TL;DR: Putting it briefly, this is like getting that wonderful gift that is gift-wrapped in low quality packaging. It's on a suburban street, the row of shops don't looking like much from the outskirts; therefore, most people would saunter past without being any more the wiser. Yet taking a step inside leads to a warm (though cool in temperature) hidey-hole that works on a number of levels, and brings an Italian charm of using the quality food and coffee to speak the wonders. It has been a work in progress, so who knows what Cenzo's is going to do next? I know for sure, it will rock.
Until now, it is a little inexplicable why it has taken me so long to get around to coming here. It is not even that it flew under the radar or anything - sometime back it was known for having that really expensive coffee from Indonesia, kopi lupak if the memory serves me correctly. That has become an international specialty partially through infamy (look it up, details are interesting to say the least). The ship had long sailed on that prospect, and nevertheless I was losing sleep that night. For getting here, it came to that time of the week on Sunday - breakfast! It went as per usual: I was snoozing, my house mate sneaked in with the airhorn up ready to blast, and the whole process goes on as normal - it was ten minutes later that the car was backing our the driveway to go out for breakfast.
Well, the little sparrow that started off flapping its wings has transformed itself into something else. No longer just being content to be an espresso bar, the folks behind the operations have gone out and expanded Cenzo's into a night-time bar. The whole aesthetic is sleek enough to attract anyone in, and they offer plenty of good food that will tantilise the taste buds.
Viewed on a curve, Cenzo's is probably going to lose the race for top prizes and that when compared to some of the more lush and trendy locales that become more dense when going into town. Yet, on the merits that it has it may have been one of the earlier adopters of an esoteric dining scene that hangs around the southern suburbs, and is nebulous to describe in given all honesty. The more I try out cafes with this sort of interior, and subsequent vibe, the more I take an equal part appreciation and an equal part liking to it.
The way to describe it could possibly go like this: the cafe finds itself in an old suburban cornershop that possibly was a corner store in an earlier life that. These little cafes are hidey-holes, and there is a decent getting a park right in front of the cafe itself. if it weren't for the umbrellas shading the tables on the pavement, you could easily drive by this place and be none the wiser. Looking inside is a whole other ballpark. They keep it simple, and the simplicity works. Going straight for a trio of colours, they use black and white to contrast against each other, with a some red thrown in on the odd occasion. It's kept low key, with the darkened atmosphere and through-flow of breeze cooling down the temperature A few tables with chairs are out the front, covered by the umbrellas, and the set out works quite well.
Maybe if something needs a bit of improvement, it could be the customer service. It wouldn't get any kind of fail mark, just a couple of things here and there can easily be tweaked and the assignment result would be a mark better. It is mainly about the small things that make up the experience, since the major aspects were in tact. One aspect that I always look out for, and give places distinctions based on it, has to do with bringing the waters. I had to ask the waitress for some water. To me, it goes right at the start. Except for that gripe, the young lady here was not too bad. Ordering is done at the counter, and the food comes out pretty quickly- so they have a firm grasp on some good customer service aspects.
As far as the food on the menu goes, the folks here keep it fairly low-key. Instead of the all-day breakfast, it is more of a combination of breakfast and brunch with a couple of staples here, but mostly just keeping the whole idea simple and homely. With the days they decide to stay open outside the brunch rush, it is still kept within their parameters with simplicity and homeliness ruling the roost. When it is just on the cusp of the mid-afternoon, they have a few bar snacks and whatever may be in the cabinet at the time - mostly sweets, cakes, and some sandwiches if the memory is able to serve correctly.
Getting into dinner time, they have a decidedly Italian edge to their offerings. It is still pretty simple, mainly going for a few varieties of pizza, a few salads, and some classics which will always be a winner in either Italy or Australia - many of the dishes may as well be shared between the two countries. They have a rotating special for dessert, which adds another dimension to being the local oasis.
Drinks are more or less the general variety you can expect, especially depending on the time of day rocking up. As per usual, you can expect the tea and coffee right off the bat. For the brunch and daytime, other options include milkshakes, sodas, and juices. When it gets to dinner time, plenty of beers are on tap plus in the bottle, along with spirits, and various kinds of wine.
As it has been mentioned, it was breakfast time for us and that meant - especially for breakfast time - that coffee was the first port of business. They mainly did the espresso coffees, hence the doppio was the way to go. So, with the beans that they use. This is the familiar... you could say friend, Merlo. It can be a good cup of coffee when it falls into the right hands, and it can be a lackluster bean when it falls into the wrong hands. On a positive note, the average quality for a barista around all of my stomping grounds has reached a decent level. This coffee here did pretty well, with the usual smooth texture, a nice burst of strength (surprisingly strong for a Merlo coffee), and good fruity flavour in the beans' notes.
When it came to choosing the breakfast meal, there were several options which had me wide-eyed. In the end, the chosen one was the fritters - and more often than not, you can't go wrong with the fritters for breakfast (if I weren't so lazy in the morning, these might be something I would attempt to create). These guys were made from a combination of corn and zucchini, and were dressed with lots of rocket, a sweet chilli jam, and cherry tomatoes, with a side of haloumi and some poached eggs. You can bet the eggs were requested soft. From my house mate's plate, he saw there wasn't any meat on the plate, so he transferred over some crispy bacon and a bit of chorizo.
These fritters were a tasty, and filling morsel. Fritters can sometimes err on the side of being dry, but there was no worry about it being that way here. The corn did a great job of making a sweet flavour, and the texture was soft and springy throughout. What makes the fritters at any point is the condiments and such served alongside, and the chilli jam did wonders. Taking or leaving the rocket - which there was enough to fool someone into thinking it was salad - the cherry tomatoes also worked. As always, haloumi was bold and salty, and the soft poached eggs went down a treat. Both the bacon and chorizo contributed their distinct flavours to the mix, and it rounded off to a decent breakfast.
Regarding how Cenzo stacks up with the local dining scene, it can be summed up like this. Possibly more commonplace in the south side of town, at the core they are the local breakfast place that serves up fairly wholesome far and sometimes puts in a few surprises - however, with an earnest heart they are stepping forward and expanding on what they can do, like with anyone who wants to please a crowd. There were maybe one or two tweaks regarding the service that can easily be implemented, and when they are Cenzo's can easily come across as the welcoming oasis for the surrounding streets and suburbs.
Instead of the final score being the numeric system, a more apt one might be the old report card system. I am like the nicer teacher who doesn't nitpick too much, and has a radar for earnestness. This is getting that score of a B, but on that is fairly high and having potential to breakthrough to the next level.
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