A little bit like that coy little sibling, Eva Street Privateer is right next to a more established, more showy cafe, hidden a little bit from the street. For what it is worth, instead of the place to be seen, this is the place to retreat to get a small bit of sustinence. In addition to that, it is also the location of a barista school. The majority of places cannot have this said about them; there is well and truly seating behind the kitchen and the counter. It is safe to say that this little place is playing to its strengths and getting a whole different crowd. For all of that, I give it all the more credit as the upcoming local and black sheep.
In getting here, well it was another place that my housemate/dining buddy had found while I was overseas. This one was making waves on Beanhunter, and that is one of his most relied upon resources when it comes to finding new coffee places. Also, supporting local business and all that jazz - we were off to here one morning before doing the grocery shopping.
The folk here are some of the friendliest and most personable that I have met in some time. This was to the point that they were good natured, cracking jokes and even having conversations about the place and the food that they serve. To me this adds as a two-fold bonus: one, it makes the customer service experience all the more memorable, and two, it can indicate that they have a great deal of care to their craft. It is not only the friendly demeanour that they have to show, it is the work ethic as well. These guys pride themselves on being as quick and efficient with ordering as they can down to embracing the texting for orders. When I got my breakfast order, I was amazed at the cook on the grill. She was working like the Energiser Bunny.
They have a relatively simple menu with what is on offer. Starting off is a range of coffees, and they make sure to appeal to everyone. A place that shall not be named seems to have this system where the orders are done in a structure with size-milk-coffee type-extras if necessary. Many whine about how this mucks up the process - I don't disagree - but if that is your thing, they have streamlined it onto the menu themselves and given a guide. Adding on to that, a few house specials are on the bottom.
When it comes to food, there is the cabinet full of sweets to go with the coffee all home made on premises. For something a bit more substantial, they have a bunch of sandwiches to prepare fresh. In addition to that, there is a good milkshake list that has well over a dozen different choices. The usual suspects are here, but so are options like wildberry and peanut butter. Now this is one place I would envision having visited when I were a lad.
Well, getting to business it was first for coffee. With me, I am pretty set in getting the doppio nowadays. That was my order. The coffee that they use is Di Bella, which has never really been a favourite of mine; when I like my coffee, I like it really strong. Di Bella is not awful, but for that caffiene hit you need to get an extra shot, and a good barista is the best chance for its strengths to be brought out. Well, we had a good barista right here. The coffee was hot, but not too hot, the flavour was rich and a bit chocolaty, and there was a thick bit of crema on top. More or less, a coffee that was well above being competently made.
In staying here to get a coffee, I thought that I may as well try the food. Perusing the menu, the thing that looked the best from the selection was by far the Cuban. This was a combination of pulled, roasted pork, leg ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and Dijon mustard on sourdough bread. It is pressed on a sandwich maker to be a combination of toasted and grilled. Of course, when it comes to my dining buddy and I there was sharing. He cut a bit off, and after he tried it he was utterly impressed. It was to the point he vocalised that he should have gotten it. To give a bit more of good service, the grill cook went immediately to get a second plate so share, and with that I gave him half. One thing for sure with the Cuban, good luck eating it without getting messy. Everything about it worked wonders, the meat was exceptionally tender, and rich with flavour - it had a thick and fruity barbecue sauce to compliment it. Bits of pickle adding some vinegar to it, melted cheese is always a plus and the bread was thick and chewy. How can you go wrong with this?
Before the sandwich came out, my dining buddy got a snicker's bar. That is not the chocolate confectionary, but a bakery treat that happened to use the same name. It was a lot like that with chocolate, peanuts and whatnot. It was not too bad. The texture was solid and substantial, the chocolate delicious and not too sweet, and it was a good snack for between times.
Before it was time to hit the road, I had had a look at the list of milkshake flavours and pondered whether or not to get one. It might have been after ordering that I found out about it, or before it but with the flavours here they are all made with real stuff. So a chocoalte has cocoa poweder not syrup, and the fruit flavours will be done with jam et cetera. Combination of any kind are possible without an extra charge, and seizing that opportunity I went for one that I had been contemplating for a long time - Neopolitan. Yes, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla in the same cup. It was a first for this place, and I can live with that. The chocolate was a slighty dark one, unsweetened with sugar, the strawberry came from some jam and the ice cream used was creamy and smooth. After hearing my dining buddy say that it was a bit like a Cherry Ripe, that sounds like the most apt way to describe the flavour. Like getting the whole hog from the childhood snack, but it did not taste overtly sweet - these are milkshakes that I will be taking my nieces to have.
Eva Street Privateer certainly has a number of charms to it. The rough around the edges look might not bode well for some people; to me, I find it something that often makes a place a little more appealing and characteristic. The atmosphere was laid back and very friendly, the food all good and honest (plus really filling), and, heck, as a proud uncle if somewhere is child-friendly and dedicated to it it will get some brownie points immediately in my book. Eva Street Privateer is more than alright in my book.
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