Two Before Ten Cafe & Coffee Roasters

It is a Friday and Jeff normally starts work a bit later on Friday,

so we manage to squeeze in some time for breakfast. 

Jeff suggested this cafe,

because it is always packed whenever he walked past this place. 

I had the poached eggs, smoke salmon, pesto, herb salad on sourdough.

I felt like something with salmon,

so I asked whether they can replace the tomatoes with salmon, 

it was unexpected but the kind waitress said yes. 

The one listed on the menu was:

poached eggs, cherry tomatoes, pesto, herb salad on sourdough. 

The eggs and smoke salmon were alright,

nothing very special.

But I really liked the pesto,

I think it is house made and it was really yumm.

The portion size wasn't huge, 

but is definitely good enough for breakfast. 

I think this place is famous for their coffee, 

there were A LOT of people who ordered takeaway coffees. 

I had a flat white with skim milk,

the coffee was rich and fragrant, 

I enjoyed my cup of coffee. 

Jeff decided to try something different, 

he had the Gravlax, dill, capers, onions, egg and honey mustard sauce on some kind of bread.

Jeff is not a big fan of raw food, 

and almost everything in this is raw. 

Initially he didn't really like his food, 

but after mixing everything up evenly,

the flavours complemented each other really well. 

I had a few bites and I really like the taste of the dish. 

I might order this if I come back to this cafe for breakfast.

Jeff is a coffee addict,

he needed his daily dosage of coffee,

so he had a skim latte,

and he thought it was alright. 

Think his favourite is still Harvest Coffee. 

How I would rate this place:

Ambiance: 6.5/10

Food: 7.5/10

Price: 7/10

Presentation of Food: 7/10

Services: 7/10

Two Before Ten Cafe & Coffee Roasters

http://www.twobeforeten.com.au/

40 Marcus Clark St, Canberra ACT 2601

(02) 6162 1260

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm

Saturday & Sunday 8am - 2pm

Ricardo's Cafe

One of my high school friends who lives in Canberra told me about this place, 

he said the food here is relatively cheap and comes with a huge portion. 

Was choosing between Cafe Injoy and Ricardo's Cafe,

but when I saw the menu and photos of Ricardo's Cafe food from their website, 

I just can't resist the temptation to visit this place.

The food on the lunch menu looks interesting,

so we went there for lunch. 

We got there around 12 noon and it was quite packed,

but we managed to squeeze in and got ourselves a table. 

I was choosing between the Smoke Salmon Fritters and Wagyu Truffle Sliders,

it was a tough decision because both sounded delicious to me. 

I love smoke salmon,

and I wanted something 'lighter',

so I had the Smoke Salmon Fritters.

It is basically corn and zucchini fritters,

stacked with smoke salmon,

avocado, cherry tomatoes and sour cream. 

I like the corn and zucchini fritters,

it wasn't oily at all,

I expected it to be a little oily,

but of course it was great that it wasn't oily.

It wasn't tasteless nor too salty,

the taste was just right for me.

A generous amount of avocado was given,

it was between the smoke salmon and fritters,

I really liked the combination of the smoke salmon, avocado and fritters.

I enjoyed the dish.

Jeff thought it was a little bit too plain and 'healthy' for him,

maybe because the flavour of his food was too overwhelming,

so  he couldn't really taste anything. 

The Smoke Salmon Fritters was $17.90,

I am not sure whether this is considered cheap,

but it was definitely worth the money.

Jeff is a super big fan of burger,

so he had the Gourmet Hamburger -  

Wagyu beef, beetroot relish, bacon, gruyere cheese & aoli. 

The burger was SUPER DUPER YUMMM!!

Jeff was very happy with it.

The bun was buttery, soft and delicious. 

The burger patty was succulent and juicy.

The beetroot relish, bacon, cheese and aoli made the burger perfect.

I had two bites of the burger,

I wished I could eat more so I could get myself a burger too.

It was $14.90 for this,

don't think this is considered cheap,

but it is definitely worth the money.

I had a flat white with skim milk,

the coffee wasn't amazing, 

I thought it was a little bit too bitter,

but it wasn't too bad.

Jeff loves Portuguese Egg Tart,

he just couldn't look pass it so we shared one.

It was $3,

normal price I suppose?

But it was definitely one of the best Portuguese egg tarts I have ever eaten, 

I wished I bought some to eat at home.

Now I am regretting is sooooooo badly!

The desserts look very interesting,

I had so many options to choose from,

I felt like mango and cheese cake, 

so I had the Mango Cheese Cake, 

it looks interesting, 

the colour was bright and beautiful. 

BUT it was a massive disappointment. 

It was pretty much tasteless, 

the biscuits were tasteless and weren't crispy at all. 

It wasn't a cheesecake to me.

I couldn't taste the cheese or the cream or anything.

And this costed me $8.90,

it was definitely NOT worth the money.

I am a dessert person, 

desserts always make me happy and satisfied

however this mango cheesecake ruined my day. 

I have been looking forward to try their desserts since I saw the photos online. 

Jeff loves pistachio macaron, 

so we got one. 

It wasn't soft,

it wasn't crispy,

it wasn't sweet,

it just didn't feel right.

To be honest,

I didn't like it at all. 

The macarons were $2.90 each.

From the photos, 

the desserts looked AMAZING.

I was happy with my main, 

Jeff was happy with his too,

but the desserts were disappointing. 

I was thinking of coming here to try their High Tea,

but after having their desserts today,

I am definitely not coming here for the High Tea. 

How I would rate this place:

Ambiance 6/10

Food 6/10

Presentation of Food 5/10

Price 7/10

Service 5/10

Ricardo's Cafe

http://ricardoscafe.com/

Jamison Plaza/Bowman St, Macquarie ACT 2614

(02) 6253 2497

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday 7.30am - 5.30pm

Saturday & Sunday 7.30am - 4pm

Kingston Grind

Met up with one of Jeff's friends for lunch.

He is from Canberra and he suggested this cafe,

he specifically mentioned that this cafe serves very good coffee.

There are so many good coffee places in Canberra!

We got here around 12.15pm, 

it was packed, 

we were lucky we didn't have to wait too long for a table, 

a few customers left a few minutes after we arrived.

I wanted something simple and 'healthy',

so I had the Eggs Benedict with Smoke Salmon,

it came with poached eggs and English muffins,

I thought it would come with some spinach,

but maybe if I ordered the ham option then it would have come with spinach,

because the prices for both the salmon and ham were the same, 

so I assume it is either salmon or ham and spinach. 

It was $14.50.

There was nothing fancy about this eggs benedict, 

it wasn't shit but it wasn't amazing, 

but I was happy with my meal. 

Jeff got something from the Specials Menu,

Chicken Breast (wrapped with bacon), 

stuffed with cream cheese, pine nuts, semi dried tomatoes

on a bed of mashed potatoes and basil pesto. 

OMG this was AMAZINGLY GOOD!

I highly recommend you to get this if you want something filling and delicious. 

I wished I got this instead of the Eggs Benedict. 

The bacon wasn't crispy but it was cooked nicely, 

it wasn't oily and yucky. 

the chicken breast and all the stuffing were yummm,

I am a super big fan of pesto,

so I really loved the combo of mashed potatoes and pesto. 

I forgot how much exactly did it cost, 

but if I am not mistaken, 

it was $16.90.

For the taste and amount of food that Jeff got, 

it was definitely worth the price. 

As for coffee, 

I got the flat white with skim milk. 

The coffee was very rich, 

there was a strong presence of coffee aromas. 

I enjoyed my coffee.

Almost got another cup but I decided that I didn't need that much caffeine in my body today.

I liked this cafe - nice and simple, 

most of the staffs were friendly and nice. 

Will definitely be back for the food and coffee. 

How I would rate this place:

Ambiance 8/10

Food 8.5/10

Price 8/10

Service 8/10

Kingston Grind

Cusack Arc, Kingston ACT 2604

(02) 6295 8189

Opening Hours 8.30am - 4pm daily

Lonsdale Street Roasters

Met up with a high school friend for breakfast,

he is the one who suggested this place,

I am not familiar with Canberra so I decided to give it a go.

It was definitely a brilliant suggestion,

this place serves amazingly yumm toasted panini!

Lonsdale Street Roasters is well known for its coffee and toasted panini.

I was choosing between a few panini,

there were so many options to choose from. 

Finally decided to have the 

Whole Chorizo, Mozzarella, Basil Pesto, Tomato Sugo Toasted Panini.

OMG it was DELICIOUS! 

The chorizo was succulent and juicy, 

the cheese was melting in my mouth, 

all the flavours complemented each other perfectly. 

The toasted panini was warm and crunchy,

it was just too good to be true.

I will definitely come back for more! 

The flat white was a little disappointing though,

I like my coffee to be hot when I drink it.

When the flat white was served, 

it was not hot at all,

in fact it was a little cold. 

Maybe because it was a freezing cold morning, 

the coffee cool down a little bit too quickly.

I read many online reviews saying that coffee here is awesome, 

will come back another time to try their coffee, 

hopefully it won't be a disappointment. 

How I would rate this place:

Ambiance 7/10

Food 9/10

Price 7/10

Service 6/10

If you want more information, look them up!

http://lonsdalestreetroasters.com/

Lonsdale Street Roasters

3/7 Lonsdale St, Braddon ACT 2612

(02) 6156 0975

Opening Hours 

Monday - Friday 6.30am - 4pm

Saturday 9am - 3pm

Edgar's Inn

Since we have been cooking and eating at home on most days, 

we decided to go out for a weekend morning boost. 

Found this cafe - Edgar's Inn through the internet,

it is one of the cafes that have its own website and Facebook page. 

There are so many beautiful and interesting looking cafes in Canberra,

but most places are closed on Sunday,

and most of them do not have a website or Facebook page,

I would prefer to look at the menu of the restaurant before I visit the place,

that was why we ended up at Edger's Inn. 

Edger's Inn website was inviting and attractive. 

We got there around 10.30am,

the place was not very crowded, 

most customers were sitting outside,

probably because of the amazing weather. 

We did not manage to get a table outside we we sat inside. 

Everyone had to order and pay at the counter. 

What I did not like about the restaurant was,

the tables were not cleaned up properly, 

there were tiny bits of leftover food scraps on the table,

which attracted some flies.

We had to ask the waiter to clean up the table.

The ambiance of the restaurant was pretty good,

it would have been much better without the flies. 

We could talk and hear each other,

it was not too noisy. 

The food did not take too long to reach us. 

I had the Spiced Chorizo Rosti

with olives, roasted peppers and fresh herbs.

I am not a big fan of olives,

 tried asking whether the olives can be replaced with some mushrooms,

but the waitress said that it would be too complicated so they could not change it for me. 

It would be great if they can change it for me but oh well. 

The Spiced Chorizo Rosti was pretty good,

the flavours complemented each other very well. 

If you are wondering what a rosti is, 

a rosti is Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes.

Rosti is made with coarsely grated potato, either cooked or raw,

mine was fried. 

It was fried very nicely, 

neither too oily nor soggy,. 

I love the chorizo and the rocket bit of the dish,

yummy yummy!

To me, this was a bit too heavy for breakfast,

I would gladly have this for lunch, 

but definitely not for breakfast.

Don't get me wrong,

the dish was great but it was just too heavy for me for breakfast.    

I like it when my coffee comes with a nice piece of art,

but the skim latte I had did not have any.

The coffee was not bad,

but it was not great. 

I am sure there are many other much better coffees out there. 

Jeff had the Eggs Benedict, 

with crispy bacon, spinach and hollandaise sauce. 

He loved the dish. 

The bacon was fried perfectly, 

and a generous amount of bacon was served.

The flavours complemented each other very well. 

English muffin instead of sourdough was used,

but everything on the plate was good. 

The eggs were gooey and yummm.

How I would rate this place:

Ambiance 6.5/10

Food 7.5/10

Price 7.5/10

Service 6/10

If you want more information, look them up.

http://www.edgarsinn.com.au/

Edgar's Inn

1 Edgar St, Ainslie ACT 2602

(02) 6257 5488

Opening Hours 

Sunday 8.30am - 10pm

Monday - Thursday 10am - 10pm

Friday & Saturday 8.30 - 11pm