Cafe Nectar at Morris James
Stumbled upon down a nondescript Matakana side street, this overgrown pottery-studio paradise rewards the lost and ravenous with a blisteringly good iced latte and a rosti bene that's 90% perfect. The feng shui alone is worth the detour.
Scores
After a blissful meander along Omaha beach, the wifey and I thought we'd go try out the Farmers Daughter. Turns out she didn't have a benedict on the menu, so our hunt for brunch continued. Ravenous, we drove onwards towards the ever-eclectic Matakana.
As we approached the town, the wifey's energy was fading, her glycogen dropping - we were getting desperate. I turned down a nondescript sidestreet to look for help. As if a sign from the heavens, we chanced upon the most impressive driveway I've ever seen. Trees that must have been 100m tall towered like a colonnade of royal guards safely delivering us to our ultimate salvation - a cafe named Cafe Nectar at Morris James.
Once a pottery practice, now a pottery practice with some courtyard tables, an overgrowth of vines and creeping figs, a kitchen and a coffee machine; a peaceful paradise. I sank into a chair at a tree shaded table as the wifey placed our orders. It was nice to sit and listen to nothing bar the soft and soothing sounds of nature.
My oat milk iced latte hit so strong that my entire being was nearly annihilated by the collision of exhaustion and exhilaration. And when the bene came out, my soul was assured as the bespoke rosti told a tale of grated potato and scalding oil, the edges crisped to a perfect crunch. The bacon was seared to make its pig ancestors proud, and shoving a too-big mouthful of everything down the old piehole was such a thoroughly enjoyable experience I nearly didn't notice the greenery that infiltrated my gullet. Falling a little shy of perfection however, the white of the egg wasn't fully cooked through, and the downside of serving what must have started out as 16 bags of spinach prior to reduction, was that the spinach-water runoff soaked the middle of the rosti and sullied its delectable crunch. Also while the hollandaise was packed full of zesty punch, it was whiter than my yellow fever preferred, perhaps lacking a little yolky goodness and flavour.
Overall, the coffee hit, the feng shui slapped, and the $28 bene was food for the soul, receiving a 8.3/10. Final arbitration reveals a madrosti_ score of 8.3/10.