Brunch: Divan House Cafe, Auckland CBD

Divan House Cafe, Queen St, Auckland CBD. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Herald Rating: 3/5
Address: 95a Queen St, Auckland

We came here because Divan has an all-day breakfast menu so we could pretend it was morning as we sat down to our first meal.

Parking was ... it's the city so you either use paid-parking or catch public transport. Living in a nearby apartment is quite handy, though.

We walked in and immediately thought that the place had a definite European feel. Probably due to the Parisian-style red-checked cane chairs outside in the alleyway.

The most unusual thing on the menu was the Turkish breakfast, $16, made up of sliced tomato, cucumber, olives, homemade feta cheese, boiled egg, pide bread and jam.

We ordered eggs bene with salmon ($17), which was a very accomplished version, hard to find fault - next time I'd be keen to try the vege version (spinach, mushroom and avocado). And the creamy mushrooms with bacon on toast ($16.50) which was plentiful, rich and so delicious that when it came to the half-way swap, I refused to relinquish it.

The service was very prompt.

The coffee was just how we like it. Long blacks came with a small pot of extra hot water each, without having to ask, and the coffee itself was rich and intense.

We recommend if you come here that, if you sit outside, you try to ignore the graffiti and detritus in the alleyway from weekend revellers.

Overall we thought that Divan has a unique vibe, reliable food and gets a big thumbs-up from us late-risers for the all-day breakfasts.