Liar Liar
90 Kinkora Road, Hawthorn (just off corner of Glenferrie)
He says:
Liar Liar has well and truly captured the minds, and stomachs, of the gentrified Hawthornites(?). Sunday brunch was hectic. There were children running everywhere, orbit Baby Transportation Systems falling from the sky, and recently risen disenfranchised youths trying to avoid being seen with their parents. It was crazy, I swear one of the waitresses was running through the café. These things can however, upset the balance.
We didn’t wait long to get a table, but once we got the table, that’s when things started going downhill. The service was a little tardy and then when the food did arrive I discovered that the table itself was so unstable that I literally spent the entire meal leaning on it with my elbow to stop my compatriot’s plate from flying up in the air every time I tried to cut my toast. The side of saganaki was an innovative addition, but the haphazard toasting of the bread detracted from it.
There is a reason Liar Liar is so popular, and that’s because when it’s good, it’s really good. When it doesn’t meet its usual exacting standards, you sort of wish you’d stayed in bed those extra four hours and come a little later.
She says:
I think I mentioned before that I’ve temporarily moved from working in the city to working in the slightly-gastronomic-wasteland that is Docklands, the extra 10 minutes of tram time to get into the city has put a serious spanner in my lunching schedule. Not being able to have lunch with friends from work means that I’ve got a lot of catch ups to fit into the weekends, and that’s where this brunch at Liar Liar comes in. Weekend before last Gerard and I managed to actually wake up and get out to meet my friend from uni and work, the Prominent Eurasian (PE) for brunch at a socially acceptable 10am.
Liar Liar has a reputation as being one of the cooler cafes in Hawthorn, and for good reason. The fit out is fun with cool light fittings, communal tables, DJ turntables etc. The downside of having of having a cool factor off the Glenferrie-charts is that you end up with crowds to match. On second thoughts, it’s probably only a downside for customers, definitely an upside for whoever is having bread (or judging by the number of breakfasts being pumped out here, truffles) put on the table by this operation. To be fair we actually only waited about 10 minutes for a table, if we weren’t happy to sit outside it would’ve taken a lot longer.
While I normally really like Liar Liar the weekend wasn’t a great experience. I know that it was busy, but this place is always busy so it’s not really a good reason for such slow service. The waitress also gave me a weird look and said that I “must be reallllly hungry” when I ordered an omelette with a side of bacon and mushrooms. Juice and judgement anyone?
We ate (according to Gerard):
I had the smashed avocado (feta & avocado on toast with two poached eggs, honey glazed bacon and dukka – $17) with a side of saganaki ($4.50).
PE also had the smashed avocado but with a side of bacon and mushrooms ($3 each). PE’s toast was basically untoasted. Not up to normal standards.
Marg had the omelette of potato, chorizo and feta served with cherry tomatos and spring onion dressing ($14.50) with a side of bacon and mushrooms ($3 each). The omelette was fine but the bacon wasn’t as good as it normally is and the mushrooms would have been better with some pepper if we’d managed to find any or get the attention of a waitress. No such luck though. Question, does this omelette look big enough to justify waitressed judging you for also ordering a side of bacon? Probably, but let’s just assume it doesn’t.
The short and sweet:
Liar Liar is a cool cafe and generally serves up great breakfasts and coffee. Unfortunately on our most recent visit the food wasn’t up to normal standards and the service was pretty non-existant. That said, we’ll still be back. You can’t give up on somewhere that serves sides of saganaki that easily.
