Big Beat

Coffees always good as is the food and service, what more could u asked for. Open for dinner some nights now.
And an evening with Graham Brazier coming up he’s a living legend.
It’s all good Mr Big Beat!
I’ll be back and back again.

This place used to be a Sierra Coffee — you know, one of those chain places. Now it’s its own independent thing, with its own style. Is this a good thing? For the most part, yes.
So, good things: it’s a sweet layout for a café, and this hasn’t changed. Large windows at the front so plenty of light, plus a courtyard out the back which is really nice. Additional good things: the food is better now than it was as a Sierra. A lot better. I’ve yet to actually try their coffee so I can’t comment on that.
Not so good points: there’s just the tiniest, tiniest hint of tryhard. The name, the slogan (something like coffee + kitchen — because just saying food is too traditional), the massive prints of young Bob Dylan on the wall, and finally the naff flyer they put through our letterbox (we live just down the road). ‘Dave, Tracy, Simon and Kasey are all waiting for you at Big Beat’* I assume these are the names of the staff, but the whole thing just reeked of self-​satisfied wank to me. It’s a shame, because it’s tarnished my opinion of what is objectively quite a nice café.
*Not the real names, because I threw the offending literature away.

This place is close by where I live so I had high hopes and anticipation early last year when I saw we were going to finally get something new. Big Beat has been no disappointment. Although the food in the cabinet all looks amazing, it’a also quite expensive.
Happily, the menu items are better value for money and we have spent many a post soccer Saturday brunch here. My thing is their Spicy Chai Latte which is so spicy I think it might have chilli in it. The Mince on Toast is also a favourite at our big table out the back and the kids have given the smoothies and muffins the big thumbs up.
The people who run this place are really lovely and it has that wonderful neighbourhood café feel that this end of Mt Eden/​Balmoral has been lacking for so long. Long may it last.

Probably if you live on or near a road like Dominion Road, you don’t want to sit in a café looking out the window at the traffic you battle through every day. That’s where Big Beat saves the day with its surprisingly spacious and welcoming courtyard hidden out the back. Complete with garden, umbrellas and blue sky (okay so maybe the sky colour is a bit more variable, but it was certainly a very pleasant place to sit on a summer’s day) you wouldn’t know from the street that you could pop into a mini-​paradise and still get to work on time.
The breakfast/​brunch type menu looks great though I can only speak for the scrumptious slices that I couldn’t resist. Apricot ginger was a winner, as was the citrus slice. Yum!