Auvers Cafe takes its name after Auvers-sur-Oise, a small French village north-west of Paris where many important arists including Cezanne, Pissarro and Van Gogh communed and worked. Both it’s original Rhodes store and its new space in Darling Square reflect this namesake by being part gallery and part cafe. In the Darling Square store, the art is on the left side. We’re here for the cafe.
This is the Piccolo ($3.50). T enjoyed it, but didn’t think it was particularly stand out.
This is the Black Sesame Latte ($3.80). I enjoyed the presentation with the black sesame seeds on top but the latte lacked the nuttiness of black sesame and tasted much like a mylk based latte with prominent dairy notes.
This is the Crab Omelette ($20.00).
It’s a crab omelette with cheese, bonito mayo, corn and bruschetta on a toasted croissant.
The omelette was silky smooth with a generous amount of crab meat and corn kernels within that added sweetness and textural interest, while the bonito mayo amplified the already flavourful crab meat with a potent dose marine flavour and the bruschetta added a touch of freshness. The croissant, though, was worse for wear — it was squashed flat beyond recognition by the omelette and it was soggy as it’d soaked up all the juices from the omelette — and would’ve benefited greatly being placed on the side.
This is the Chicken Roulade ($25.00) infused with spinach and cheese, quinoa, roasted cauliflower, apple and yuzu purée and a pomegranate emulsion.
T very much enjoyed the chicken, which was full of chicken flavour with its skin finished to a golden brown while the innards remained juicy for chicken breast. The purée was more apple than yuzu, alas, but added a touch of sweet acidity that paired well with the dish.
This is the Indomie Po’Boy ($20.00) with tempura soft shell crab, lettuce, tomatoes, kimchi mayo, fried egg, cheese on Mie Goreng and brioche burger and chips.
N enjoyed the presentation of this burger and I enjoyed the novelty of the mi goreng bottom bun. Aside from the obvious lack of structural integrity in the burger, N felt the overall flavour lacked balance with the ingredients tasting much like mishmash. The mi goreng ‘bun’ was soft and lacked bite, while the deep fried soft shell crab was overly salty and the lettuce and tomato did not add sufficient freshness. The chips were the highlight of the dish, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
The brunch options were tasty in addition to being well presented works of art, and we’d stick to them and avoid the burgers and drinks if we were to return.
Auvers Cafe is located at Shop NE 04/12 Nicolle Walk, Haymarket NSW 2000.