Olaf's Artisan Bakery & Cafe, Mt Eden

Olaf's Artisan Bakery & Cafe, Mt Eden. Photo / Richard Robinson

Herald Rating: 4/5
Address: 1 Stokes Rd, Mt Eden

We came here because we used to live across the road when they were building this new development in Mt Eden Village, and wanted to check out the newest addition to the area's cafe scene.

Parking was a challenge, as it always is in the village, but we didn't do too badly considering it was a busy Sunday morning.

We walked in and immediately thought Olaf's is nice and spacious, with plenty of seating and lots of delicious-looking food in the counter cabinets, all of it freshly baked on-site. A nice touch is the big window into the kitchen, where you can see the goings-on.

The most unusual thing on the menu was the scrambled eggs with chopped chives on Olaf's bread with black truffle ($16.50).

We ordered pain de campagne with citrus salmon, cream cheese and onion jam ($11.50), pain au levain with bacon, cream cheese and avocado ($9.50) and a toasted roast beef and onion jam sandwich ($9.50). All were excellent, though the servings are not huge.

The service was right on the ball.

The coffee was so good, and served with a small glass of water. It is, however, a little on the pricey side - a large flat white is $4.70.

We recommend if you come here you leave some room for a piece of cake or one of the danishes, and take some of their specialty bread home with you.

Overall we thought Olaf's is a great addition to Mt Eden Village which, to be honest, has needed a breath of fresh air for some time. The food is good and the coffee excellent. The lunch menu also looked worth a try.