Saturday, April 19, 2008
Epicure: Auckland Cafe Review
Today we tried Epicure in Upper Queen Street, not least because they have a deal for the rest of April so when you buy one breakfast you get another free! Otherwise the prices are "city-centre" and allow for extras like 50c for a long (not short) black or 70c for soya milk.
The parking is, even on a Saturday early, not good. Though as it was before 9:30am we managed to score a spot round the corner (just as well as it was drizzling). Inside the cafe is well designed and feels spacious. I am not sure why they also label it as a delicatessen, it does not seem to stock much in the way of sausages or cheese to buy and take home. The menu is restricted, and we stuck with the Big Breakfast. It was pretty standard, except: the bacon was good, the potatoes needed longer in the pan/oven to make them different from boiled spuds, the mushrooms would have been better with just the herbs (rosemary and thyme - no sage I think ;) and not a basil pesto as well (OTT). The eggs were great! The biggest surprise was the sausages, they tasted strange, almost as if they were going off :( So overall a very mixed reception.
The coffee was bitter - even through the soy cappuccino despite all the milky stuff - though they did make the long black not too long and serve hot water to add. It was so bitter that I am sure the average cup from our home machine is noticeably better.
The coffees came quickly, but our food took a long time (I think we must have got lost, or the cook had popped out for a smoke when we arrived, everyone else seemed to get theirs quicker).
So, in conclusion -
Service: Variable
Food: Variable
Coffee: Fair
[to Del.icio.us]
Today we tried Epicure in Upper Queen Street, not least because they have a deal for the rest of April so when you buy one breakfast you get another free! Otherwise the prices are "city-centre" and allow for extras like 50c for a long (not short) black or 70c for soya milk.The parking is, even on a Saturday early, not good. Though as it was before 9:30am we managed to score a spot round the corner (just as well as it was drizzling). Inside the cafe is well designed and feels spacious. I am not sure why they also label it as a delicatessen, it does not seem to stock much in the way of sausages or cheese to buy and take home. The menu is restricted, and we stuck with the Big Breakfast. It was pretty standard, except: the bacon was good, the potatoes needed longer in the pan/oven to make them different from boiled spuds, the mushrooms would have been better with just the herbs (rosemary and thyme - no sage I think ;) and not a basil pesto as well (OTT). The eggs were great! The biggest surprise was the sausages, they tasted strange, almost as if they were going off :( So overall a very mixed reception.
The coffee was bitter - even through the soy cappuccino despite all the milky stuff - though they did make the long black not too long and serve hot water to add. It was so bitter that I am sure the average cup from our home machine is noticeably better.
The coffees came quickly, but our food took a long time (I think we must have got lost, or the cook had popped out for a smoke when we arrived, everyone else seemed to get theirs quicker).
So, in conclusion -
Service: Variable
Food: Variable
Coffee: Fair
Labels: auckland_cafes
¶ 2:34 PM
[to Del.icio.us]
