Cafe Next, Rozelle

While I love experimenting with new restaurants for lunch and dinner, I am always a little more cautious when it comes to breakfast venues. If I have a disappointing breakfast I feel like I've started my day on the wrong note. As we were picking up an overseas friend who was staying in Leichhardt I decided to go outside my comfort zone and try somewhere new. My first step was to call our Leichhardt dwelling friends who I would trust implicitly for restaurant recommendations. Without pausing for breath they recommended Cafe Next in Rozelle. I looked on Eatability and the reviews and rating seemed to confirm their enthusiasm so the venue was decided.

We ordered coffees immediately, closely followed by the food. I went for the Mediterranean Eggs - scrambled with pesto, tomato and feta. The food all arrived at about the same time but I wish the same could be said for the coffees which arrived in three separate deliveries - you'd think they needed to re-use the cups as we'd finished the first batch before any others arrived! We also ordered a babycino to entertain the monkey (yes - she's so Eastern Suburbs....) but we had to ask three times before we received it.

Mediterranean Eggs $13

My meal was slightly disappointing - the portion was ample but not massive and the eggs were pretty bland considering all the components -the feta was pretty rubbery when I expected a more crumbly cheese. Our overseas friend ordered the buttermilk pancakes with banana which were fantastic and all other food ordered was good.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Banana

While the food was pretty good the service really let this place down for us. The coffee situation was pretty average plus on arrival we asked if they had a high chair for the monkey, the slightly sullen waitress said she would go and see. As a frequent cafe diner, the monkey knows the score when she's in a high chair - she sits quite happily for as long as there is food to be eaten. Without a high chair she is more like a caged animal as she's too small for an adult seat and being on our laps isn't ideal for anyone. As we never heard back we assumed there was no high chair so were disgusted to see one being brought out as we were leaving. As the waitress would have seen the struggling monkey throughout the meal, I can't belive she'd forgotten our request. Despite the decent food I don't think we'll be returning....

Does service make or break cafes/restaurants for you?