European, Melbourne
6 May 2009
17 Comments
Breakfast has never been so good
I know this might sound like a bit of a daft thing to do, but on discovering it was a long weekend, we bought tickets to fly down to Melbourne… to eat. And I know this is a bit late in coming, but the subsequent posts from me will be detailing our gastronomic weekend in Melbourne.
I’ve never had eggs benedict before and thought that I couldn’t go wrong having my first taste of it in Melbourne, being the supposed food capital of Australia and all. I found European on Breakout Melbourne and their review made it sound quite promising.
I think we came at the height of the breakfast period at 10:30 am, as there weren’t many free tables left and we were seated near the back (I was so sad! It was gorgeous outside and the photos would have turned out so much better).
My lamentations stopped when I realised we were seated right next to the service window. We could see the (seemingly disembodied) heads of the chef and kitchen hands busily working away, with the chef tersely asking for things to be done or if it was done.
Glimpse into the kitchen
It was kind of cool to hear the chef gently berating his cooks for not communicating and one of the waitress for taking plates all willy-nilly.
Eggs Benedict ($17.50)
I was so excited when the eggs benedict was placed in front of me. I’ve seen pictures of eggs benedict and this in comparison was completely unadorned, but it didn’t need any flashy garnish to make me fall in love with it. I absolutely adored the slightly tart and wholly creamy hollandaise sauce generously served on top of sunny-side up eggs that slowly dribbled yolk all over the place once they were pierced.
It’s funny how preferences change over the years – I use to hate runny eggs as it would gross me out, but that somehow changed and now I totally love mopping up the yellow gooey mess with my buttered toast (toasted English muffins in this case).
Goat's Cheese Omelette ($16)
The goat’s cheese omelette, to be quite honest, didn’t sound all that nice or looked all that impressive, but boy, it was delicious! Proving once again never to judge a book by its cover. There was a hint of a goat-y edge, but it was mostly creamy smooth, going awfully well with the perfectly cooked omelette.
We ordered sides of spinach and portebello mushrooms to go with the omelette, which also went so well with the dish.
Anywho, I would have to say the servings at European are more than generous, we were so full after that – even though it didn’t look like a lot. The service is fast, mostly efficient, and friendly. While the food took just a bit longer than expected to come out because they were so busy, it was definitely worth the wait.
I am determined to find a place in Sydney that makes eggs benedict better than, or at least on par to, the European… that is, if I can rouse myself out of bed one of these cold mornings. Any suggestions of places we might try? =)
The European
151 Spring St.
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
Ph: (03) 9654 0811
Web: http://www.theeuropean.com.au/
Betty
Arwen from Hoglet K
shez
Simon Food Favourites
Forager
Miss Honey
foodie-central
FFichiban
Di || 
gobsmack'd || 
muhahah!
squishies
Joyce || 
Foodlover
Alaric || 
The food at this place looks down to earth and somewhat homely. I’ll have to check it out if I’m ever in Melbourne for breakfast.
Sorry, can’t recall where I’ve had really good eggs benedict here. I would have said Bill’s but I get the feeling that they don’t serve it there. It’s been so long since I’ve last been.