La Buvette
I woke up on this particular morning feeling like a croque madame. I know, I know, who does that? My subconscious drove me to choose La Buvette (French for a small bar) and lo and behold, they had one on the menu!
So Potts Point has become café central with both long-running establishments as well as new contenders on the block. LB takes up the majority of the sidewalk on one side of Challis Avenue as well as two adjoining shop fronts. The crowd comes thick and fast but there always seem to be enough tables to cope. It’s frantic and slightly cramped but both the patrons and the staff have a good sense of humour about it all! Parking can be a pain so be prepared to hunt or walk.
The food selection is broad and the dishes are quite simple so it’s an easy menu to get into. So without further ado…
Cappuccino
Flat white
Superb cups of Allpress coffee ($3.80), that’s for sure. A large will set you back almost $5, my how times have changed! Either way, the flat-out barista knew his craft.
Apple, pineapple & mint juice
There’s a huge selection of freshly squeezed juices ($6.50) available. You can create your own or choose from one of the many pre-selected combinations. They’re served chilled with ice exactly how they should be. Nothing to fault.
Mango & peach smoothie
My smoothie ($7) had a satisfying, very creamy consistency. Flavour combinations available are passionfruit & banana, mixed berry, banana or mango & peach. There was a lot of yoghurt overall so the flavours weren’t entirely those of fresh fruit but I can put that to the side because I enjoyed it so much.
The frappes ($7) also looked dreamy. And with flavours like the lychee buzz with lychee, mint, lime and apple or the mango madness with mango and strawberries, it’s hard to go wrong!
Croque madame
So here we have it! The croque madame ($15) that I woke up thinking about! I was in for a slight surprise as I cut into it though. Despite the bread being toasted, it was still very soft in the centre. It was brioche so go figure. I thought it was growing on me as I ate but then decided that no, I need the toast of my croque madame/monsieur to be fried and crunchy. The flavours within were spot on though. There was so much gruyère which I loved as well as a decent amount of quality leg ham and delicious Dijon mustard. Almost there for me…
Dukkah fried eggs
The dukkah fried eggs ($14.50) comes served on flat bread. And it was the bread once again that let the dish down for me. While the fried eggs were prepared well and benefited so well from the savoury spices of the dukkah, the flat bread was very spongy and hard to cut with the supplied knife. Other than that, it was an enjoyable dish and because when my guest saw that the bacon on other patrons’ dishes was cooked but not crispy, she asked for hers extra crispy. Well it arrived as requested and exactly how she likes it!
Some other standouts on the menu include organic maple nut wood-fired granola, yoghurt and fresh berries ($14), vegan brekky (mushroom, spinach, onion, potato and tomato with toast ($14, add egg for $2), eggs Benedict with spinach or ham ($14) and green eggs and ham (scrambled eggs tossed with ham and pesto on sourdough, $15).
With an accomplished menu of both drinks and food, I found that there were just small elements here and there that let La Buvette down. It’s a strange combination of stars in the score this week. I would definitely visit again and I would order one of the simpler breakfasts like the Buvette big brekky ($19.50) as the kitchen knows what its doing in most regards.
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Overall Rating: 17.5/25
Website: http://labuvette.com.au and https://www.facebook.com/Labuvette.pottspoint
Phone: 9331 0190
Address: 2/35 Challis Avenue, Potts Point
Payment Options: EFTPOS, credit cards, cash
Sydney on Sunday 