River Kitchen (2)

Back to the River Kitchen, because it was good last time.  This time, I brought M with me.  The food was better than last time, even. I think I made a nicer choice. I always like the idea of eggs benedict more than I like eggs benedict. Oh well.

This time I had beans and black pudding.  That worked out tremendously.

Mel had salmon and peas on potato, topped with an egg.  This too worked out brilliantly.

It is still good. Their website is still woeful.

http://www.theriverkitchen.co.nz

07 839 2906

email: info@theriverkitchen.co.nz

The River Kitchen

My brother was passing through town, so we hit up The River Kitchen for brunch.  Bright and early, so it was easy to waltz in off the street for a seat inside. (It filled up completely while we waited for coffee, however.  And the coffee was promptly delivered)

Coffee is good; well made and nicely decorated.

O gets baked eggs.  Served with nicely crisped bread, it is a generous serving, and he reports that is is good.

I go for eggs benedict with bacon.  The eggs are well cooked, the hollandaise is just about perfect. The bacon is perhaps not the best, but it isn't bad.

Service was efficient and the place is nice.  Its a bit cold for the outside seating, and you will be outside if you get there late (we arrived at about half past 8, Saturday morning). There were a good range of things on the menu, and not just your normal breakfast fare (although, we did go for pretty standard options).  I would happily come back.  It might be a while, just because I still have so many places I haven't been to once, but hey.

Also, their website is woeful:
http://www.theriverkitchen.co.nz/
07 839 2906
email: info@theriverkitchen.co.nz

Mavis & Co (Redux)

A quick lunch at Mavis & Co with M.  Counter food only, which was a little bit disappointing, but tasty savoury pastry will soon cheer one up.  I had a steak and cheese pie (such a kiwi, right?), while M had a sausage roll.  Both were served with a nice beetroot relish.

Unsurprisingly, Mavis & Co delivered.  Nice meat, great pastry, well cooked, well presented.  One day I will get here with camera for a more detailed review. I'm thinking breakfast might be a plan. Well, brunch.

Website is here.

Momento Espresso

There are a few of these places around.  I like coffee shops which stay open late at night.  There is nothing worse than searching for a cafe that is open after 4pm.  Happily, the University and Victoria St versions of Momento are pleased to give me coffee later than that.  The Victoria St one will even feed you dinner and give you (local, tap or bottled) beer.  Good stuff.

Their coffee is good, but not great.  Their locations are super convenient.  Their service is nice.  Case in point. M and I had coffees and a slice of the carrot cake (pictured below) to share.  They cut the piece in half and brought it out on separate plates for us.  Very kind, easy for them to do (not much more work than the standard tactic of grabbing a second fork), and produces a good impression. This was at the University of Waikato version of the cafe.

The cake was clearly worth it.  Nice and moist, well spiced, good flavour on the icing.

 Caramel slice, from the Victoria St version. Nice biscuit crumb topping.  Good and rich.

Website is here.

Mavis & Co.

Just a brief stop in for coffee and a scone. I will want to come back and try more things here because the food all looks exceptional. The scone I had was bacon, chive and ... cheese of some sort. It was really good. Soft and fluffy, nice flavours, well heated with good butter.

The coffee, when it came was good. But oh man it took a while. Over 20 minutes. Sure the place was full, but they might have mentioned it would take this long. Scone was a distant memory by the time coffee happened.

I think, coffee-wise, Mavis & Co. is a victim of its own success.  They need another coffee-machine, but they need more space to do that.  I can handle the wait for the tastiness of their food though, and will happily be coming back.


Mavis & Co.
475 Grey St, Hamilton East
(07) 856 8715
http://www.mavis.co.nz/