REVIEW | CENTRO

Three cheers for brunch because a bright new café has just opened in Auckland.

My friend and I walked past this bustling café, surprised that we had never seen it before. Turns out, it has only been open for just over a week and already it was packed even on a weekday. Mesmerised by the stunning food we saw on everyone’s tables, we stopped by the next day and were so glad we did.

Centro (pronounced chen-tro) is a Korean fusion café. While this may sound strange, there are quite a few new cafes in Auckland featuring Korean and Japanese options alongside the traditional English brunch, which I appreciate. The décor is modern and tasteful, featuring wooden beams across the ceiling and dried flowers handing down.

We ordered the “smashing avo” on toast with poached eggs, dukkah and tomato puree, the waffle with Korean fried chicken, and the housemade bagel with salmon, avo, cream cheese and mango salsa. The chefs at this restaurant took the phrase “eating with your eyes” seriously because the food is beautifully presented and garnished with micro herbs. My avocado was nicely seasoned and the acidity of the tomato puree offset the richness of both the avocado and poached eggs. The bagel came with a generous portion of salmon and the fried chicken was very tender.

Their brunch menu was also very reasonably priced. The smashing avo with poached eggs was $16 and the salmon bagel was $15. I have seen cafes charge more for lesser versions of avocado on toast with one egg only. A standard eggs benedict can cost around $24 at the high end these days. In Takapuna where food is generally very overpriced for the portion and quality you receive, Centro stands out.

Despite how busy the café was, the concierge working the door, our waitress and the server at the till were all friendly, happy, stopped to ask how our meal was and wish us a good day. A very minor point is that when we were initially seated and the table was cleared, the waiter forgot to wipe it. However, I will put that down to how busy they were and the rest of service was great.

A warning for your diet: they have sneakily placed a wide assortment of baked goods and sandwiches near the cash register. Unable to resist how delicious everything looked, we grabbed a fresh coffee and chocolate cream doughnut on our way out.

I have found my new go-to brunch location in Takapuna, and it is a certified gem.

Customer service: Friendly and attentive 5/5

Drinks: Good 3.5/5

Food: Good value brunch menu and beautiful presented 4/5

Location: Takapuna, Auckland.

Photos are copyright to Storme Sen.