The Esplanade

We headed over to Eastern Beach on Sunday 26th for a friends birthday get - together. On arriving I was glad to see the Esplanade cafe so close so once the kids were settled I headed over to grab 4 x coffees for me and friends. The cafe had 1 x group of 6 eating and another table waiting so didn't think the coffees would take long, so I ordered 4 x coffees and waited....and waited. After 15 minutes I asked how long the coffees would be, as I did this a man on crutches who had been sitting at the bar next to where I ordered said to the waiter, "get somebody to f**king help on this machine..". My lukewarm coffees arrived a few minutes after this. I asked for a carry tray to be told that they didn't have them. I can only assume that the man on crutches was the manager/owner however at no point did he acknowledge me or apologise for the delay. One other thing, they are the smallest 4.50 coffees I have ever had the misfortune to order in 14 years if living in Auckland. Avoid at all costs!!!

I've had one breakfast and two dinners at The Esplanade, found the food great, service friendly and the atmosphere lively and inviting, although a waitress did get a coffee and hot chocolate mixed up once, but they were super apologetic and fixed the situation immediately! The food presentation is faultless and I ate the perfect steak there on Friday night, so what's not to love?

With its prime spot on Eastern Beach, The Esplanade seemed like a great choice for Sunday brunch on a blustery Summer's day, perfect to watch the 40+ kite-boarders playing in the surf. Its stream-lined modern decor and great wall art ensured comfortable surroundings whilst we perused the menu and ordered our coffees. The service was pleasant enough but the food was disappointingly average (particular when the price is taken into consideration!). When paying $4/glass for juice, I would expect freshly-squeezed OJ and grapefruit juice but I recognised the sweet concentrated taste of a supermarket branded juice... hmm! The pancake stack wasn't much better - the pancakes did not appear to be made in-house (another supermarket brand similarity with hot cakes here!) and the bacon was under-cooked (not in a "not-crispy" kind of way, but in a "not-cooked" kind of way!). When paying nearly $20 for my brunch, I expect more than off-the-shelf hot cakes, a few diced apples/pears and some under-cooked bacon!The Eggs Benedict itself wasn't too bad (how can you go wrong with a muffin, poached egg, wilted spinach and smoked salmon?!) but it was smothered in hollandaise sauce! Now I know that the very nature of an Eggs Benny is the hollandaise and I like my hollandaise, but this was swimming in it! A little less, or the sauce in a wee jug would have been preferred and made the meal much more pleasant. And how was the coffee? If I'd ordered a cappuccino, then it would have been fine. But when I order a Flat White it's because I don't like froth and the very nature of a Flat White is that it's 1/3 coffee espresso and 2/3 hot milk with a splash of froth for decoration! This was most definitely a cappuccino (ie. 1/3 coffee espresso, 1/3 hot milk and 1/3 froth). I would suggest that some barista training for their staff is in order! Altogether, our trip to The Esplanade was a disappointing affair for a local cafe/restaurant that I had high hopes in.