Welcome Eatery, Auckland
Today, a friend and I visited the recently opened Welcome Eatery on Grafton road in Auckland. The buzz around this new eatery has been increasingly big, and I jumped at the opportunity to try it (especially when I heard the served a house-made 'rawtella' smoothie, yum!)
Parking was incredibly easy. Town parking is usually daunting, especially when it involves parallel parking, but today must have been my lucky day! I scored a park right outside, and the pay and display was super cheap for central city. The cafe is set on the road facing side of a large business building, and walking in immediately you were able to tell that it is a major side of their business. We entered the building to a long line of hungry office workers queuing for their lunch fix. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly guy working at the counter, and were ushered to sit wherever took our fancy. The space is quite large, so their was no issue in finding a place to sit ourselves.
The space is really open, fresh and minimal; modern white chairs paired with dark wooden tables, potted succulents and greenery, concrete floors and a large wall graphic that read 'fast, fresh and friendly'. The tables were also nicely spaced apart, which I really appreciate in a cafe (as lovely as strangers are, sometimes isn't so fun rubbing arms at first encounter).
Our menus were delivered to us promptly, and even though the menu was simplistic, everything looked delicious. I chose the spiced slow cooked lamb with greens, chick peas, mint and dukkah, and a Cocoa smoothie; house-made rawtella, banana, cocoa and milk.
Parking was incredibly easy. Town parking is usually daunting, especially when it involves parallel parking, but today must have been my lucky day! I scored a park right outside, and the pay and display was super cheap for central city. The cafe is set on the road facing side of a large business building, and walking in immediately you were able to tell that it is a major side of their business. We entered the building to a long line of hungry office workers queuing for their lunch fix. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly guy working at the counter, and were ushered to sit wherever took our fancy. The space is quite large, so their was no issue in finding a place to sit ourselves.
The space is really open, fresh and minimal; modern white chairs paired with dark wooden tables, potted succulents and greenery, concrete floors and a large wall graphic that read 'fast, fresh and friendly'. The tables were also nicely spaced apart, which I really appreciate in a cafe (as lovely as strangers are, sometimes isn't so fun rubbing arms at first encounter).
Our menus were delivered to us promptly, and even though the menu was simplistic, everything looked delicious. I chose the spiced slow cooked lamb with greens, chick peas, mint and dukkah, and a Cocoa smoothie; house-made rawtella, banana, cocoa and milk.
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Starting with the smoothie, I really enjoyed it! It was a really nice balance of sweet and creamy, but not too thick and sickly. Next time I visit, I would most definitely try their best ugly bagel with 'rawtella' as I would love to see what the pure taste is like! They also offer a couple of made to order juices, which are such a trend currently, so they are aiming at the current market perfectly.
Now onto the salad, the presentation was beautiful. Simple and understated, the plate looked full and layered with flavours and ingredients. My first mouthful was a tad salty, but I think this was just down to the combination of the goats cheese and dukkah that laced the top of the salad. Once you got a taste of the dukkah with some of the lamb, capsicum, chick peas and greens, it all worked perfectly in unison. The lamb was mouth wateringly tender, and the spices were subtle enough that they didn't overpower the dukkah. I pretty much cleared my plate, which is always a good sign!
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Welcome Eatery, and even at the peak of lunch, the service was attentive and the food was delicious; I would come back in a heart beat, even more eager to hear they are introducing their winter menu in a couple of weeks! If you want somewhere modern, but promised to satisfy your lunch hungers, this is the place to come! X
WELCOME EATERY, 181 Grafton Road, Auckland, NZ
Now onto the salad, the presentation was beautiful. Simple and understated, the plate looked full and layered with flavours and ingredients. My first mouthful was a tad salty, but I think this was just down to the combination of the goats cheese and dukkah that laced the top of the salad. Once you got a taste of the dukkah with some of the lamb, capsicum, chick peas and greens, it all worked perfectly in unison. The lamb was mouth wateringly tender, and the spices were subtle enough that they didn't overpower the dukkah. I pretty much cleared my plate, which is always a good sign!
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Welcome Eatery, and even at the peak of lunch, the service was attentive and the food was delicious; I would come back in a heart beat, even more eager to hear they are introducing their winter menu in a couple of weeks! If you want somewhere modern, but promised to satisfy your lunch hungers, this is the place to come! X
WELCOME EATERY, 181 Grafton Road, Auckland, NZ
