The menu is French favourites, featuring lots of baking and cheese, very reasonably priced and hard to choose between - we could have gone for a croque madame ($13.50), an omelette ($12.50) or even just a baguette with housemade jam ($9.50). There are also sweet and savoury crepes and rowsof glistening baked temptations behind glass.
The look is small and sunny, in a courtyard hidden just behind the bustling brunch strip of Ponsonby Rd. The petit cafe is just five months old. We look forward to lapping up the morning sunshine come spring.
The food was good, but needed way more warmth. My handmade croquet croissant ($10.90) was puffy and buttery, with thick ham and lashings of bechamel, just the way I like it. However, I wish I'd been there earlier to eat it fresh from the oven. The side salad, necessary to cut through the richness of the white sauce, lacked love - the promised vinaigrette absent. My partner's big brekky ($19.90), like my own, had all the makings of brunch perfection, but the sausage roll and Provencal-style beans were not hot enough, making it lacklustre.
The coffee was a highlight, my mocha smooth and sweet enough that I'd make a return visit just for it.
The service was delightful. The newest recruit on the Ma Cherie roll call was a sweet young French woman, full of smiles and fresh from the south of France. Cafe owner Guillaume came out to work his magic, mingling with patrons.
Overall, the service is stand-out and the coffee delicious, we will come back, but we want a heads-up when Guillaume is pulling his perfect pastries from the oven next time.
