Open: Mon-Tues 7am-4pm; Wednesday-Saturday 7am-10pm; Sunday 8am-8pm
Phone: (09) 360 3397
Online: garnetstation.com
We spent: $58.50 for three
Set up & site: Housed in a semi-converted bungalow next to Westmere Primary (yes, it does get busy at drop-off and pick-up time), Garnet Station has none of the sleek lines of neighbourhood competitor Seabreeze down the road, instead it has a retro/mismatched cutlery/ "have I just walked into someone's living room?" vibe. Once you make your way past the entry to the cafe, with its appetising counter food (everything from teeny cupcakes to house-made pies and salads), the cafe gradually unfolds with a series of small rooms with old-school tables and chairs. The main room has a comfy window seat and sofa and a box of kids' toys (though co-owner Verity George, will remind your children, very politely but directly, to pack them away after playing if they don't do it off their own bat — and good on her).
On a cold Sunday morning, it was well-heated.
Sustenance & swill: I've eaten here dozens of times, but almost always at night, when they do excellent pizzas (go for the Seaside with garlic prawns, parmesan, parsley pesto and capers). Brunch is a vegetarian-friendly but still quite old-school affair: we had a big breakfast ($18 for two eggs with toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, organic bacon, halloumi and a pork and fennel sausage), a vege delight ($19.50 for two eggs with toast, mushrooms, baked tomatoes and spinach, gluten free homemade hash browns, halloumi and borlotti baked beans) and pancakes ($16.50 with maple syrup, caramelised banana and bacon), washed down with a coffee and complimentary sparkling water. All three dishes were tasty – and huge – though the winner was the pancakes, fluffy but still moist, and the bacon, whose salty, crispy badness was off the charts. The organic flat white ($4.50) was fine but had a slight metallic aftertaste.
