Going the full monty at Cafe Nush in Borrowdale.

Cafe Nush in Borrowdale, a place where you will never regret

A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff

AT the weekend, breakfast takes on a whole new meaning. Forget about the Weetbix and banana or the bowl of oats and slice of toast that fuels your day from Monday to Friday – the weekend is time for the big splurge and a full monty breakfast at your favourite restaurant.

There was a time when the Italian Bakery in Avondale was a favourite hangout. Espresso coffee, strong and black, made by Cobra, the barista at the time, was second to none. Eventually the IB changed owners, and metamorphosed into Nush. I never got to know Nush, as by this time we had left the hood. Almost a year ago, Nush opened another branch at the larney Village Walk shopping mall in Borrowdale. It was time for a visit, so last Saturday morning George and I arrived at Nush, hoping to catch up with Borrowdale’s beautiful people while indulging in a full English breakfast.

The decor at Nush is modern, and the chairs comfortable. If you sit near the window you can check out comings and goings in the car park, and observe shoppers making their way to Pick n Pay, TM’s popular flagship supermarket. At 10 o’clock in the morning, Nush was less than a quarter full, but a steady stream of shoppers filed in and out of the supermarket.

A pleasant young waitress took our orders – Deluxe Breakfast of fillet steak, two eggs, roasted cherry tomatoes, sauteed potatoes, pan fried mushrooms and toast, $13.80 for George. Reluctant to spend double figures on breakfast, I asked for Petite Breakfast of one egg, roasted cherry tomatoes, pan fried mushrooms, macon and toast, $7.50. While we waited we read the daily newspapers from the rack, and sipped hot cappuccinos served within minutes of ordering.

In case you’re wondering, macon is made from beef or mutton cured in salt and is therefore a halal alternative to bacon. A young lady in a group of teenagers studying the menu nearby, declared authoritatively that macon was ‘fake bacon’.

Breakfast arrived promptly, attractively served on grey, triangular-shaped plates. While the food looked as pretty as a picture within the plate’s isosceles borders, there was little room to manoeuvre and the sauteed mushrooms fell off the short side of the triangle as I cut into the macon.

Knives and forks were tightly wrapped in two flimsy squares of paper, secured by a sticker. It was impossible to remove the sticker without ripping a hole in the paper napkin, which then served very little purpose. The majority of restaurateurs seem to have formed a cartel restricting the use of linen napkins, and offering diners scraps of tissue paper instead.

Although ‘roasted cherry tomatoes’ had been substituted with a large slice of tomato, I enjoyed my well-cooked Petite Breakfast, and my first taste of macon. Disappointingly, margarine was served instead of the advertised butter for the toast.

George’s Deluxe Breakfast was largely a success, although the baked beans were served at room temperature, without any seasoning. While the slice of tomato was attractively draped with dainty pea shoots, it did not make up for the lack of the much anticipated cherry tomatoes.

Was it the lack of butter, or because the toast was toasted only on one side? Or the fact that I had to retrieve mushrooms from the table every time I wielded my knife and fork? Whatever the reason, although Nush isn’t likely to become my new favourite hangout for breakfast, it would be interesting to check out the croissants and Danish pastries on another occasion.

Cafe Nush
Village Walk
Borrowdale Road
Tel: 8677 172 548
Comments to: cmalakoff@gmail.com