Phone: (09) 520 0748
Website: bensonrddeli.co.nz
Open: Seven days, 7am-10pm
Cost: $59 for two adults and one child
SET-UP & SITE
A bit of a Remuera institution, Benson Rd Deli has been operating for more than 40 years, 20 with its present owner, and has a prime position on the roundabout intersecting Upland and Benson Rds. On-street parking is easy and there's a bus stop across the road that comes and goes to the city, as buses do.
Perhaps surprisingly for gold-plated Remmers, there was nothing remotely flash about the Benson Rd Deli. We'll be kind and say the place looks well-loved, although we could have done without the flies that almost outnumbered the patrons.
SUSTENANCE & SWILL
Offered between 7am-4pm daily, the breakfast menu is compact (with just under a dozen items), well-priced and unlikely to need any interpretation: muesli ($16), french toast ($14), eggs and bacon ($15.50), mince ($19.50), etc. There is also a decent range of counter food, including lots of baked treats. Our daughter pounced on the banana bread ($4.50) and a strawberry smoothie with yoghurt, skim milk and maple syrup ($7.50). Both got the thumbs-up, and the banana bread tasted fresh out of oven. Flat whites ($4) arrived within five minutes of ordering and were excellent: creamy, strong and with no hint of bitterness.
It's not an exaggeration to say the vege brekky I ordered (free-range scrambled eggs, avocado, halloumi, mushrooms and fried potato, $21.50) was the second most adventurous choice on the menu, just edged out by the beans (chilli beans, chorizo and spinach with a poached egg, $18). The scrambled eggs were overcooked, with the consistency of a whitebait fritter, a scoop of avocado was just that and the mushrooms were watery with a metallic aftertaste. So far, so disappointing. Redemption came in the form of the halloumi and fried potatoes, providing a much-needed hit of salt; both perfectly cooked. My partner's field mushrooms (which came with a tiny drizzle of pesto and a sprinkling of feta, $16.50) were similarly watery, leaving the thick slice of bread they were served on soggy upon its arrival.
