Brunch at Meow Cafe

Last weekend Bon Jovi played in Wellington, and a friend of mine came up from Christchurch with her boyfriend for the concert. Catching up with old friends is great, and it's even better over yummy food so we arranged to go for brunch. I put the word out on Twitter that I was seeking a good spot for French toast and promptly got two independent responses (including one from the lovely Laura from Hungry and Frozen, who obviously has great taste!) recommending Meow Cafe.

It was a gorgeous day - spectacularly sunny - so we commandeered an outside table and started lapping up the rays (after plastering on a good coating of suncream - I am about as pasty white as they come and burn quicker than you'd believe. Actually, though we had come prepared the waitress came out to offer us suncream just as we were slathering it on - that's service!).

Some of our companions ordered coffees and they were served in Crown Lynn teacups - super cute. My grandmother has quite a lot of Crown Lynn, so I recognised it straight away - the colour is pretty distinctive!

Mr Cake ordered the gingerbread pancakes, and I ordered the french toast, as planned, which came with lemon curd and raspberries. Both of these are gluten free, as are many of the other options on the menu - in fact, apparently every item can be gluten free. Our friend is gluten and dairy free and she was accommodated without any trouble at all - so a great spot for those with intolerances.

Mr Cake's gingerbread pancakes were spicy, definitely gingery (yum!), though slightly lacklustre in the way GF food often is - just lacking in body, a bit soft and flimsy. They were yummy, though, especially with the perfectly balanced forkful of pancake, blueberry and marscapone.

My French toast was scrummy - I loved the fruity combination, tangy lemon curd and zingy raspberries. I am so over bacon and bananas on French toast; maple syrup (so long as it's real) is great, but I never really liked bacon with my breakfast, so I was pretty pleased to see this fresh version. It was scrummy and sweet, and was perfectly balanced by the fabulous company of our friends.

I reckon Meow is a great spot for a weekend brunch; their menu had quite a few slightly different options, as well as their accommodating items for those with intolerances - something for everyone, including my insatiable sweet tooth. ;-)

So do you prefer the sweet options for brunch, or do you go more for the savoury side of the menu?

Meow Cafe is located at 9 Edward Street, Wellington, ph 04 385 8883