I respect cafes that do an all day menu as it offers so much more flexibility for cafe-goers to go anytime of the day without worrying about the options being limited to the breakfast or lunch menu. The Cupping Room had an extensive all day menu at that, so we were completely spoiled for choice. Everything sounded amazing and tempting but alas we could only pick two items.

The shake was everything I expected it to be. Full of sweet salted caramel flavour and it wasn't particularly thick but wasn't thin either, I suppose it was the perfect milkshake consistency. The popcorn was coated heavily in salted caramel which served to exaggerate the flavour of the milkshake and with the bonus of being delicious and crunchy as they disappeared one by one into my mouth. DT and I loved it and it was gone pretty quickly. This was seriously an overdose of sugar which was good and bad. The bad being the amount of calories one would need to burn off afterwards.

I went with their house blend which consisted of 60% Brazil Santa Lucia, 20% El Salvador Villa Galicia and 20% El Salvador Supersonic. I wasn't even aware that there were such elaborate names for coffee beans. I had no complaints about the coffee as it was smooth and creamy. It was described to have notes of nuts and chocolate which I could clearly detect.

DT had the seasonal blend which consisted of 80% Ethiopian Beloya and 20% Ethiopia Kochere. This was the blend that the waiter had also recommended. It was a positively different coffee experience as it had really apparent fruity notes. It was a little strange for a coffee as fruit flavours are more common with teas but I found it quite pleasant.

Middle eastern spiced tuna tartare, charred peppers, chickpeas, lemon and sumac, yoghurt, crispy flat bread and a kataifi egg. A strikingly vibrant dish, especially with those bright red peppers enhancing the colour of the raw tuna and the contrasting splash of green watercress against the golden kataifi egg and flat bread. All of the plated elements went so well together; the soft tuna tartare was overloaded with spicy and earthy flavours and was extremely delicious with the amazingly crispy flatbread that literally shattered between my teeth. The unique presentation of the egg was a refreshing sight as I am so accustomed to having them poached and it was my first time to hear of kataifi pastry which is a shredded filo pastry that is typically used for making sweets. 

Kataifi egg

The entangled strands of kataifi pastry formed a sensational crispy shell encasing a perfectly done soft boiled egg. As we split it in half we watched in amazement the wonderfully creamy, orange yolk slowing oozing out. Everything about the tuna tartare dish was awesome but that extraordinary egg was without a doubt, the highlight.

Coconut French toast, strawberries, ewe's curd, citrus gel, sherbet meringue, pistachio praline and basil. When the waiter came out with my dish I was gobsmacked by the presentation and I'm sure the majority of the diners there were the same as I observed their eyes lingering on this beauty. I was so ecstatic about digging in but I was also really quite reluctant to decimate it with my knife and fork. Cutting into the French toast was done effortlessly, it was slightly crunchy on the outside due to being pan-fried and the inside was so soft and fluffy. I could feel my eyes widen in approval as I had my first mouthful of toast and couldn't believe how yummy it was. The coconut flavour really shined and the pistachio praline was the perfect nutty sweetness. Shards of sherbet meringue scattered around the French toast disintegrated on the tongue into sugary goodness and the citrus gel and strawberries provided some tartness to complete a wonderful creation.

If only The Cupping Room was located closer to home because then I would be able to try more of their food. Their unique blends of coffee did not disappoint and the dishes we had were spectacular. I also can't forget the salted caramel milkshake which completely satisfied my sweet tooth.