Saturday, May 21, 2005

Orange, Windsor

As Star Wars: Episode III completes the journey that began in the 70's, this morning I had breakfast at a venue determined to show that, 30 years on, orange and brown decor is still cool. 70's revival rules at Orange, 126 Chapel Street, Windsor, Tel +61 3 9529 1644, and the in-crowd seems to love it. My brekky, on the other hand, was way short of 3 stars. Cheap Eats misses again.



To rate as good, scrambled eggs need to be at least a little bit creamy. These weren't. It didn't help that the sourdough toast (normally a winner) was dry and chewy. The home made baked beans (hidden under the eggs for some reason), were OK but nothing special, and the sausages were good, albeit slightly rubbery. No disasters. But not the kind of food you'd come back for.

One of the highlights of the menu was bread and butter pudding with roasted pear and double cream. Not sure what it was doing on the breakfast menu, but why not? I love bread and butter pudding.

I was pleasantly surprised by the service, which was efficient and friendly. It's the sort of place where attitude is normally a job requirement. Glad to see they're bucking that trend. The coffee was very good, too.

If you're killing time between big nights out, the Orange Breakfast is a likely winner... bacon and eggs on toast with chilli jam and a bloody mary. Get back on the horse...

13/20 "orange and brown is the new black"

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

i had a bad experience with Orange. i got a free cockroach in my little milk jug, but didn't realise until the very last pour!! not quite ready to give it another go...

3/7/07 16:52  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd agree their coffee is very good (& reliably so). Their Italian Bread with Mushrooms, sun blushed tomatoes, advocado, chilli jam(?) & sourdough toast is the best vegetarian breakfast going around. Now if only they'd offer a multigrain bread option...

19/9/07 11:39  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I completely agree with the last post. Consistently good coffee & the Italian Bread is the best vegetarian breakfast going around. I too wish they had multigrain bread. I also wish they offered decent homemade baked beans. Great service. Like anywhere that is good, it is very popular on the weekends so don't expect to come in with a group & be seated straight away. However they have expanded the seating area within the main part of the cafe (Orange is split into two).

15/6/08 09:21  
Blogger bakewell said...

In an area bristling with cafes, Orange is the best of a bad bunch. All aspects of Tusk are abominal, service is non existent at 80 spaces, ( after living in the area for 6 years I am yet to say whether it is counter or table service. No one has acknowledged or approached me upon entering. I sit down and glance at the papers for a while, look around for recognition, eventually give up and go to Orange). Coffee is bland at Dino's and the rest don't really rate a mention. I will say good things about the service at Yellow Bird. I have yet to eat there. I know it is the perogative of the owner to decide the ambience of a place but I am not 25 any more and the music is too loud. My problem, I know. Piccolo around the corner nearly wins best cafe, ( simple well cooked food, great coffee and service), but it's location is like sitting on a freeway. So I keep going back to orange. It wins on it's service levels, the fantastic outside eating area for people watching and good consistent coffee. The food at breakfast is forgettable though it does improve for lunch and dinner. Your score is accurate.

28/9/08 17:55  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They've recently renovated/extended the place. There is now more areas to eat, including a private dining room upstairs. So the wait for a table during weekends will hopefully be alleviated. Sad to say the Italian Bread, mentioned in previous comments, is no longer on the menu, but the homemade baked beans have improved immensley.

5/12/08 22:15  
Blogger exchef said...

There is some validity to your comments, however... the italian bread??? dude I worked in that kitchen for 6 months that was the worst piece of ass on that menu next to some bullshit fruit toast marscapone deal. Dave Danks is a an awesome chef he has worked and built reputations for some well known places. It was however to no avail, what lets orange down is the customers. 10% genuine food lovers, 90% douche bag... who want crap tasteless food... so in order to make a buck you have to give the customers what they want. I have never cooked so may well done steaks in any other place, in any other city in the world.

1/4/09 12:12  
Anonymous basketball bet said...

OMG They all look so good...I want some of it

23/8/11 17:15  

Post a Comment

<< Home