Herald Rating:
The menu was a glorious chalkboard spread of classic breakfast options like free-range eggs ($13 before add-ons), healthy fruit bits ($13 for muesli) and french toast ($17) to more filling-sounding lunch selections like fish and chips ($24) and salmon spaghetti with baby spinach and lemon herb oil ($20).
The look was sunny and spacious, with a quaint vibe. Lovely fresh herbs greeted us out the front of this beautiful historic wooden building. Built in 1938, the old rimu tongue-and-groove walls have been upcycled in to a beautiful big communal table that is the main feature of Catalina.
The food looked simple and delicious - it tasted that way too. I opted for the mince on toast with smashed green peas ($16) and a side of roast tomatoes ($4). It was perfectly seasoned, tasty and I was satisfied. My plus-one was a bit more adventurous and picked the corned beef hashcakes with avocado and bean salad and a mustard hollandaise ($18), which he enjoyed. We also couldn't help but treat ourselves to the cabinet of baked goods and sandwiches (a savoury scone, $4).
The coffee was a specially made Catalina blend of premium grade Brazilian, Guatemalan, Kenyan and Peruvian beans. The staff were so proud of the specialty brew, roasted by Love Shake Coffee at Matakana, they produced the papers to show me all the delicious details of their smooth, caramel coffee. They then brought the coffee beans to our table, sung their praise of our brunch picks and told us a bit about the local origin of the ingredients.
