Brunch at Savour and Devour, Grey Lynn, Auckland

There's something about the name 'Savour and Devour' that makes it really fun to say out loud.  Go on, say it with me: Savourrrr and Devoooouur.  You can't help but say it in your late-night-radio-DJ voice, sporting your best come hither look.

But the cool name is not the only reason to go to Savour and Devour, the food was pretty incredible too.

The 3 of us girlies, got there around 11am a couple of Sundays ago and were immediately drawn to the cabinet filled with gorgeous looking paninis and savouries and the cabinet-top lined with oh so pretty cakes and candies.  To make the decision process even harder, the menu was also jam packed full of delicious sounding dishes.  It took us 10 minutes of umming and ahhing just to work out what to eat.

We ended up all picking dishes from the menu, thinking we would order something sweet and pretty from the cabinet later.  M ordered the brioche toast, which came with berry jam and mascarpone cheese.  The slices of brioche were hot and thick and massive, crispy on the outside but still fluffy and light on the inside.  There wasn't quite enough jam to go round, since the slices were so darn big but it was no trouble at all asking for some more. 

K had the Big Breakfast with 2 eggs (cooked to your liking), pork fennel sausages, roasted tomatoes, toast and sauteed spinach.  K raved about it and the rest of us had a teeny bit of plate envy.  Each element of the dish was special in some way: the grainy bread toasted to perfection loaded with grains and seeds like proper artisan bread; the spinach had lemon added to give it a bit of zing; the tomatoes were roasted with dollops of pesto on top and the sausages were juicy and bursting with fennel and spices.  And all for $15.50...that has got to be one of the best big breakfast deals around.

A had the Pain Perdue topped with poached seasonal fruit and mascarpone.  The pain perdue came as a tower of french toasted brioche, scattered with berries, apples and golden kiwifruit and the poaching juices served as a fruity syrup.

To borrow an expression from a fellow blogger, usually I'm like Pavlov's dog when it comes to creamy mushrooms - see creamy mushrooms, must order.  However, this time I resisted the compulsion and ordered the Vanilla Risotto to continue the crazy-rice-dish-for-brunch theme I seem to have going.  On the menu it was called "Vanilla Risotto with rhubarb compote, orange cinnamon syrup and roasted pistachios"...with a description like that who could resist, non?

I was not disappointed.  The risotto was creamy and scented with vanilla and not overly sweet.  The rhubarb compote was lovely and tart and complemented by the mulled wine-esque orange cinnamon syrup.  Roasted pistachios gave bursts of crunchy flavour that contrasted with the creaminess of the risotto.  Altogether, the dish was incredibly creative and utterly delicious.

We were all so full from the humongous servings that we didn't have any room to try any of the pretty little cakes on the counter top as planned.  There is always next time...

Rating: 5/5

At a glance

Savour and Devour
478 Richmond Road
Grey Lynn
Auckland
(09) 361 2631

Service: Quick and friendly.  Gave us extra jam on request.

Food: Generous portions, absolutely delicious dishes, and inventive too.

Coffee: Good, hot and smooth and came out quickly.

Setting: Get in there quick because the place fills up very quickly.  It was a little chilly by the door but I hear there is seating out back too.

Price (NZD): Very reasonable.

Brioche toast: $8.50
Big breakfast: $ 15.50
Pain perdu: $16.50
Vanilla risotto: $14.50
Flat white: $4.00
Latte: $4.50
Soy mocha: $5.00

Summary: New fav brunch place.  We will definitely be back.