If you go down to Ormond today, you're sure of a big surprise. Yes, I'm singing that to the tune of the Teddy Bears' Picnic song, and although there are no teddy bears having a picnic in Ormond, there are bears of some variety climbing a mountain, at least that's what Mountain of Bears indicates to me.
Located in an arcade off North Rd, just next to the Ormond train line, this new cafe has clearly caught the attention of many. We went for brunch on Saturday and it was packed! Fitted out with timber tables, hanging plants and light pendants and arcade style prints on the wall, Mountain of Bears is clearly going for a friendly theme.
We were quickly seated by a lovely waitress, presented with our menus and had our drinks orders taken. As usual I ordered a latte, and it arrived promptly. I must make mention of the cup it was served in. The handle was large enough so that we should get our finger through and get a stable grip. A small thing I know, but small things can make a big difference, in this case making sure one doesn't spill coffee on themselves. Mountain of Bears is run by the team that used to run Manchester Press, so it was no surprise that the coffee was good.
The menu takes a New York spin, and is full of bagels of various sorts. There are sweet bagels, savoury bagels, hot bagels and cold bagels, bagels with soup, and then a few non bagel options including salad, muesli and porridge. We followed the theme of the menu and went with bagels, after all, they are clearly sending us a message when three quarters of the menu focuses on them.
I ordered a mushroom and hummus bagel which arrived on a large plate and looked very pretty. There was a bagel, cut in half and thickly smeared with hummus. On top of it was a generous serve of grilled mixed mushrooms, sauteed silverbeet and a poached egg. There was a sliced avocado on the side and the dish was garnished with some lovely sprouts.
I wasn't quite sure how to tackle the dish. I decided to cut it up and try and get a bit of everything on my fork so I could get the full flavour experience. It ended up being a fully loaded fork but boy was it tasty. The combination of silverbeet and mushrooms worked perfectly, and the creaminess of the hummus and avocado brought it all together.
Unfortunately the egg just failed the yolk porn test. When I cut into the yolk it threatened to ooze but stopped just short which was a real shame, because I'm sure some yolk sauce would have made everything taste even better. Still, I'm willing to forgive this lapse in judgement because everything else tasted so good.
The other half had a chorizo and egg bagel. This bagel was also cut in half and served in a mushroom sauce. Atop the bagel was chorizo (duh), wilted spinach, sauteed leeks, mixed mushrooms and a poached egg. Apparently the chorizo wasn't spicy enough, and the egg was again 30 seconds over done, but the flavours worked beautifully together, and it was declared a winning breakfast.
Whilst the thought of a bagel may not seem so filling, the breakfast definitely left us more than full. We were so full infact, that we had to pass up the freshly baked treats which were lined up on the counter.
All in all it was a great morning at this new Ormond cafe. If you're one of the few people left who haven't heard about it, get on board. And if you're one of the people who have heard about it but haven't made your way there, hurry up, because just like the teddy bears, you're in for a big surprise.
Located in an arcade off North Rd, just next to the Ormond train line, this new cafe has clearly caught the attention of many. We went for brunch on Saturday and it was packed! Fitted out with timber tables, hanging plants and light pendants and arcade style prints on the wall, Mountain of Bears is clearly going for a friendly theme.
We were quickly seated by a lovely waitress, presented with our menus and had our drinks orders taken. As usual I ordered a latte, and it arrived promptly. I must make mention of the cup it was served in. The handle was large enough so that we should get our finger through and get a stable grip. A small thing I know, but small things can make a big difference, in this case making sure one doesn't spill coffee on themselves. Mountain of Bears is run by the team that used to run Manchester Press, so it was no surprise that the coffee was good.
The menu takes a New York spin, and is full of bagels of various sorts. There are sweet bagels, savoury bagels, hot bagels and cold bagels, bagels with soup, and then a few non bagel options including salad, muesli and porridge. We followed the theme of the menu and went with bagels, after all, they are clearly sending us a message when three quarters of the menu focuses on them.
I ordered a mushroom and hummus bagel which arrived on a large plate and looked very pretty. There was a bagel, cut in half and thickly smeared with hummus. On top of it was a generous serve of grilled mixed mushrooms, sauteed silverbeet and a poached egg. There was a sliced avocado on the side and the dish was garnished with some lovely sprouts.
I wasn't quite sure how to tackle the dish. I decided to cut it up and try and get a bit of everything on my fork so I could get the full flavour experience. It ended up being a fully loaded fork but boy was it tasty. The combination of silverbeet and mushrooms worked perfectly, and the creaminess of the hummus and avocado brought it all together.
Unfortunately the egg just failed the yolk porn test. When I cut into the yolk it threatened to ooze but stopped just short which was a real shame, because I'm sure some yolk sauce would have made everything taste even better. Still, I'm willing to forgive this lapse in judgement because everything else tasted so good.
The other half had a chorizo and egg bagel. This bagel was also cut in half and served in a mushroom sauce. Atop the bagel was chorizo (duh), wilted spinach, sauteed leeks, mixed mushrooms and a poached egg. Apparently the chorizo wasn't spicy enough, and the egg was again 30 seconds over done, but the flavours worked beautifully together, and it was declared a winning breakfast.
Whilst the thought of a bagel may not seem so filling, the breakfast definitely left us more than full. We were so full infact, that we had to pass up the freshly baked treats which were lined up on the counter.
All in all it was a great morning at this new Ormond cafe. If you're one of the few people left who haven't heard about it, get on board. And if you're one of the people who have heard about it but haven't made your way there, hurry up, because just like the teddy bears, you're in for a big surprise.
It all looks great. I work a bit in Ormond so will have to check it out. I do love bagels :)
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