KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
2 Owens Rd, Epsom
We came here because we had heard it had an interesting decor and did a memorable club sandwich.
Parking was a little bit deceptive as we thought it would be plentiful on Manukau Rd but we discovered a string of broken yellow lines and had to drive around the block to Owens Rd which has plenty of parks.
We walked in and immediately thought this place is busy and cramped.
The most unusual thing on the menu was not that unusual but sounded tasty for a lunch option: red quinoa salad with brown rice, cos lettuce, beetroot, carrot, toasted seeds and an umeboshi vinaigrette ($15).
We ordered the standard breakfast fare to put their originality to the test: eggs benedict ($15) with smoked salmon (extra $1.50), and huevos de ranchos (pan-fried Italian sausage with potatoes and tomatoes with two fried eggs, $15) which sounded more interesting than it looked.
The eggs were nicely poached in my benedict but the use of Turkish bread was disappointing - hard and crunchy. The salmon lacked flavour and was unusually cold. On closer inspection we discovered that its lack of colour and waterlogged texture were due to it having been previously frozen. The hollandaise, however, was well made.
The service was friendly and efficient.
The coffee was good and the tea even better, served in a glass teapot with milk served in a charming miniature glass bottle.
We recommend if you come here you check out the specials on the glass boards.
Overall we thought the presentation of the food was disappointing but it wouldn't stop us from returning to try those club sandwiches.
