Cafe Viva

I heart the American diner fare at Café Viva — the kitschy menu is a lot of fun, like the tricked out pop décor. Think burgers, hot dogs & sundaes — a change from other Balmain offerings. Meeting up with friends for lazy Sunday breakfast, this cosy establishment has heart. Our waiter is laid back but attentive and knows his stuff — it’s clearly a busy morning but we don’t feel rushed. Orders arrive and the portion sizes are huge — I struggle to finish off my breakfast burrito (though I AM picking at BFF’s pancakes, food envy’s a bitch!) Diner fare evokes thoughts of the cheap & nasty for some, but food here is good quality with fresh ingredients and the coffee is fantastic. A top spot for breakfast/​lunch with a handful of friends. The all day breakfast menu will appease the masses (Scrambled eggs with almonds & truffle oil a highlight) but American diner fare is the hero for fun seekers looking for something different.

Café Viva is a beautiful corner café with lots of rockabilly charm to offer.
The menu is not only tempting but fun, as it presents an array of American diner dishes including hotdogs, burgers ($ 16.50 for a Man size and $ 13.50 for the La Petite) and grilled cheese melts ($ 10) in a kitsch background of pin-​up girls and comic-​book pizazz. If you’re up for something lighter, they also offer a beautiful range of salads (I had the delicious tuna and bean salad with capers and a perfectly poached egg). Be warned, these too are quite filling and I struggled to finish. The breakky menu looks great as well, with their particularly tasty sounding breakfast burritos ($ 10.50), all washed down with a root beer float and followed by a giant banana split.
Café Viva maintains an elegance, despite how potentially tacky it could be. With framed rock’n’roll memorabilia, booths and spinning stools, the décor is a confusing mix of diner kitsch and boudoir elegance, all within the one light and breezy shop. I will be going back, if only to check out the waitress’s Sookie Stackhouse style again.