Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Review: Ash's Table, Manly

Just a quick note that I’ve been overwhelmed with work and focussing on the organisation of setting up a brand new food blog server for all your readers out there so my posts are a bit delayed! Sorry! So anyway…=) I've lived in the Northern Beaches region for the large part of my life and but I've rarely eaten around the area. My frequent haunts are all around the Sydney CBD area or Eastern suburbs, especially when it comes to brunches and lunches. Everyone's been on hardcore exam study sessions lately, leaving me with no one to hang out and eat with! I chose all assessment based subjects this semester so I didn't have exams, which most consider to be lucky but at the same time, I have to spend all my free time with myself anyway! It just so happened that a large gap appeared in AW's exam timetable and since we live quite close to each other, we decided that Manly would be a nice place to satisfy our tummies.

As always, AW was running late, so by the time we found parking on the beach side of Manly, it was already 11am. Having both skipped breakfast - we were pretty much ready to devour anything. It was an overcast Sunday morning but there were plenty of people walking around in wetsuits, pushing prams and just enjoying the relaxed beach lifestyle - so it was only natural that every cafe or restaurant we could see in the distance was bustling with crowds of people. Briefly glancing at the menu, we were greeted warmly by the owner (I assume), who happened to be pinning up the lunch menu, and so not really wanting to keep walking in the rain we settled on eating at Ash's Table.

I'm always extremely grateful that when cafes, or any other eatery for that matter, keeps their breakfast menu available for most of the day. Well-cooked breakfast is something I think that I'd be willing to eat no matter what the hour! Going through the menu, AW and I were quick to decide that we would pick one breakfast item and one lunch item and with tummies madly grumbling at our neglecting them, we promptly selected a pizza most appropriately named The Meaty - tempting me with bacon, pepperoni, chorizo, mushroom and capsicum on a sweeeeet chilli jam base topped with mozarella cheese - as well as a classic Sausage and (Scrambled) Eggs served on sourdough.

The Meaty (small) $18.00


Sausages & Eggs with Sourdough $12.00

On top of that, we also ordered a Mango Smoothie and a Latte :) For the amount of people in the cafe, I was quite impressed at the quick service we received. The waiters didn't stand there and leer at us, but did periodically check with us to see if we were ready as they rushed around serving other customers. My only criticism would be the relatively long wait for drinks to arrive - they were on our table with only a few minutes to spare before the food came which caused a slight raise of the eyebrow. Having said that, my Mango smoothie was yummy and refreshing (I love mangoesss!) and after AW's initial puzzlement over how to consume her piece of biscotti, she seemed quite satisfied with her latte.

Mango Smoothie $6.00


Latte $3.00

So what about the food? Well boys and girls, I am currently doing a marketing placement for a large bread company and just recently, happened to be involved in taste testing of various sourdough and let me tell you – the sourdough served here was really just plain bread. There was not even the slightest hint of a sour note – not in the first bite and it didn’t build up to anything either. The bread itself was also slightly stale. The only item I appreciated was the scrambled eggs which, although not brillant, still filled my tummy with protein goodness. And what of the pizza? Well it was indeed, extremely meaty. The layers of meat far outweighed any previous encounters I’ve had with self-proclaimed ‘meaties’ from the popular fast food pizza outlets and definitely satisfied my carnivorous yearnings. But…yes, there is another ‘but’…it was wayyyy too oily. Literally dripping with it. When something is that oily – you just feel sick. That’s probably why AW only ate a little and delegated the rest to my mouth and stomach.

I think I’ve been quite harsh with this little review. I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere, service and just the idea of a little lunch near the beach even in the dreary weather – but when it came down to the food…it just didn’t quite cut it. I will however, revisit that strip of cafes and try my luck at another one next time.


Ash's Table
93 North Steyne Road
Manly NSW 2095
PH: (02) 9976 3382

5 comments:

  1. I never know where to eat on the infrequent occasions I visit the northern beaches, so thanks for the review.

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  2. heh i really like the name of the meaty shame it was so oily tho and ahh i love summer because of mango smoothies! btw your comment box doesnt have option for name + url?

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  3. @joey: No worries! There will definitely be more to come - the place is filled with a variety of different cafes and restaurants that will sure to be explored soon!

    @chocolatesuze: Thanks for the comment! :) Mango is honestly the best fruit in existence and fruit flavour! Haha

    And regarding the comment box - yeah, since I've jumped on board, I'm going to revamping the overall layout and blogging platform etc. Blogspot requires this sign-in stuff which I don't particular like. But if you keep watching this space, I'll keep you up to date with changes to the website (including the comment box and the domain name itself!) Thanks chocolatesuze!

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  4. sounds like a pizza i'd enjoy mmm... meat and oil

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  5. @Godders: Haha, oiliness aside, it was packed full of meat :)

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