Cafe 51

The menu at Cafe Essen is very large, mostly-Mediterranean-inspired and eclectic, with almost as many blackboard specials as well. There are soups, savory and sweet crepes, burgers, Lasagne, salads, curries, and all day breakfast. Our delicious food was slightly let down by slow service (only one cook on a Friday lunchtime!). My wife ordered the tofu salad, which was mildly spicy and delicious, and I ordered the vegetarian breakfast, which was pretty much perfect (see photos). One minor niggle: the hollandaise sauce I ordered as an extra (it's not normally part of the standard breakfast) came out as a pale white sauce that, by the cook's own admission, contained no egg yolks. I'm sure it was very nice, but it was NOT hollandaise - it tasted like inexpensive mayonnaise and simply didn't work with breakfast eggs. If I had ordered the eggs benedict and that anemic stuff had been poured all over it, it would have been pretty awful, so be warned. My attempt to explain to the cook what hollandaise sauce is usually made from was met with polite but stubborn refusal to admit error. Luckily it was served on the side and could be avoided. Apart from that one irritating encounter, and the slow service (which may have been a one off), oh - and the lack of air conditioning on a warm day, it was actually a very good meal. The food was fresh and delicious. I mostly recommend Cafe Essen.

Really yummy, and always love a place that has a vegan menu. The coffee I had really hit the spot, smooth, but with enough of a kick to wake me up. My partner had the fresh orange juice which was also great. I had the bean & tofu scramble was was so flavourful and filling, and my partner had the eggs benedict with salmon which he really seemed to enjoy. Overall it was a really great breakfast, looking forward to eating here again!

Open late, usually quiet enough to have a chat. Perfectly adequate coffee with a few food options. I'm not saying it's the best place in Civic. But it's a reliable spot to meet someone or hang out.