Herald Rating:
Having driven past this cafe en route to visiting family many times, we decided to make Catroux our destination at last. The locals of Westmere are obviously well aware of its existence - the cafe was packed, inside and out. Luckily a couple were just waiting for takeaway coffees and a lovely waitress transformed the table into a four-seater.
The menu was unfortunately placed on a large board near the entrance, unreadable from where we were sitting. Card menus would be useful here, as it was not near the till for ordering purposes either. But the choices were enticing, from the healthy (a fitness bowl, for example, of raw spinach, kale, alfalfa, toasted seeds, grilled haloumi, avocado, pear, tahini and free range poached egg) to the indulgent (french toast of Kohu Road coconut rum icecream, peach crumble, caramelised banana, bacon and maple syrup).
We ordered the B.I.G, essentially a big breakfast of eggs, freedom-farmed bacon, slow-roasted tomatoes, Westmere lamb and rosemary sausages, plum chutney, little cajun potatoes with parmesan and sour cream with ciabatta ($22); organic mince with crispy chorizo, sour cream, shaved parmesan and ciabatta ($18.50); the kumara and sage rosti, which came with prosciutto, babaganoush, rocket, a poached egg and saffron aioli ($20.50); and the scramble, soft scrambled eggs with za'atar prawns, feta and spring onion, with homemade toasted cornbread and chilli jam.
The mince and the scramble were winners (the cornbread was delicious) but the poached eggs on the other two meals were overdone and the rosti soggy in the middle.
The service was excellent and helpful - from the table procurement to the prompt delivery of water, coffees (People's brand) and hot chocolate to the smiling delivery of meals.
Overall we thought it was a shame elements of our meals were less than satisfying, however the salads and cakes in the cabinet looked very tempting.