Reviewed by FiFi, June 2019
The Place:
The seating is centred on the inside although there are tables put outside when weather permits (although there were none we we went here). This place is renowned for its Vegan options. There is lots of yummy cabinet food to chose from, Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free , salads, burgers, pizzas and more. There are four Bene options to chose from. The Benedict/Florentine (with bacon and spinach); the Montreal (with salmon and avocado); the Vegetarian (with avocado). There was also a Mashed Avocado and haloumi menu selection that you could easily add hollandaise to for another version. There were not many sides to choose from and they ranged from $1 to $8. This place lacked vibe.
The Service:
The staff were nice but seemed quite rushed even though the cafe was less than half full.
The Presentation:
I would have to say that this was a first for me. The salmon was presented as a ‘rose’. A great deal of pre-planning and preparation had gone into the overall presentation. Details such as the choice of stark white pottery plate, the carefully placed greenery to the perfectly spaced sauce that was meticulously splotched on the perimeter of the plate did not go unnoticed.
- The Montreal – it looked amazing. But it was very very filling.
- The Eggs – the eggs were slightly overdone and on the cooler side. I suspect too much time was taken to present the dish.
- The Salmon – looked fabulous. There was a generous portion of it.
- The avocado – was very sparse. You could barely see it let alone taste it.
- The Hollandaise – was lovely, but there wasn’t enough of it.
- The bread – the sourdough bread was slightly undercooked and ended up tasting and looking a bit stale.
Would We Go Again?
I wouldn’t make a special trip to frequent this cafe again. If I was in the area I would try something else on the menu.
Scorecard
Style: 6/10 – Classic.
Taste: 6/10 – the meals tasted quite nice.
Originality: 5/10 – It was great to see vegetarians options on the menu.
Value: 7/10 – the Benes were fairly priced. The Vegetarian (with avocado) was $15, the Benedict (with bacon and baby spinach) was $17, and the Montreal (with salmon and avocado) was $18. The mashed Avocado option was also $15. There were not many sides to choose from and they ranged from $1 to $8.
Eggs: 5/10 – were slightly overdone.
Overall score: 6/10