Cafe Crema – https://www.zomato.com/auckland/cafe-crema-symonds-street

Reviewed by Fi Fi – January 2016

The Place:

You can sit on couches or dine at tables and chairs, inside and outside this large inner-city cafe.  There are magazines or even a TV for entertainment.  This is one of a number of Cafe Creme’s in Auckland.  There was a large blackboard menu as well as plenty of counter food such as pies, sandwiches and hot food selections.  There was a friendly vibe and the atmosphere was welcoming.

The Service:

The staff were okay, but not really into delivering exceptional customer service.

The Presentation:

The hideous design on the plate nearly overshadowed the dish.  The eggs were underneath the salmon which I found annoying and the eggs were sitting atop soggy lettuce and bland panini.

• The Montreal – was disappointing.  The way the food was plated and accompanied by soggy lettuce was just plain weird.
• The Eggs – were okay.
• The Salmon – there was a lot of salmon and it tasted good.
• The Avocado – this side saved the dish from being a total disaster!
• The Hollandaise – I was surprised that the menu said this was homemade hollandaise as the flavour tastes such like the bottle sauce.
• The Hash brown – sadly, this was not very crunchy, but at least it was hot.
• The Panini – I thought this was an odd choice for a bene.  The panini was bland which was no surprise.

Would we go again?

No I would prefer to try other places that I have not been to before rather than make my way back here.  There was nothing wrong as such, it’s just that I was not wooed by this place.

Scorecard:

Style: Classic 5/10.

Taste: 4/10. The meal was not the best I have had.  I did not eat the lettuce and the panini.

Originality: 5/10 – The menu says that this dish comes with a salad, however in reality the salmon is on a bed of lettuce.

Value: 5/10. $15.90 is pretty okay.  The avocado was a side and cost about $3.

Eggs: (how good they were): 5/10.

Overall score: 5/10

Location: 71 Symonds Street, Auckland.