Hot poppy

OK, here is something like a review, let me start by saying I am in no way a food snob; I know what I like & what I like is entirely subjective. I don't want this to be a foodie blog; I think I just want other vegan & vege people to be able to identify non-veg cafes where they can get a decent meal. So... here goes....

Partner & I had breakfast at Hot Poppy in North Melbourne on the weekend. I wanted to go somewhere new & I have never eaten in North Melbourne (though I have had good coffee at Hot Poppy before). I did some research & found their menu online that listed vegan breakfast options, so good to go!

First impressions weren't great. After sitting down & being tossed a couple of menus by a harrassed-looking waiter, we waited 15mins to be asked for our coffee/food order. I was also slightly disappointed that the menu we were given was different to the menu on the website. I cheered up when I saw the new vegan option though - a polenta, avocado, baby spinach & capsicum chutney pide. There were other more standard vegan options, like muesli or toast with extras etc & there were definitely plenty of vegetarian options.

The service picked up slightly & the coffee was good, I'd say 3.5/5. Food was yummy, fresh & full of flavour. Partner had the big veg breakfast, which from memory had eggs, mushrooms, spinach, tomato & pesto. Both servings were also huge & left us full until dinner.

Overall I'd rate the breakfast at around 2.5/5. I will give them a second chance, because the food was good, I just hope the wait-staff were having a bad day, because I really don't understand why someone would choose to work in a service industry when they don't like people. Also, this isn't the cafe's fault, but I really hate smokers in cafes. We usually sit outside to enjoy the fresh air & being joined by a smoker completely ruins the appetite. I don't understand why the VIC government hasn't banned this yet, will have to contact whoever is responsible & ask why the lag behind NSW?

P.S. Sorry about lack of photos, I don't have my digital camera yet.