It seems like the hot trend these days are these cute Australian breakfast cafes. There was Two Hands, Bluestone Lane and now there is Banter. Although when I was in Australia, I didn't remember their breakfast being particularly memorable - in fact, none of the actual food there was memorable. But who isn't a sucker for a cute Australian accent? I met up with Anuja and Amy for our first Rabbit Habit of 2018 on a freezing Saturday and while almost every other restaurant in the Village was empty because of how cold it was, there was a line out the door at Banter. In fact it was a 45 mins wait! Luckily they had a covered place to wait but it's pretty much mayhem with all the other people waiting in the same area. Finally after almost an hour, we were seated and sadly it was right next to the bathroom. Ugh. Ordinarily I would have said something but it was so crowded and almost 2pm that we just sucked it up.
The menu is full of instagram worthy dishes from avocado toast, chia pudding bowls, and beautiful salads. We were all starving so we started with the sweet potato fries ($7) and the banana bread ($5) to start. I got the golden folded eggs with sour dough toast ($16), Anuja got the avocado toast ($12) and Amy got the mushroom toast ($12). The sweet potato fries came out quickly and this dish in it of itself is worth 4.5 forks. They were so crispy and delicious and served with a large heaping of spicy mayo that it took a lot of self control for me to not eat the entire thing. I'm usually weary of sweet potato fries because its very easy for them to be soggy but this one was perfect. Be aware that it's a huge side order, so it's definitely worth sharing with lots of people. We thought the banana bread would be a small slice since it was $5 and it was actually a huge thick cut served warm with sweet butter. It was also fantastic.
The components of my entree weren't anything special but they all worked really well together. I actually commented to Amy and Anuja that I could easily make this dish at home as it was just scrambled eggs, smashed avocado, peas, slices of proscuitto, and a kale salad. But food always tastes better when someone else makes it for you and this was the case here. It needed a bit more salt on everything but overall it tasted fresh, healthy and it was super filling. The sourdough bread was nice and soft and paired well with the avocado - it was a bit annoying to pay extra for bread but with so much other food on the plate I actually think that if I were to get this dish again (which I totally would), I wouldn't order it because you don't really need it.
Overall, I really loved this place but there are a few annoying things to keep in mind before you go: as one would expect in a place that's got all this IG worthy food, the clientele is kind of annoying (it kind of felt like we were in Murray Hill if you catch my drift), the wait is long and they don't take reservation for brunch and most of the food could have used a pinch more salt. BUT don't let those things stop you from going and none of them were truly deal breakers for me. Plus they had fantastic coffee options and the portions are huge compared to the price, which is a nice change of pace in NYC. Hopefully this craze will die down a bit and it can be more of a relaxing experience going forward. Total bill: $32/pp with tax, tip and yummy coffee drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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