Saturday 15 March 2008

Moray Cafe

Moray Cafe has been pulling in loyal diners for years, situated in a great spot under a giant fig tree in New Farm.

Over the years I've eaten here for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food is usually tasty and well-priced. On this trip we went for breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. As usual for this time on a Sunday, the place was pretty busy. We went for a seat inside, as there were a few dogs out the front which I wasn't really keen on sitting next to. I don't really see why dogs need to come to cafes for breakfast, but that's just me.

After sitting down, we were told by our waitress that there would be a 20-30 minute wait for our breakfasts, which we weren't too worried about at that stage.

The breakfast menu is pretty compact, and good value. If you're not after a savoury breakfast, try the French toast of golden crusted brioche with baked peaches and vanilla syrup ($13) or the bircher muesli with Greek yoghurt and honey ($10).

There are also plenty of savoury options, including bubble & squeak - roast pumpkin, sweet potato, tomato, peas, corn, halloumi, hollandaise and Vienna toast ($12), smoked salmon with rocket, dill mayonnaise, lemon oil, scrambled eggs and sourdough ($13.50) or the eggs benedict served with ham and hollandaise on an English muffin ($12).

Unfortunately they don't have any gluten free bread, which cuts down my breakfast options, but I decided to order the chorizo, goats cheese and caramelised onion omelette ($12) with a hash brown ($3 extra). I'm always on the lookout for something new to try for breakfast, and the omelette sounded particularly appetising. We also ordered the forest mushrooms, served with rosemary & garlic and brie and truffle dressing on sourdough ($12.50) with some added tomatoes ($3 extra).

Unfortunately, there was then an inordinate wait until our meals came out. If we had been told that the wait would actually be 45-50 minutes for our two orders, then we would have gone elsewhere. The tables on both sides of us both waited similar times or longer for their breakfasts and were looking as frustrated as we felt. We've never had to wait so long on any previous trips to the Moray Cafe, so hopefully this was just a small service blip rather than an ongoing problem.

When the food eventually came out, it was very good. The omelette was perfectly cooked, and the chorizo, goats cheese and caramelised onion all added differing tastes and textures. The tangy goats cheese was particularly good. The omelette was a great match for my crunchy home-made hash brown, which together was a very filling breakfast.

The mushrooms were also delicious, with at least three varieties of mushrooms adding to the overall taste. The tomatoes turned out to be roasted cherry tomatoes, which make a nice change to what many cafes have on the menu for breakfast.

The drinks menu covers coffee, juices and some tasty frappes - the pineapple and mint frappe makes a great start to the day.

The Moray Cafe is a perennially popular place, and both our breakfasts were delicious. However, the service delay was so long that by the time the food came out, we both just wanted to leave. If they can improve the breakfast service times, it would be so much more enjoyable.

What does all this mean? Beautiful breakfasts in a relaxed setting, but the service was terribly slow.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Poor
Ambience - Relaxed, casual tables outside or a more modern setting inside
Value for Money - Good
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Limited breakfast options

Moray Cafe
Shop 1, 158 Moray Street
New Farm 4060
P - 07 3254 1342
E - themoray@moraycafe.com.au
W - http://www.moraycafe.com.au/

Moray Cafe on Urbanspoon

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