The Pepper Lounge

And icy cold winter morning and a long way from home, but we were catching up with an elderly friend who lives nearby. He really loves this place and we can see why. My friends happily indulged in big hearty breakfasts, while I found happiness in a chocolate brownie that was warm, soft and delicious. Great coffee was enjoyed by all.

This restaurant is advertised on Eat Club for a discount. They said I had to book through the app for them to honour the discount (I never do this at other restaurants that are on Eat Club, they’re always happy to honour it, but fair enough, if that’s what they want, I’ll comply) so I booked the next available time on the app which was in 5 minutes, but the server said he wouldn’t honour it because we had already shown up and “knew we were already there.” Just ridiculous. Haven’t had this (lack of) customer service in a long time. So we ended up going to Seoul Story instead and LOVED it! Awesome Korean fried chicken. Would highly recommend!!

Tried this place for coffee and a bacon and egg burger as it’s close to my kids school. Coffee is really good, but the bacon and egg burger, freshly cooked was fantastic. I’ve been twice now and each time fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. It is so hard to get a good bacon and egg burger in the centenary suburbs, these guys nailed it!

Happily and luckily, hubby and I were able to meet up with Mr. L., my old workmate last week for lunch. We headed to his side of town, and had lunch here at The Pepper Lounge. It’s a nice, large space inside with outdoor seating too. The interior was quite dark in the winter sun, but would be great on a hot summer’s day We had prompt, friendly service with tasty food. I chose the salmon fillet, which came with a citrus salad. The fish was nicely grilled on top, but was a wee bit overdone for me, as I prefer it medium-rare. The salad was refreshing, and came with orange slices, avocado and cherry tomatoes. There were some green leaves and red onion to add extra flavour. Hubby had mushroom risotto, which came with a garnish of cherry tomato and leaves, and a generous sprinkling of parmesan. He really enjoyed this dish, even though he felt more mushrooms would have been a fine thing. We shared the sweet potato chips, which were delicious – a bit crunchy outside, soft inside, with salt lightly cast over them, and served with a creamy sauce (aioli?). Mr. L. ate the chicken and halloumi salad. He said it ‘was fine.’ A man of few words, but he ate it all happily. Pieces of grilled chicken laid over a salad of leaves, tomato, and halloumi. I drank a mocha frappe, while hubby had a passionfruit and mango smoothie. Both fine. Mr. L. had a green tea; also fine. Even though the closing time was one pm, they kindly didn’t chuck us out then. It was great to get out of the house, and enjoy a pleasant (and good value) lunch with a friend, corona-virus restrictions notwithstanding.