Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5
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Time Out says
Fri Jul 29 2011
The Ponsonby district is Auckland’s hipstertown, full of cool bars and brunchy independent cafés. Shoreditch is the approximate London equivalent (a grubbier version without the friendly people, of course).
With its laidback vibe and smiley staff, Long White Cloud feels like it’s been imported straight from NZ to Hackney Road (the café’s name comes from the Maori name for their country: Aotearoa, ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’. Presumably they don’t have a word for ‘Land of the Dirty Grey Exhaust-Fume Cloud’, which would be a more accurate description of their current locale).
LWC is as much gallery as café, with plain walls turned over to local artists to display their works. Beyond the neat rows of salvaged tables there are hand-designed T-shirts for sale beside a choice selection of imported, non-perishable food products for homesick Kiwis – there’s even cans of Lemon & Paero (‘World Famous in New Zealand’), a very nice drop. Look out too for the terrifying baby sculpture left over from the last exhibition.
Food is casual – breakfast and brunch is a strong suit, with a blackboard of simple dishes: organic scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, muesli with Greek yogurt and apple, French toast with bacon, banana and agave syrup.
During the week there’s lunch too, with sandwiches, salads and more unusual-sounding dishes (unless you’re a Kiwi) such as meatloaf with chilli jam or kumara soup. They've recently started offering well-priced themed pasta, pie and Mexican nights.
I would have expected the coffee here to come from Allpress in Redchurch Street (a Kiwi company with its base in Ponsonby), but it’s from the equally good Monmouth. Our long black was well made, and there’s posh hot choc – in different cocoa percentages – and fresh orange and carrot juice too.
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