ZZ Tops

Zus & Zo

228 Jervois Road

Herne Bay

 We stopped off for a coffee one day at Zus & Zo, and were blown away by how good it was. I mean seriously, for all the cafes in Auckland, I don't know how many over-extracted, burnt, bitter coffees you have to go through to get a good one. Not at Zus & Zo, perfectly formed coffee, almost tasting like caramel. It was amazing. Slightly drug-like trance afterwards because of it.

So we went back this recent weekend to sample the more solid, edible side of Zus & Zo. It was very busy, which we always hope is a good sign. We easily found a table inside though, and quickly ordered two coffees. The menu was a nice change from the same-same breakfast menus we see everywhere - they almost don't really do breakfast, opting instead for lots of delicious looking homemade sandwiches. After much deliberation, I ordered the salmon and caramelised onion sandwich, while the man friend ordered ricotta, salmon and cucumber on homemade rye bread. Not gay.

Coffees came promptly, and the food followed soon after. "What is this small portion shit" I thought, at first, but as we tucked in, I realised that they were smart portions, not small. I tend to leave cafes feeling over full, let's say, 70% of the time. Actually, more like 80%. Completely disrespected. It's not a fun feeling, so smart portions are great.

My sandwich was more a toasted bap and had plenty of onion on it (praise jah) and came with a side salad that looked like it was out of a prepackaged plastic bag. Still haven't decided whether I'm against it or not. Man friend got one piece of rye bread, although it was rather long and delicious. Nothing like homemade bread. We weren't exactly schpunkin over the food, the coffee was definitely better - would schpunk over. The sandwiches were OK, slightly ho hum, but that might been because I was anticipating a breakfast, not a sandwich.

It was all fairly cheap, in relation to other expensive breakfasts. Straight no fuss good food and good coffee. Suits us, sir. The large table in the middle had a bunch of cakes and sweet treats on it that looked like they might give someone an early on-set heart attack (good thing) and also an array of zany communal condiments that seemed to have one flavour too many in each jar.

It had charm, and more importantly outstanding coffee. Don't know if we can rate it, this place falls slightly out of our jurisdiction. We highly recommend it.