There's no better way to start off your day than breakfast by the water. My friend and I have been itching to go the Boathouse at Balmoral for a very long time and we finally made the effort to go there. The Boathouse is approximately a 20 minute drive from the Sydney CBD. There is a lot of parking (yay!) around the Boathouse/ Balmoral Beach but be careful some require a lot of payment ($9/ hr....). We arrived at around 10:30am on Tuesday and the place was already buzzing with people. The breakfast menu has a selection of sweet and savoury options to cater for different people. It took us a long time to decide what to eat because everything on the menu sounded too good!I ended up ordering the 'Green Eggs + Ham' ($24), to be honest, I was expecting something like Devon on Danks version (http://take-eat.weebly.com/food/devon-on-danks) but Boathouse made their own take on it. My friend ordered the 'Poached Eggs' ($19) and it looked a whole lot like my 'Green Eggs + Ham' minus the green.
The overall feel of the Boathouse Balmoral reminded me of The Grounds of Alexandria (http://take-eat.weebly.com/food/the-grounds-of-alexandria) but instead of the farm, rustic look, the Boathouse had a relaxed beach house look and feel.
Cappuccino | $4.00
Latte | $4.00
Green Eggs & Ham | Grilled ham, basil pesto and sourdough | $24.00When my dish arrived at our table I was slightly disappointed because I thought it would look like Devon on Danks 'Green Eggs + Ham' but hey they are two different cafes so I couldn't expect it to be them same. There was a generous amount of ham and basil pesto, the ham is definitely quite dry and salty but the basil pesto and eggs complimented it well and gave it more flavouring. The poached eggs were poached to perfection- runny, just the way it is supposed to be. Overall, the dish was a bit plain and it is quite expensive and I don't think it was worth the amount I paid.
Poached Eggs | w/ w/ bacon, roast tomato and sourdough | $19.00My friend's dish looked almost identical to mine, minus the basil pesto and slabs of ham. My friend didn't find anything interesting about her dish and this dish was also quite pricey ($19) and was not worth the amount she paid.
Market Fruit Plate ($13) + Yoghurt and Local Honey ($4)When we finished our breakfast, we saw a waitress carrying a platter of fruit to another table and instantly my friend and I said to each other "dessert!?". Being girls, we have two stomachs, 1 for mains and 1 for dessert. We ended up ordering the 'Market Fruit Plate' ($13 + $4 for yoghurt and honey) and an orange cake. The 'Market Fruit Plate' has a very generous amount of fresh fruit. There was so much fruit that we had to share it with the seagulls! The yoghurt and honey was a very strange combination, the honey was extremely overpowering and too sweet. You can never go wrong with fruit and we are very happy that we ordered it. This fruit platter is great to share with friends and to enjoy on a hot summers day!
Orange cakeThe orange cake was light and fluffy, and the subtle orange flavouring allowed for a mix of different flavours instead of a dominating acidic/ tangy taste. This cake is perfect for afternoon tea or after a heavy meal.
Overall, the dining experience at The Boathouse was really enjoyable. The staff are extremely enthusiastic and friendly- thanks for brightening up my morning! :) The cost of some dishes were a bit overpriced for what you get but I guess you are also paying for the view/ atmosphere. I'll definitely be back to try the lunch menu because everything on it looks absolutely delicious!Happy eating x
