Scrumptious Café, Parramatta

On the weekend The Boy and I meet up with one of The Boy’s work buddies Mr M and his lovely wifey Mrs M for brunch.

Mr and Mrs M used to be Parramatta locals before they upped sticks and moved even further west. Strangely this happened just as The Boy and I landed in Parramatta – not that we’re taking their move personally or anything like that!

Mr and Mrs M seem pretty excited to be revisiting their old breakfast haunt on Church Street, Bellani Café. Needless to say they are pretty upset as they stand outside Bellani’s only to see a boarded up café with no sign of their beloved Eggs Benedict within. I’m not sure what’s happened to Bellani’s, but cafes seem to come and go more often in Parramatta than just about anywhere else I’ve ever lived. 

After a quick pow-wow and lots of “I don’t mind where we go, where do you want to go” we decide to check out Scrumptious Café on the riverfront. The only reason we register that this place exists is due to one of their waitresses strolling up and down Church Street giving out menus.  Smart move Scrumptious.  

Scrumptious is located right on the Parramatta River underneath the old David Jones building.  Without the help of the waitress/customer wrangler I would never have registered that this place is even open as the David Jones building has been empty for as long as I can remember. 

The location of Scrumptious is really nice. Being right on the river front it's relatively quite and we're shielded for the noise of the traffic and the bus fumes that usually accompany eating outdoors on Church Street.  They also open much earlier than most of the Church Street cafes - which is good as we're meeting at 9.30am...on a Sunday, ouch! 

Both Mr and Mrs know exactly what they are having and promptly order Egg's Benedict ($11.90). 

The cafe has no problem in substituting the ham for bacon, however forgets the side of mushrooms that they've ordered, and only bring out the side order of hash browns after prompting by us. The cafe did fill up quickly after we ordered, but no excuses...right?

Mr and Mrs M seem happy enough with their brunch, but it's obvious this Egg's Benedict doesn't compare to their old favourite from Bellani's.  The hollandaise is a bit more thin and vinegary, but overall it's not bad.

I'm currently in the hate phase of my relationship with eggs on toast, so go for the French Toast ($10.50) which the menu tells me comes with strawberries, banana and cream.  There is a noticeable absence of banana on my French Toast, but I don't mind as the green apple they've substituted it with is wonderfully tart and cuts through the sweetness of the French Toast.  A bit more apple would've gone down really well I think.

The Boy, still lamenting he is no longer in the USA where the meals are bigger than a elephants tummy, goes for the Big Breakfast ($18.00). As promised this breakfast is big...in fact it is ENORMOUS!

Despite the slow(ish) service once the cafe became busy, all in all, Scrumptious was a pretty nice place to have brunch and chat with friends.  I'm sure that once we've explored the other brunch offerings in Parramatta we'll be back to take advantage of Scrumptious' nice location by the river.

Scrumptious is located at Shop 1, 330 Church Street, Parramatta...just follow the steps down from the Church Street bridge and you'll find them easy enough.