Monday 3 March 2008

Main Beach Delicatessen

The Main Beach Delicatessen has been my favourite spot for breakfast at the Gold Coast for the last couple of years. I certainly haven't tried all the cafes on the coast, but after a few visits here, I just keep going back.

The Main Beach Delicatessen is on Tedder Avenue at Main Beach (surprise). One of the reasons I love to eat here is to sit in one of the window seats and watch the amazing parade of people walking along Tedder Avenue - it's always entertaining.

The deli has just had a major renovation, and the breakfast menu has changed. It's been shortened a little, but the prices seem to be even better than before. Even though its a compact menu, there is a good range of options.

I'd just eaten a fantastic eggs Benedict the morning before at Kingscliff, so decided to go for the bacon, eggs, tomato confit and veal sausages with gluten free toast, a bargain at $12. The poached eggs were perfectly cooked, with deliciously runny yolks. The bacon was also well cooked and I didn't really need the sausages, which made for a pretty filling breakfast.

We also had the roasted field mushrooms with goats cheese, rocket and lemon oil (again crazily priced at $10). We ordered this without the olive tapenade. This dish was presented fantastically, and its quality wouldn't have been out of place as an entree at any good restaurant. It exemplifies that you only need a few quality ingredients, put together with some imagination, to make a terrific dish. It was one of the best vegetarian breakfast dishes we've come across for a long time.

Coffee here is Segafredo. It was $3.50 for a flat white and our coffees were fine.

Aside from their breakfast and lunch menus, there are loads of other deli goodies you can pick up here. At the fresh deli counter there are cold meats, cheese, antipasto, salads and various pastries. Along the other wall of the deli is a great selection of food, covering spices, pasta, oils (we almost bought some argan oil from Morocco), gluten free goods, jams, relishes, sauces, biscuits etc. Since the renovation, the range of deli goods seems to have been expanded, which is great.

Service at the Main Beach Delicatessen has always been genuinely friendly, and the presentation of meals has really picked up. Be warned though, it's not the biggest shop on the coast, and can fill up quickly. If you can't get a table straight away, its definitely worth the wait - in the meantime you can browse through the delicious deli selection.

What does all this mean? Beautiful breakfasts and lunches at low prices and a great deli too.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Great
Ambience - Modern cafe surroundings
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Wine - N/A
Vegetarian - Great
Gluten Free - Good

Main Beach Delicatessen
Shop 10, 14-16 Tedder Avenue
Main Beach 4217
P - 07 5564 0288

1 comment:

Pinky said...

Cool! Thanks, we are heading down for brekky on Tuesday and I was trolling the net for breakfast ideas. Then I realised YOU would surely know a good place!!
Will check it out and report back.