Caffettaria Allpress, Freemans Bay

By BRENDA WARD for canvas

Point 1. Behind Victoria Park Market sounds a dull place for a cafe.

Point 2. A cafe with a name that's pronounced like "cafetaria" hardly sounds alluring.

Point 3. I couldn't find it.

But despite points 1 to 3, I'm glad I made the effort to effort to look for it again late one Saturday morning.

Caffettaria Allpress shares a building with the so-minimal-it's-barely-there furnishings store Apartmento in Drake St, which runs behind Victoria Park Market.

It's tiny and the bulk of the cafe is a serving counter that runs the length of the room, with a massive coffee machine towering over customers.

It's soon apparent that they don't do traditional brunches here - no big breakfasts, eggs benedict or pancakes - but each of the menu items is a treat for brunchers of all ages.

Even stick-thin models will find something to inhale: a smoothie ($5.50) that's a breakfast in a glass, a blend of fruits, including banana, berries and kiwifruit, and exceptionally yummy.

Bruce ordered a Gruyere and prosciutto croissant ($4.50), which he said would do for lunch for him.

My country sandwich ($5.50) was crunchy toasted wholegrain bread around tuna, boiled egg chunks and chopped olives, a tasty and healthy bite.

The little lemon syrup cake ($3) Fraser spotted in the cakes cabinet was so delicious he and his brother had another each.

Drinks, a freshly squeezed OJ ($3.50) and two coffees ($3 each) were superb, and, after all, Allpress is best-known for its coffee. As we sipped the last delicious drips at a stone bench outside in the watery sunlight, we agreed the appeal was not the view, of the back of the market's carpark.

But we will return for another light brunch and make a day of it, after cruising the stalls across the road.

Hours: 7-4pm weekdays, 7.30-4pm on Saturdays.

Service: Restrained but efficient.

Ambience: Minimal, cool, restful.

Parking: Three dedicated spaces outside if you're lucky, otherwise a carparking building across the road.

* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, party places and entertainment in canvas magazine, part of your Weekend Herald print edition.