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March 2015

ALTAR CAFE

https://www.facebook.com/altarcafe/

Boom. It was our queen bee Lou’s birthday and to celebrate, Bruce and Perry from the Film Construction Group joined the Husk Lunch shenanigans, giving us a ride in their black convertible (#topdown #yuss) to the outskirts of Mt Eden, where an old villa has been refurbished into Altar Café. We chose a sunny courtyard with concrete benches over the decidedly-dim interior and oggled at the menu which looked more, for the lack of a better adjective, ‘Coffee Club’ than anything. The prices were moderate and the servings generous, but nothing mind-blowing or iconic. We wished the Spanish vibes echoed more in the décor and meals rather than just the altar piece (sitting rather lonely next to the cashier) and the vinyl banners that promised tapas (there were none). To put simply, we enjoyed the company and conversation much more than the food, and considering the location and beautiful venue, they could do a whole lot better. 

Perry Bradley had the Lamb Salad and a sparkling water. He said ‘Tough job running a restaurant. I’ve been at that cafe when it was humming. But something has changed and it seems to have lost its mojo. The staff were trying hard but don’t seem to really know their way around the hospitality game. Nevertheless a lovely lunch with the Huskies and a Happy Birthday time with Lou! Overall experience was 5/5 because of the lovely people I was with. The restaurant? A definite 2/5.’

Louise had the slow roasted duck and drank an iced mocha. She said ‘Loved the tables and the outdoor environment. Enjoyed the company and the lift in a convertible. Duck was stunningly delicious – the rest not that memorable unfortunately.’

Innie had the lemon chicken sandwich. She said ‘Great spot for a sunny day! Make sure you have sunglasses on though! ;)’

Katie had the beef burger with bacon, fried egg and aioli sauce. shoestring fries. She said ‘Pretty good prices for a filling meal! No surprises though #firstworldproblems.’

Mel had the thai spicy chicken salad and drank a lipton iced peach tea. She said ‘tasty salad, flavours were well balanced but still left a bit peckish so dipped into Innie’s fries and aioli sauce – yummy!’

Joe had beef burger and drank a spirulina. He said ‘Menu was large, but lacked a bit of idosyncrisy and flair.’

Annie had the roasted kumera salad and drank a lime and peppermint tea. She said ‘he outdoor table where we were had telltale shiny slug trails all over it which was a little off-putting. The salad was nice enough, though nothing to write home about.’

Service

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Overall experience