Brunch review: The Glass House Cafe, Northcote

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Address: 7/3 Akoranga Drive, Northcote
Ph: (09) 419 5652
Online: theglasshousecafe.co.nz
Open: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 8am-3pm
Cost: $38 for two (with one dish complimentary)

SET UP & SITE

We were excited to discover a cafe had opened in this part of the suburb, which unlike its other half, Northcote Point, had been long-overlooked by brunch establishments. The Glass House has spring up in the building that previously housed the Fox Outlet Centre (and for those with longer memories, before that it was a Palmers Garden Centre). The origin of the name is immediately obvious - on entering, customers are surrounded by foliage and hanging pot plants, and light streams through clear ceiling panels. However, the side opposite the counter sadly features industrial-looking panelling and doors to the neighbouring business.

SUSTENANCE & SWILL

The all-day menu offers seems fairly standard fare, with a few twists to take it up a level, such as the tempting "Earthly Feast" of forbidden black rice porridge, pear au vin rouge, dried berries, drizzle of coconut cream and pistachio crumble. But on this visit we opted for the "Upbeat Eggs Benedict", served on brioche with beetroot-cured salmon and bearnaise ($21 - the other option was coconut and lemongrass braised pork belly with jalapeno hollandaise); and the "Polenta and Veges Stack" - a polenta cake with grilled vegetables on a romesco sauce with olive crumble ($18) and a side of streaky bacon ($5). The coffee, as we waited, was from Green2B beans and did the trick nicely. Our meals, along with a side of tasty kumara chips ($8), arrived attractively presented. The vege stack was delicious and delivered a well-matched combination of flavours. The eggs benny, however - a sort of salad-style affair with the poached eggs on top - proved to be the low point of the morning. The salmon was delicious but the eggs were cold - unable to withstand the salmon and salad below, it seemed.

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SERVICE & OTHER STUFF

The staff were very obliging, offering to make amends for the cold eggs, but since the dish as a whole was fine, my companion stuck with it. They did however, remove it from our bill and seemed appreciative of the feedback. It will be interesting to see how the Glass House develops - the menu is "seasonal" and there's a wide variety of coffees, teas and smoothies on the drinks menu.