Seabreeze Café – A walk on the spicy side for lunch

Seabreeze Café is appropriately not far from the upper Waitemata Harbour, and located in the Westmere shopping village.

For a long time it has been my regular Friday lunch venue with a good friend of mine. The spacious interior offers a variety of small tables that can be joined together, plus some sunny window seats, and a number of outdoor tables for al fresco lunching, or those with doggy pets.

The menu is varied and veers gently into the spicy side. Also,  refreshingly it doesn’t feature the usual café menu suspects like Eggs Benedict and French Toast. Cabinet food offers salads and a variety of mouth-watering filled rolls and sandwich options.

The printed menu all at about $20 – includes Banana & Rhubarb porridge, Tea-Smoked Salmon Bagel, Blueberry Hot Cake, Bharta Eggs (a spicy favourite with chilli butter and aubergine puree), Salmon Cakes, Smoked Fish Stack (with jalapeno pepper, and lime aioli), Ghanaian Fried Chicken and Bone Marrow Burger.

The kitchen also caters to gluten free, dairy free and vegan. Sides at about $5 run to fried potato, a variety of sausages, black pudding, eggs, halloumi, tea-smoked salmon and slow cooked mushrooms.  Sweet treats freshly baked, are also on offer in the cabinet. The coffee is good hot and strong at $4.50 a cup.

Today I had the Rueben Sandwich from the cabinet $10.50 (Beef on rye with mustard, cheese and sauerkraut). It was very filling with just the right balance of creamy cheese and vinegary sauerkraut. My pal Chris opted for the Vege Filo slice also from the cabinet with feta, mushroom and sundried tomato.

A great brunch or lunch spot with a menu that goes outside the square. Good value, hearty food with a twist. Highly recommended

Where : Corner of Garnet and Lemington Road, Westmere, Auckland

Cost : most dishes from the menu around $20