Wanted to find a place where I could have a leisurely lunch, a decent cup of coffee and read my newspaper. Had a quick check on this website before deciding to leave Central for Sheung Wan as I have had a number of good experiences with the many small cafes at this side of Central.
It was already past 2pm when I entered and the place still "looked" a bit full with people standing near the coffee bar. Once I got past this area, the reason of why that was so became obvious. Clients, whether for dining-in or take-away, first have to pay for their coffee/food at the cashier which is situated at the far end of the coffee bar towards the mid-section of the place. Then, I realised another reason for this restaurant looking full. As the space is rather cramped, they have benches instead of tables, and with a lot of the clientele coming in singleton or two, the empty seats in between simply vanish when looking from the entrance.
A quick glance at the board menu gave me an impression that there is something for everybody in addition to coffee - sandwiches, pasta, cakes ... I decided to go for a Spaghetti Carbonara and a Latte. I then went upstairs to find a similar situation - one long bench with people scattered all over. With limited choice of available seats, I had to sit with someone opposite me and another by my side - not a position to lay out my newspaper.
The Latte came first. Nice, smooth and aromatic - easily one of the better ones in town that doesn't cost and arm and a leg.
The pasta took a while to arrive, and it was a disappointment. The spaghetti was a little too firm-ish to my liking and the sauce was a bit on the dry side but the bacon was tasty and fresh. My apologies for sounding offensive but the whole dish tasted like something out of a packet that any one could have bought from the supermarket. I was not impressed.
Having said that, I would definitely return for another shot at the many varieties of coffee available.
It was already past 2pm when I entered and the place still "looked" a bit full with people standing near the coffee bar. Once I got past this area, the reason of why that was so became obvious. Clients, whether for dining-in or take-away, first have to pay for their coffee/food at the cashier which is situated at the far end of the coffee bar towards the mid-section of the place. Then, I realised another reason for this restaurant looking full. As the space is rather cramped, they have benches instead of tables, and with a lot of the clientele coming in singleton or two, the empty seats in between simply vanish when looking from the entrance.
A quick glance at the board menu gave me an impression that there is something for everybody in addition to coffee - sandwiches, pasta, cakes ... I decided to go for a Spaghetti Carbonara and a Latte. I then went upstairs to find a similar situation - one long bench with people scattered all over. With limited choice of available seats, I had to sit with someone opposite me and another by my side - not a position to lay out my newspaper.
The Latte came first. Nice, smooth and aromatic - easily one of the better ones in town that doesn't cost and arm and a leg.
The pasta took a while to arrive, and it was a disappointment. The spaghetti was a little too firm-ish to my liking and the sauce was a bit on the dry side but the bacon was tasty and fresh. My apologies for sounding offensive but the whole dish tasted like something out of a packet that any one could have bought from the supermarket. I was not impressed.
Having said that, I would definitely return for another shot at the many varieties of coffee available.
Other Ratings:
Keep it up!
Interesting
Touched
Envy
Cool Photo