Ora Cafe
He says
When I was younger I could go out on Saturday night, drink like a sailor on shore leave, and then get up the next day with nothing more than baggy eyes and the irremovable smell of kebab. Out, damned kebab! Out I say! Unfortunately those days are well behind me, and a couple of quiet drinks on a Saturday are more than enough to have me feeling a little worse for wear come Sunday morning. It just so happens that last Sunday morning I was feeling particularly sorry for myself.
Although the option of eating the remaining chocolates out of a Cadbury Favorites box (does a Boost Bar really qualify as a favourite? [Marg: Really, your issue is with the boost? I am far more offended by the recent addition of the peppermint bubbly]) seemed very appealing, I really wanted to try out Ora, a new(ish) café in Kew. I had been harping on about it to Marg ever since the Broadsheet write-up mentioned “…fried duck egg…”
So we headed up to the wilds of Kew where we found a carpark almost opposite the shop. Although superfluous, I actually enjoyed the ease in which I could park on the street and go to the cafe without being punished by ludicrous parking restrictions from the local council. I’m looking at you, Moreland City Council. The cafe itself is little and charming, and I particular liked the long communal bench out the front; the number of tiny designer dogs tethered up to either side of the bench suggests it’s probably quite popular with the locals as well. So, how about the food…
She says
Ora is a little cafe in Kew that I’d heard a lot of good things about. I hadn’t heard about the dogs though. Honestly, I know it sounds silly to talk about dogs outside a cafe instead of the place itself but when we visited it had the highest customer-to-dog ratio of anywhere I can remember eating. I have no idea why. Maybe the cafe just attracts lots of active ‘stopping for a coffee while walking my alsatian’ types. I don’t know, I don’t really understand how those people think, much like Bridget Jones I’m a lot more likely to be eaten by alsatians than to take one for a brisk walk.
Dogs aside, the cafe was lovely. I would have liked a seat inside but by the time we got to breakfast at around 1.30 there were no vacancies at the inn, we did manage to get a seat on the communal bench outside though which was nice, lucky it happened to be one of the rare days lately when it didn’t feel like winter.
This is where I would normally say something else about the cafe, or something witty, but to be honest I was so tired that I didn’t really pay much attention to anything other than the food (which I will gush about below). I would like to put on the record though, even if it is completely off topic, that as much as being exhausted after one little 3am night made me feel old, I was still ID’d during said night. Gerard was not. I think I win.
We ate
The menu offers a selection of traditional breakfasty dishes (eggs, fritters, museli etc) as well as a small selection of rolls and salads for those feeling a little more lunch inclined. The selection may be small but it is perfectly formed with a number of really tasty sounding options.
I ended up deciding on the hot duck roll – a big roll full of duck with cucumber salad, black seasame and kewpie mayo ($15). I thought it was a good sign that when I ordered the waitress made a cute little excited noise. When the roll appeared I could see why, it looked amazing and tasted just as good. In fact it looked so good that Gerard got a little order envy and I ended up giving him half. I’d go back for this roll alone, it reminded me a little of a meatier take on the lobster roll at Golden Fields (maybe that’s just the kewpie mayo connection talking though).
Gerard had fried eggs on sourdough ($9) with a side of bacon and avocado ($4 each). Gerard was really impressed and said that they were the best eggs, bacon, avocado and toast that he’d had in a long time. After I gave up half of my meal I ended up eating some of this too and agree that they were pretty good. I’d still take the duck over eggs any day though.
All up
Great food, great service and a nice atmosphere in a slightly out of the way location. Worth the trip. Don’t forget to bring your dog.
