance: 5
Coffee: 4
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Salta, Ponsonby
This was not our first choice of cafes, but we were pleasantly surprised. I used to work across the road from here years ago when it was Atlas. I love the name change for those die hard Ponsonby fans who hate changes to their eating establishments. The service was great, so friendly and relaxed, really made you feel welcome. I ordered the M.O.P, I asked at the counter if this was mince on toast, even though they had another mince on toast on the menu, I just couldn't think what it would stand for. Mushrooms on toast! So not up with my abbreviations! I chose to have the mushrooms with the kidney's. LV had the same, mush on toast is her favourite cafe dish. She had without kidneys. ES had the spinach bacon and potato hash with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. This would have been my choice as it is my favourite, but I cant order it every time and then blog about the same thing, different cafe! Maybe my next blog can be a cafe comparison, the search for the best potato hash.
Our food came out fast which was great, our mushrooms were done with a rich cream sauce and ciabatta toast, I would have liked bigger pieces of toast, these were quite small and I still had sauce and mushrooms left over and they were really nice on the toast. ES's potato hash looked great and she said it tasted amazing, just the right amount of hollandaise and the eggs were nice and runny.
The coffees were a little weak but hot and came out quickly.
Most of the tables were full so they definitely can handle a crowd.
Rating:
Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 4/5 (only because they asked if we wanted another coffee and ES did but we never got it, the waitress was so apologetic)
Our food came out fast which was great, our mushrooms were done with a rich cream sauce and ciabatta toast, I would have liked bigger pieces of toast, these were quite small and I still had sauce and mushrooms left over and they were really nice on the toast. ES's potato hash looked great and she said it tasted amazing, just the right amount of hollandaise and the eggs were nice and runny.
The coffees were a little weak but hot and came out quickly.
Most of the tables were full so they definitely can handle a crowd.
Rating:
Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 4/5 (only because they asked if we wanted another coffee and ES did but we never got it, the waitress was so apologetic)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Harallambi Heaven
I cannot disclose the location of this fantastic private invite only cafe, I must say to get an invite is a privilege.
We arrived to freshly made coffee followed by slow cooked eggplant with tomatoes & spinach, fennel sausages, rosemary spuds & poached eggs on gluten free bread. Everything was cooked to perfection. The eggplant was soft and infused with tomato, the fennel sausages were outstanding with the perfect amount of fennel laced through them, free range too. Of course the eggs were poached to perfection and the potatoes crushed and slightly fried.
If you want to appreciate a breakfast cooked with love like this one, you can sample some of the finest breakfast fare at Kings Court when it opens for the ski season, you will not be disappointed.
We arrived to freshly made coffee followed by slow cooked eggplant with tomatoes & spinach, fennel sausages, rosemary spuds & poached eggs on gluten free bread. Everything was cooked to perfection. The eggplant was soft and infused with tomato, the fennel sausages were outstanding with the perfect amount of fennel laced through them, free range too. Of course the eggs were poached to perfection and the potatoes crushed and slightly fried.
If you want to appreciate a breakfast cooked with love like this one, you can sample some of the finest breakfast fare at Kings Court when it opens for the ski season, you will not be disappointed.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Annabelles St Heliers
I decided to venture over to my friend LV's area for breakfast. Her sister had been to Annabelles before and liked it, she suggested Orvieto in Three Kings and that was fantastic so I was willing to try Annabelles.
The position is great, right on Tamaki Dr with views over the harbour. It wasn't busy and we got a table right by the window. The breakfast menu is small, it did have the usual, pancake (not pancakes), big breakfast and eggs benedict. I had the big breakfast and LV had the chicken sandwich from the lunch menu. We were both surprised they allowed us to order from the lunch menu at 11.15.
My big breakfast was ok, the english sausage had a hint of a herb in it and was good, the eggs were great but I felt like the whole breakfast lacked something, but I wasn't sure what. LV's chicken sandwich was just that, a chicken fillet on foccaica and lettuce, to me it looked a little dissapointing.
The decor here is a little confusing too, and I think that is what throws you when you come here. The walls are covered in a light brick type tile and down the back is wooden veneer, but it's the roof that really confuses you. It is a wave of plastic interwoven, it looks like waves but not, very early 90's. The whole place just doesn't blend well and is confusing. The wait staff are friendly but I felt like they were standing around by the counter just waiting for customers.
On the plus side the coffees were great.
Rating:
Food: 2.5
Ambiance: 2 (I just couldn't get past the decor but the view was great)
Staff: 3
Coffee: 4
The position is great, right on Tamaki Dr with views over the harbour. It wasn't busy and we got a table right by the window. The breakfast menu is small, it did have the usual, pancake (not pancakes), big breakfast and eggs benedict. I had the big breakfast and LV had the chicken sandwich from the lunch menu. We were both surprised they allowed us to order from the lunch menu at 11.15.
My big breakfast was ok, the english sausage had a hint of a herb in it and was good, the eggs were great but I felt like the whole breakfast lacked something, but I wasn't sure what. LV's chicken sandwich was just that, a chicken fillet on foccaica and lettuce, to me it looked a little dissapointing.
The decor here is a little confusing too, and I think that is what throws you when you come here. The walls are covered in a light brick type tile and down the back is wooden veneer, but it's the roof that really confuses you. It is a wave of plastic interwoven, it looks like waves but not, very early 90's. The whole place just doesn't blend well and is confusing. The wait staff are friendly but I felt like they were standing around by the counter just waiting for customers.
On the plus side the coffees were great.
Rating:
Food: 2.5
Ambiance: 2 (I just couldn't get past the decor but the view was great)
Staff: 3
Coffee: 4
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Orvieto Cafe, Mt Eden
We met at this cafe at 11.30 and it was heaving, there were no tables free so I waited by the magazines for a table and my friends. JV had eaten here before and highly recommended it to her sister LV, so we were looking forward to a great brunch. We were not disappointed.
It didn't take long to get a table at all and seeing the other diners orders coming out I was impressed by what was on their plates. JV ordered the omelet with hash browns instead of toast. The omelet looked good and came topped with caramelised onions and 2 huge hash browns, JV said this was her favourite meal here. LV ordered the creamy mushrooms on toast, her only complaint was the mushrooms weren't hot enough. I ordered the the hash browns with bacon and eggs any style, I had poached. These hash browns are the best I have ever had, they are home made, shredded potato and thick wedges of pure crispy delight.
The cafe was packed and we were so impressed at how fast our orders came out. The service was great and you could tell they are used to being this busy with their efficiency. What I liked about the service was we were not pressured to depart our table once finished even though there were people waiting.
Our coffees were hot although I thought mine was a little weak.
This cafe is great, the food is fantastic and the service excellent. We had food envy when we were leaving seeing the other diners meals. We will be back.
Rating:
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ambiance: 4.5
Coffee: 3.5
It didn't take long to get a table at all and seeing the other diners orders coming out I was impressed by what was on their plates. JV ordered the omelet with hash browns instead of toast. The omelet looked good and came topped with caramelised onions and 2 huge hash browns, JV said this was her favourite meal here. LV ordered the creamy mushrooms on toast, her only complaint was the mushrooms weren't hot enough. I ordered the the hash browns with bacon and eggs any style, I had poached. These hash browns are the best I have ever had, they are home made, shredded potato and thick wedges of pure crispy delight.
The cafe was packed and we were so impressed at how fast our orders came out. The service was great and you could tell they are used to being this busy with their efficiency. What I liked about the service was we were not pressured to depart our table once finished even though there were people waiting.
Our coffees were hot although I thought mine was a little weak.
This cafe is great, the food is fantastic and the service excellent. We had food envy when we were leaving seeing the other diners meals. We will be back.
Rating:
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ambiance: 4.5
Coffee: 3.5
Monday, May 17, 2010
Benediction Cafe Newton
This is one busy cafe on a Sunday! Trying to find a table was hard, there were some outside but it had just poured down with rain so there was a lot of sharing tables under the awning.
Downstairs seemed quite frantic, queuing to order with people asking about seating and wanting to order, yet being sent away to see if there are tables first, makes it a frantic narrow area.
The menu board is hard to read, the writing is small and cramped, I thought I was ordering Red fennel hash cakes, I was told by my friends it was red flannel hash cakes. Because we were being rushed to order (not a nice experience because I didn't read the board completely) I thought it also came with bacon but when I got my order it was huge chunks of a cabanossi style sausage that really tasted like luncheon sausage and brought back bad memories of school lunches.
JC ordered french toast and said it was soggy.
LV ordered gluten free toast with smoked samon, cream cheese and capers. She enjoyed it and it was a good serving.
The coffees were mild and warm not hot.
All in all not a great time. I will also warn you about the carparking, it is near impossible around this area.
Rating
Food: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Service: 2
Coffee: 2
Downstairs seemed quite frantic, queuing to order with people asking about seating and wanting to order, yet being sent away to see if there are tables first, makes it a frantic narrow area.
The menu board is hard to read, the writing is small and cramped, I thought I was ordering Red fennel hash cakes, I was told by my friends it was red flannel hash cakes. Because we were being rushed to order (not a nice experience because I didn't read the board completely) I thought it also came with bacon but when I got my order it was huge chunks of a cabanossi style sausage that really tasted like luncheon sausage and brought back bad memories of school lunches.
JC ordered french toast and said it was soggy.
LV ordered gluten free toast with smoked samon, cream cheese and capers. She enjoyed it and it was a good serving.
The coffees were mild and warm not hot.
All in all not a great time. I will also warn you about the carparking, it is near impossible around this area.
Rating
Food: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Service: 2
Coffee: 2
Saturday, May 8, 2010
23 Cafe Mt Eden
I had Friday off so of course I headed out for brunch. I have been here before on a Sunday and enjoyed the food and coffee but the service was extremely slow.
I must say the counter food at 23 looks amazing. Their salads and pasta dishes are enticing and their turkish bread sandwiches and rolls are filled with sumptuous fillings. They are well priced too. The slices look good too.
I had the eggs royal, 2 poached eggs on potato cakes with hollandaise sauce. The eggs were good a little runny, there was that white runny part(not a fan), the potato cakes were tasty, subtle flavours of onion and herbs coming through.
The coffee was perfect, strong and hot. This has been one of the strongest coffees I have had in a while, it was great, not too strong or bitter.
I was the only one eating at the time I was there, just before 12 and my meal still took a while to arrive, this is the only complaint though.
Their cabinet food is definitely tempting and I really like the layout of this cafe, its interior is uncluttered and the outside courtyard is great.
Rating:
Food: 4
Service:3.5 (only because of the slow service from the kitchen, the waiters were great)
Ambiance:4
Coffee:5
I must say the counter food at 23 looks amazing. Their salads and pasta dishes are enticing and their turkish bread sandwiches and rolls are filled with sumptuous fillings. They are well priced too. The slices look good too.
I had the eggs royal, 2 poached eggs on potato cakes with hollandaise sauce. The eggs were good a little runny, there was that white runny part(not a fan), the potato cakes were tasty, subtle flavours of onion and herbs coming through.
The coffee was perfect, strong and hot. This has been one of the strongest coffees I have had in a while, it was great, not too strong or bitter.
I was the only one eating at the time I was there, just before 12 and my meal still took a while to arrive, this is the only complaint though.
Their cabinet food is definitely tempting and I really like the layout of this cafe, its interior is uncluttered and the outside courtyard is great.
Rating:
Food: 4
Service:3.5 (only because of the slow service from the kitchen, the waiters were great)
Ambiance:4
Coffee:5
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