Friends suggested this humble cafe as a place to meet for Saturday brunch and though I’ve passed by this place one zillion times, I’ve never stopped in. The outdoor tables are all filled so we grab a comfortable one inside, but not before James shows me the intriguing table and swing-out chairs in the back underneath the large flower plant wall arrangement: with Nepalese or Indian writing, perhaps something from a South Asian train station? A beautiful object, though uncomfortable seats, apparently.
The coffees were great. Nice and strong. We jumped in and ordered the special. $18 each for a breakfast platter with everything on it. This could have been a dangerous move: too much food, or a stodgy variant of an all-you-can-eat buffet. But it did have everything on it, and nearly everything was pretty good: those fantastic industrial hashbrowns like you get at McDonalds, with a good helping of scrambled eggs (yum), tasty sausages, ripe avocado, some mushrooms, feta, and little bacon and egg sliders (yum). And on top, some perfectly toasted banana bread, a chocolate-covered biscuit and ice cream!
OK. We had criticism. The toast should have been buttered. We had to ask to get plates cleared to have a final coffee (and even then, it was only half-cleared). It would have been nice to have the dessert (and ice cream) served last so the ice cream didn’t melt. And probably some small bowls to divide the ice cream up (rather than the plates we got). But it was still pretty good, and a lovely morning, and you can’t get more Newtown than this: people streaming out of the train station and going to the train station and all passing in front of you while crossing King Street, as the traffic zooms towards you and away from you at the same time.