Brunch: Mozaik, Rosedale

Mozaik cafe. Photo / Michael Craig

Address: 61 Constellation Dr, Rosedale
Phone: (09) 476 3344
Open: 7am-5pm weekdays; 8am-5pm weekends
Cost: $46.80 for two
Online: mozaik.co.nz

SET-UP & SITE

Many moons ago my brother-in-law was a chef at Mozaik. The cafe became our "local", our comfy slippers place where we could put our feet up and relax among friends. The brother-in-law has long moved on but Mozaik remains our breakfast spot for a can't-be-bothered-cooking Saturday brunch. So on a rare Saturday when the teenager was home, awake and convivial, off we went.

It's still on the corner of Constellation Drive and Parkway Dr and still as invisible
as ever. Unless you know it's there you could drive by, oblivious.

And it was like coming home: a smile of welcome and the "take a seat" invitation, the immediate arrival of a glass of water and menu. My daughter immediately complained of being freezing but I ignored her, although we moved one seat to the left, where she felt much better. Later, I noticed a woman sitting to our original right was wrapped in a blanket. Mother of the year rides again.

SUSTENANCE & SWILL

My daughter orders eggs benedict ($18.90). She's an aficionado. We make bene before school, picking lemons from the tree, fetching the eggs from the chicken and churning the milk from the cow into butter (okay, only the lemons bit is true). She is proud because her uncle added the hash brown to Mozaik's version (although that could be a family legend). I, too, order eggs benedict - but then change my order. Sorry, I tell the waitress, I want the Istanbul omelette ($18.90) instead. She smiles and changes the order without further ado. Excellent.

My cappuccino and her mochaccino (both $4.50) arrive. We're happy.

The eggs benedict is quickly inhaled. I tuck into my omelette I ordered to get out of my bene comfort zone but the bene is more "out there" than the omelette. I had been hoping for the exotic taste of Turkey and, although the sujuk (Turkish sausage) adds a touch of spice, it is just an omelette.

Eggs benedict with salmon at Mozaik cafe. Photo / Michael Craig

SERVICE & OTHER STUFF

Everything arrives as quickly as ever, although that may be because the cafe is less crowded than it used to be. We put that down to inadequate signs.

It's nice to chat afterwards without being harassed by staff. So what did you think, I ask junior reviewer, as she licks hollandaise from her lips. Well. There could be fewer coffee pictures. The counter is too crowded. The salt and pepper shakers could be nicer. For 10 minutes she shares her opinions on everything from music videos playing on muted screens (the crowd is too old for that) to the colour of the chairs on the deck (too faded) before adding, "So, same place next week?"