My Breakfast Roll

My Breakfast Roll

Pancakes at the Crawford Café

I don’t often go out for breakfast but had a few opportunities recently, including one top hotel, one well established café and two new cafés: Hayfield Manor, Crawford Gallery Café, Old Bank Café and the Good Day Deli. Quite a variety of food, everything from the Full Irish to a Veggie Benny.

Pancakes, American style, are very popular. And very good also. Take those in the Crawford, for example: American style buttermilk pancakes, with delicious bacon, yogurt, blueberries and bananas and Maple syrup of course. Amazing flavours and textures. Simply irresistible! 

Full Irish at The Hayfield

Over at Good Day Deli, in the gardens of the Nano Nagle Place, they do superb Poached Pear Pancakes with coconut mascarpone and a drizzle of Irish honey. Another morning winner from this sustainable foods champion. And, while there, do try a glass of the delicious Mealagulla Apple Juice.

Mayfield newcomer, the Old Bank, were just bringing their pancakes on to the menu so I didn't get to give them a proper test but they looked promising and, with their excellent Lemon Curd, could well be a very satisfying combination.

Orchids, at the Hayfield, has an outstanding selection of fruit and also some interesting breads. Hotels, as you might expect, will always have the Full Irish and the Hayfield’s is excellent, the bacon and black-pudding (by Rosscarbery Recipes) a tasty feature. Then there’s cheeses and salamis, their own granola; croissants, muffins and more from their bakery and an eye-catching full size honeycomb.

Veggie Benny at Good Day Deli

Along with pancakes, various “editions” of Eggs Benedict are to be found in all menus. The Crawford’s Eggs Royale, poached eggs and Frank Hederman smoked salmon on sourdough toast with Hollandaise sauce, is very delicious too.

Over at the new Good Day Deli, the Veggie Benny is a must-try: two organic poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on sourdough, with organic kale, and tomato, topped with nut dukkah. I’m sure their Salmon Benny, also with Hederman’s smoked salmon, is excellent too.

The House Dish, well loved at the Old Bank

In Mayfield’s Old Bank, their Eggs Benedict has proven so popular that it is on all day.  The Old Bank Café style sees poached eggs come on sourdough toast with hollandaise or with salsa verde and is further enhanced by a choice of slow roast tomatoes, sauté spinach and roast button mushrooms or home cured bacon and slow roasted tomatoes. 

And another breakfast dish, simply called the House Dish, has also gone all-day. This includes crispy home-made potato hash, smoked ham hock, smokey baked beans, poached egg and salsa verde or hollandaise. That hash, the potato is done rosti style, is excellent and lots of flavour come through from the other ingredients.

So there you, just four calls and lots of good stuff available. Do you have a favourite breakfast venue? A favourite breakfast dish?

* Fish rarely appears on breakfast menus. When it does, I usually go for it. Ballycotton Bay is noted for its plaice and it is a real treat to enjoy the view and the plaice at the Samphire Restaurant in the Garryvoe Hotel.