Monday, June 28, 2010

Floriditas, Cuba Street, Wellington

One of my colleagues adores Floriditas and goes there weekly - so it's been on my to-do list for a while - any cafe or restaurant which garners such commitment must be doing something right! A friend was visiting Wellington from Christchurch this weekend, and we were seeking a spot to catch up, and it seemed to be an ideal opportunity.



I arrived a few moments before my friend and her sister and was instantly impressed by the service; I was offered a seat at the bar and provided with a glass of water (I love being brought water without having to ask for it, as I am pretty much always thirsty - and in this case I had just been to the gym so I was extra grateful. Only a couple of minutes later I was shown to a table, and I was joined just after that by my dining companions. So easy!


First order was drinks, and I ordered a hot chocolate, because although all the cold drink options sounded very appealing it was a very cold, wet day and my belly was crying out for warmth. It was chocolatey and good and went down very easily!


One of my companions ordered this very summery looking drink, which she seemed to enjoy but I've managed to lose track of what it was. Oops - well, perhaps she'll remind me and give a better review in the comments!


I was kind of craving french toast, and knowing they were renowned for their breakfast food I had been thinking that would probably be my choice, but alas, french toast doesn't appear on the Floriditas menu. I was completely appeased by my caramelised onion, black olive balsamic and thyme tart, though! It was so good - salty olives, sweet, soft onions, the strong tang of the balsamic and crispy, flaky pastry. My only complaint was that there wasn't more of it (though there was plenty).


Floriditas is known for their eggs - only free range are used - and there are six egg dishes to choose from on the menu. I often find that eating eggs as eggs (i.e. poached or as omelets - they're fine in cake!) upsets my tummy a little so I usually steer clear but I was quite jealous of these luscious looking poached eggs - so white, so fluffy looking. And the bacon so hearty - I think I need to revisit Floriditas for more experimentation!


To complete the trio at our table was another egg dish - and despite my aforementioned issue with eggs I very nearly ordered this; pork, thyme and paprika sausages with poached eggs and hollandaise. I didn't get a formalised review from the eater of this dish (we were too busy discussing all the best places in Wellington to eat - food, my favourite topic!) but the plate was looking pretty clean when she was done.


If your lunch wasn't enough you can treat yourself with a cupcake or Portuguese custard tart - we managed to restrain ourselves but I was nice enough to take a vanilla macadamia cupcake home to Mr Cake. Sadly he wasn't nice enough to share it with me so I don't know how it tasted but it vanished mighty quickly - before I could get to it with the camera. He tells me he especially liked the macadamias on top - and having tried a couple of their other cupcakes I'm sure it was delicious!



Floriditas is located at 161 Cuba Street, Wellington, ph 04 381 2212, www.floriditas.co.nz

6 comments:

  1. The drink was homemade lemonade with fresh mint. It was very yummy and the bacon was just the right amount of crispy.

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  2. Thanks Rose. I knew you'd come through for me! ;-) It was great to see you on Saturday; I really enjoyed my very food-oriented lunch!

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  3. Did you buy their new Cookbook? You can take their lovely recipes home!

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  4. I was very tempted but I've bought a couple of new cookbooks lately and that budget is kind of exhausted for now. Maybe next time!

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  5. I haven't been disappointed by Floriditas so far, and I love how their menu changes with the seasons. I recommend the Greek yoghurt with vanilla-poached feijoas if you go again soon... so delicious, and surprisingly filling!

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  6. Millie, I was really tempted by that dish but had just done a crazy gym session and was worried it wouldn't fill the gap - but it's definitely next on the list - great to have endorsements vouching for the filling-ness of things like that, too. :-)

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