October 12, 2012
It's time that we withdraw our support of Birdman Eating. We've had some nice breakfasts there over the years but our dinner visit twelve months ago was underwhelming and a workday stop by last week really disappointed.
At that time of the morning, their few other customers weren't seeking more than coffee so we easily nabbed a table and a waiter's attention. The menu looked good, with plenty of sweet things for me to choose amongst and several varieties of their famous baked eggs for Michael. What was baffling and really inconvenient was the wait. Though the kitchen staff didn't seem otherwise occupied the food took 40 minutes to arrive, leaving Michael no more than 10 to slam down his eggs and scoot out the door for an appointment.
The dishes weren't quite up to scratch either. The waiter assured me that I could get the house-made crumpets ($9) with jam instead of honey, but it seems the chef forgot and I received my dense, crusty crumpets with both. The effect was far too sweet and confirmation of why I didn't want the honey in the first place.
Michael chose the baked eggs with Szechuan vegetables ($14), though he subsequently decreed there to be nothing Szechuan about them and didn't even finish the plate. That's a rare, rare occurrence, folks.
The menu still looks appealing and we found the wait staff pleasant, but I'm no longer convinced that the Birdman Eating kitchen can follow through. The rest of the blogsphere seems pretty ambivalent too.
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Since then, reviews have been mighty mixed! There are complimentary accounts on Culinary Pleasures, Eating Myself Stupid, Daniel's Food Diary, Peggy Chow, Gastonomous Anonymous, generally positive experiences on chickenpho, Edible Posts, Kelly Siew Cooks, Green Gourmet Giraffe, Let's Get Fat Together, farfromfamished.com and disappointments on Barley Restaurant Reviews, Travel Foodprints, The Hot Chip Chicks, Where Adles Eats and Popcorn & Toast.
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Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
9416 4747
veg breakfasts $5-20
http://www.birdmaneating.com.au/
Accessibility: Tables outside
are on a sloping footpath. There's a small step on entry and tables inside are a
little crowded. There's full table service. We didn't visit the
toilets.
I can understand - my last experience wasn't fantastic and there are so many other places I would prefer to go in Gertrude Street.
ReplyDeletethough I do love crumpets and honey - but not honey and jam - and am quite intrigued about home made crumpets which is an unsual homebake to find in a cafe
Johanna - home-made crumpets are highly unusual, aren't they? I really have to try making them for myself at home, I've had a couple of recipes tucked away for ages.
DeleteI hate when a place that's off-and-on in terms of quality ends up sticking with the "off".
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Lucas! Yeah, it's disappointing. Thankfully there are heaps of other great breakfast spots to turn to in this neighbourhood.
DeleteThat's a pity because the menu does look lovely!
ReplyDeleteV Vien Lee - I agree! There are so many cool-sounding sweet options, my eternal weakness. :-)
DeleteAww, that sucks! We walked past this place on Sunday and it was fairly busy. I remembered seeing it on my email subscription to your blog but handn't had a chance to read it until now. Now I'm really glad I didn't bother with it!
ReplyDeleteHi AA! At least there are plenty of other great vegan options nearby. :-)
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