Continental Delicatessen, Sandringham

So bad was the hollandaise on this serve of eggs la mer that we sent it back. Maybe it was suffering from separation anxiety? It wasn't bonding with the eggs, that's for sure. Such was the stress of the situation that it had transformed itself into juice and residue, with the unfortunate side-effect of soggy muffins. Collateral damage. Welcome to The Continental Deli, 50 Station Street, Sandringham, Tel +61 3 9598 1171.



To their credit, they slashed our bill dramatically as a result of the hollandaise disaster, and didn't get all petulant and snitchy. And some aspects of the meal were OK. My chipolatas were good. The crispy bacon and scrambles weren't bad. But there were too many weak links.

My toast for example, was meant to be sourdough. It turned out to be squares of plain white fluffy bread, from Brumby's I think. The tomato was listed in the extras as "oven roasted", and yet it looked very much fried (and not very well fried at that). And the coffee took so long to arrive that it was beaten to the table by the eggs.

On first impression, the venue has a reasonable buzz. But it was freezing cold and in desperate need of heating. This is Sandringham, not Noosa, and Summer is long gone.

9/20 "separation anxiety"