We
don't often get out for breakfast, much as we would like to. Mornings at home
are precious, especially after a long week of work, and some late nights. But
last week a dear friend had a birthday and we decided to take her out for
breakfast to celebrate. She chose to introduce us her favourite breakfast
restaurant, SMAK in Bree Street. A first for us; she and her husband have grown
fond of this newish venue which was opened by two young entrepreneurial chefs, Devin Hogan and Katia Scherf, in February 2016
They
bill themselves as a delicatessen, patisserie, restaurant and coffee bar. It’s
light, modern and open six days a week for breakfasts and lunch and take-aways.
They are closed on Sundays
Plenty of seating just after 9 on Saturday morning,
with lots of regulars
We began with a bottle of Colmant Brut Rosé which we had
taken with us. They do not have a licence yet
It's an open kitchen
An Americano coffee with a small fennel and almond
biscuit fits the bill
Chef Devin on the pass preparing a dish. Both chefs
are graduates of Prue Leith’s Academy
They make their own pasta; we hear it is excellent
The good ol’ scramble with cream cheese, balsamic
caramelised onions, scrambled eggs, pan-fried mushrooms & parmesan served
on toasted ciabatta
A fluffy omelette for John with bacon and cheese,
made to order
Lynne had the interesting take on an Arnold Bennett
omelette. It comes in a cocotte, has scrambled eggs on the base, smoked haddock
is substituted with smoked trout and it is topped with both béchamel and hollandaise
sauces, quite rich, a scattering of parmesan and flashed under the salamander
grill. Served with toasted ciabatta. Not for take away, it says on the menu
The Birthday girl had the smashed avocado on toast,
topped with lemon juice and poached eggs. She said the eggs were perfect. Neither
of us is able to reproduce these at home, much as we try all the different
methods. Probably because the supermarket eggs we get are not fresh enough, is
the theory
Prices are very reasonable, we felt very comfortable
and relaxed and the Deli counter is full of lots of different temptations,
including good looking gateaux. They also sell some good Italian ingredients
For once, we left the Nikon at home. The photographs were taken with John's Nokia Windows phone
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
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