Levin

Logs flickering on the fire, vegetable soup bubbling in the crock pot, the smell of baking bread wafting through the house, soothing tones of The Eagles playing on Youtube, on repeat, cat snuggled up on this fluffy $11 bed from Wish, gentle rain splattering the outside of our windows… so many reasons to stay at home today, with a cup of instant coffee and a tim tam. However, as none of the above remotely describes anything that was happening at our house, we decided to brave the wild winter weather bomb, and head out into the unknown for this weeks review.

We just happened to need to visit Levin today (a long story that involves two men, heavy lifting and a four wheel drive, but we won’t bore you with the details), so we decided to tie this in with a cafe lunch. We had no specific venue in mind, so decided to take a risk and find somewhere along the way.

We were completely unprepared for the extreme weather while heading ‘up the line’. Thunder, lightning, sheets of torrential rain and waves breaking over the side of the Pukerua Bay coast added an air of drama to our trip and highlighted the dedication we have to writing these blog posts each week. Ok… we may have slightly over dramatised the weather here, but it was raining, and there was one streak of lightning. We needed to amp this up a little so you can visualise the beacon of welcome and light that glowed from the side of the road, calling us into its haven of warmth and shelter.

This beacon of warmth and light came in the form of Levin’s Quarter Acre Cafe, which rose out of the gloomy depths of the Levin Highway, and enticed us inside for a quick meal and a flat white.

While there was ample parking outside, it quickly became apparent that this is a popular little noshery, and parking was at a premium. We did manage to nab a cheeky spot by the door, but this may or may not have required us to block the entrance to the outdoor seating area.

The inside of the Quarter Acre Cafe was beautifully decorated, the staff were welcoming and although the venue was filled almost to capacity, there was a peaceful ambiance in the air.

We were shown a table, given a slick menu which screamed ‘boutique’ (little choice and even littler portion sizes), and offered a bottle of still water. While there were only about six items to choose from, they did all sound delicious and we had a hard time deciding what to order. We both went for the sirloin steak, with mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce and winter vegetables (a nice descriptor, but there is little you can do to disguise carrots, beans and broccoli once it actually arrives).

Our flat white and EB tea arrived quickly and Rachael’s triple layer carrot cake, politely described as an entree by the waitress followed not too far behind. So far so good.

While we waited for our mains, we noted the following: no free wifi, there was a selection of cabinet food which looked delicious, the cafe was in fact an old homestead, with the covered verandah cleverly hosting around 20 tables, the venue was quite tightly packed so not wheelchair / pushchair friendly, the outside grounds were stunning and would be a huge draw card on a beautiful spring day.

We were impressed by the presentation of our meals and both were keen to taste these morsels of perfection plated in front of us. We did feel a little rude starting while the table next to us recited Grace, so in the interest of good manners, refrained for several minutes before digging in.

You may be starting to think at this stage, that all is going as planned and this is just a standard food review. The first mouthful, however, would prove otherwise. It would appear the Quarter Acre Cafe owners may have had ancestors tracing back to spice traders, as the amount of cracked pepper in the steak would have been enough to barter for a small farmlet on the outskirts of Manakau .

Our second surprise was the absolutely inedible steak – more than half was gristley and tough (that would be the half not covered in pepper). While the ‘winter vegetables’ were perfectly cooked, we could not manage to overlook the poor cut of meat.

We both completely disagree with our overall score this week. Andre can not move on from his meaty disappointment so is firmly sticking to 3/5, and feels like this score has been generously upgraded because of the delicious flat white. Rachael on the other hand, is sticking to a solid 5/5. Reasons for this include being offered dessert as an entree, the wine rack turned into a magazine stand and the symmetrical placement of the accoutrements on the table.

It’s not often we disagree, but this week we are at a stalemate. We could meet in the middle and award four stars, but neither of us is prepared to budge!

A couple of side notes:
If you’re free on Sunday 1 September, at 10.30am, we would love you to join us for a coffee at Expressions Cafe in Upper Hutt.

Many of you have asked the outcome of Andre versus Wilson Parking.  Lets just say we have happily spent the $65 fine on today’s meal, and leave it at that.

Andre’s highlight: The coffee was hot, and the food arrived quickly.

Rachael’s highlight: Kitchen staff picking fresh lemons off the tree outside.

OVER ALL SCORE: Debatable.