2 Owens Road,
Epsom
Auckland,


(09) 630 9397

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Picture this - it's a horrible rainy Sunday in January. I'm staying with friends in New Lynn (cafe-free zone...) and the decision is made to try a cafe for brunch that we've never been to before. This is harder than it sounds mainly because my friends have been everywhere and done anything. Annoying, but admirable. However, we were in luck. Given that I needed an 'early in the alphabet' cafe to go to, we aimed for Gala. For reasons that will become apparent in a couple of weeks, we never ended up eating there so scooted down the road to Espresso Workshop.

I can see Espresso Workshop's charm - it's pretty much on its own where it is and is small enough to be comfortable. But I would have thought on a rainy Sunday morning, it would have been packed. There aren't many tables there, but we got one almost straight away. Luck? Maybe ... maybe not.

Have you ever had that feeling of finishing an underwhelming meal and wishing that you could immediately go somewhere else to try and salvage something good from your day? That's exactly how we felt after our breakfasts. They were all good on volume, but lacking in small ways that added up to disappointment all round. All of our poached eggs were semi-hard, the champagne ham side was way too dry and the hollandaise on the Eggs Bene was almost tasteless. It's a shame as the mushrooms were fantastic. We should have said something but the stomach ruled over the head by this stage, so we plowed on.

The coffee was their own roast (they do three blends - black, white and green), but it didn't really hit the mark, being too bitter for my taste. A really good coffee should make you go 'oh my god, I want another one'. We all only had one each and went elsewhere for another. Never a great sign.

If the breakfasts lived up in flavour as much as they did in volume, then we would have gone away reasonably happy with the visit. But after the lapses with the food, staff who were polite but didn't listen and were desperately keen to get the plates off your table (2 of us are still eating, love!) AND coffee that didn't push the right buttons, it definitely won't be a rush back for me or my eating buddies.

Metro loved this - I'm not wowed at all. Inflated expectations on my part, or have they just got it wrong? I'm starting a tally.

The details: 2 Owens Road, Epsom. Phone 09 630 9397

A Flat White costs: $4.20 for a large one

Must Try: The mushrooms - plentiful and tasty