Brunch @ Gryphons Caffe - FoodPornJournal

My partner J and I headed to Gryphons Caffe & Bar at the Griffith Shops for breakfast. We hadn’t been back since 2013 when I had the pumpkin doughnuts. This time around, there are Scandinavian doughnuts on the menu with cherry nutella ganache, grilled banana and toasted coconut ($15). Well I just couldn’t say no to that and I was very curious about these Scandinavian doughnuts. A key improvement that I noted between now and my visit in 2013, is that the plating is a lot more pleasing. Three doughnut balls came out sitting on a row of grilled and slightly caramelised banana smothered in chocolate. I was salivating trying to get a good shot of this.

So first, the doughnut. I cut one in half expecting it to be a regular cinnamon doughnut, until a white thick custard oozed out. The chef tells me it is an apple and orange brandy custard. Thankfully I could not taste any brandy whatsoever, and the custard was warm, light and creamy. The cherry nutella ganache is divine with a blissful balance of sweet chocolate and bitter cherry notes ensuring the dish isn’t overly sweet. The grilled banana was still hot and made me feel slightly healthy. Yum! I couldn’t really taste the toasted coconut as the ganache overpowered it, but it did look great on top. A really satisfying and naughty breakfast.

J ordered the Gryphon’s Breakfast ($22) with two eggs cooked your way (he chose fried), house made potato rosti, trussed cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, chorizo sausage and smokey bacon. Again, the presentation was nice and although it’s not your typical big breakfast, there was still plenty on the plate and he was full after finishing this.

Staff had forgotten about my mocha ($3.50) so that came out mid-way through our meals. Nevertheless, it was extremely chocolatey and sweet. More of a hot chocolate than a mocha but being a chocoholic I really can’t complain.

Orders are taken and paid for at the bar where there is a self-serve water station. There is plenty of indoor seating. The atmosphere that morning was quiet and content with a few locals enjoying breakfast with a newspaper. Gryphon’s lunch menu looks good with a variety of pizzas, other popular pub grub and a roast banquet available.