With both a downstairs area in the main terminal serving counter food and coffee, and an upstairs lounge where you can enjoy cooked meals, it's certainly a lot more relaxing than rushing through check-in and security. This past Easter Sunday was no exception: E and I arrived in plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast before our flight to Christchurch.
E's brioche French toast with bacon & maple syrup ($14) was pretty much everything you could ask from a French toast. The brioche slices held their own against the eggy batter, perfectly soft yet still sturdy, and the maple syrup and crispy bacon provided that sweet-savoury hit that fuels my French toast obsession. After a few bites of this, I was almost regretting not ordering it for myself...
Almost, because if there's one thing that I love more than French toast for breakfast it's anything covered in a good hollandaise sauce. And as soon as I dug into my eggs benedict with spinach ($12), I knew I'd made the right choice.
Two poached eggs perched daintily atop a bed of spinach and toasted English muffin halves. With a generous (but not excessive) serving of hollandaise sauce and a sprinkling of chopped chives, this was a luscious Sunday morning treat. Although I found the spinach somewhat bland, this was countered by the lemony zing of the hollandaise, and the eggs were cooked beautifully.
Because there was still a bit of time before our flight, and because the colourful sprinkles had caught my eye, I headed downstairs to the counter to get myself a Belgian biscuit ($3.50). A layer of jam was sandwiched between two buttery, faintly spiced biscuits, topped with a smear of icing and gorgeously bright hundreds and thousands. Who says you can't have dessert after breakfast?
For coffee we had a flat white ($3.80) each. We're both normally fans of Mojo coffee, but this one seemed like it had been left out for a bit before being served, the froth somewhat weak and dissipated. Perhaps they were understaffed due to it being Easter, as I've had better on previous visits.
For an extra dash of caffeine before the flight, I ordered a piccolo ($3) after my meal. It was somewhat slow in coming out, but the strong coffee flavour tempered with a bit of milk satisfactorily fulfilled my lingering caffeine needs.Mojo already has a strong presence on the Wellington coffee scene, with several cafes all over town (each with its own slightly different character). Although I usually frequent their cafe on Kent Terrace, I'm most grateful for their airport location. Finally, a good option for airport food and coffee.* I'm starting to change my mind on the notion that one should spend as little time as possible in airport terminals.
View Gusty Gourmet in a larger map**
Mojo Airport
Wellington Airport
04 831 1231
Open from 4:30am till late - perfect for those early international flights
www.mojocoffee.co.nz
*Although Wishbone isn't bad, and isn't badly placed either, with its seating area overlooking the runway...
**4:35PM: updated to add map.
5 comments:
When I bought myself a one-way ticket to Singapore last year, a few friends farewelled me over breakfast here. I remember lingering over my last good NZ coffee EVER (it felt like)! Mmm! Thanks for the reminder to do that again when I next fly out of Welly. :-)
I always get the scrambled eggs on toast with coffee for $8 (Combined). A deal, a steal, a good meal. The girl who works upstairs is awesome - the last two times I was there I was firstly with my kids and she refused my $10 tip for the mess they made, then when I went back there WEEKS later sans kids she remembered my order AND asked how the kids were! How cool is she?! That frenchie with bacon looks rather tempting for next time, too.
Mojo is definitely reliable. And I like their teacups! I used to always get to the airport late too, but next time I'm at the Wellington one with time to spare I might have to try that French toast.
Wow, French toast and hollandaise are my breakfast favourites too (not together, of course). This post makes me want to fly away somewhere. Almost.
Mel- I know the feeling... perhaps that's why the cafe is right next to the international departures area :)
Lou- hooray for lovely cafe staff... it's wonderful that she remembered you, especially in a place like the airport! $8 for eggs & coffee IS a steal, too.
Laura- the cups are cool, almost kinda art deco-y with the colour and the lines... ok, I'm out of my depth here! But yes, good reliable coffee.
Juli- Hmm, now you've got me thinking. French toast and hollandaise, together... it could work, on savoury French toast, perhaps?
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