When going out to eat its sometime difficult to understand the expectations of the customer vs. the common consensus on what “good food” is. When eating out, the average individual usually expects a reasonably priced meal, for which they receive an appropriately sized portion of food of a high quality. Finding an establishment which lives up to these expectations is sometimes hard to find, and often when people find a place which they enjoy dining at, they will return again and again. What I found with ‘The Big Treehouse Cafe’ is that they certainly do have a large body of returning customers. Whether they are just ordering take-away coffees, sitting and eating with family, friends or just eating by themselves, the cafe definitely has the capability to capture the attention of particular patrons and ensure that they decide to return. However, as an individual who enjoys trying new places, rather than continuously eating at the same place over and over again I can’t say that my dining experience at ‘The Big Treehouse Cafe’ was everything that it had been hyped up to be. Where I found nothing actually ‘wrong‘ in a sense with the food which I received, there were for sure areas which could have been improved. Eating with my family, I was able to witness several different food items, not just the one. It gave me the ability to have an informed and detailed understanding of the type of food which the cafe produces and also the level of quality which they put forward.
When first entering the establishment it was apparent that the place was an attempt at a contemporary dining experience. I was seated at my table and handed menus. Whilst not extensive and offering few options, the menu surprisingly offered a variety of different types of food. With common staples such as the Eggs Benedict, and the Big Breakfast, they also managed to incorporate a Mediterranean Baked Egg dish which seemed interesting enough but not overly exciting. Not offering lunch items until 11:30am was a reasonable decision to make considering the stress which their busy kitchen must be under. Often within the kitchen separating the breakfast and lunch menus allows for the members of staff to clean down and reset, ready for another long service period. Without that short break the kitchen can be a disaster. So smart move on their part!
What I also couldn’t help but notice is that they didn’t have any water on the tables, nor did they offer any to me as I was sitting there. I ended up asking about the water and was instructed that there was a glass drink dispenser near the door with stacked glasses. I’m sure that this is petty and a minor issue but I don’t think it would be too much of a hassle for them to supply jugs or bottles of water on the table. I only ended up having half a glass of lukewarm water (the water was not cooled and was sitting near a hot window) because I didn’t want to have to get up and leave the conversation my family was having just to get a glass of water. Maybe something to look into?
The food which my table received looked amazing, if the quality of food was judged based on the visual appearance alone then the food would have been a 10/10, however, food isn’t. The food was colourful and inviting and raised your expectation of the food, but once you started eating, those expectations were let down. I, myself ordered the ‘Big Breakfast’ which can be seen down below. The presentation of the meal could have been better given the size of the plate, but when ordering a Big Brekkie I don’t believe that the look of the food is what people really care about. It’s more about the amount of food that is on the plate, something I was not disappointed in. The use of micro-greens and edible flowers was a nice touch. But the greenery underneath the poached eggs, was lazily placed and made the sourdough toast beneath it soggy as it must not have been dried fully once washed. The poached eggs were cooked nicely with a silky and golden orange yolk. Meaning the eggs were really fresh, I thought this was a nice addition to the meal. The bacon and chorizo served were as standard, nothing special about them, however the bacon was slightly undercooked as seen on the bottom left of the image below. The mushrooms used were different from the standard button mushrooms often used by establishments. This was something new which actually surprised me, if they had been cooked in a little butter with a little thyme, I’m sure that they would be great, but with a pool of water on my plate beneath them, it was clear they were cooked at a low heat. Using a higher heat would have definitely removed the liquid within the mushrooms and also given them a nice golden brown colour as opposed to the brownish grey tone they honed.
Serving butter in little ramekins; Different, yes. Practical, yes. Visually inviting, …
The other food which came to the table looked very captivating, whilst I only tried small amounts of these meals I could tell that the visual appeal of the meal wasn’t a reflection of the flavour profile they held. The visual factor of eating is a large-scale element which can often sell the meal which is produced. Although if the meal is lacking a punch of flavour or something which excites the taste buds, then the appearance is rendered pointless. An important note to add is that the coffee whilst light in colour packed a quality and an even hit. The right amount of acidic, bitter/sweet silky goodness, expected with espresso. Good job!
Overall the experience of eating at ‘The Big Treehouse Cafe‘ wasn’t a let down, the atmosphere of the establishment and drinks made up for the lack of excitement the food held, if I can suggest anything to make the dining experience better for customers; focus a little less of the visual appearance of the meal and the concentrate more on the quality of the product instead…
Address: 88 Calder Rd, Rydalmere NSW 2116
Ph: (02) 8626 9007
Hours:
- MONDAY – 8am-4pm
- TUESDAY – Closed
- WEDNESDAY – 8am-4pm
- THURSDAY – 8am-4pm
- FRIDAY – 8am-4pm
- SATUDAY – 8am-4pm
- SUNDAY – 8am-4pm
Pricing: $$
Young Foodie Review 