Cavalier Specialty Coffee, Crows Nest

Cavalier Specialty Coffee first came under my radar after seeing some mouth-watering pictures of their Tiramisu French Toast on Instagram. After finding out that it was actually located within walking distance from work, I was eager to bookmark this cafe and on the first chance of a window of free-time, I headed out to St Leonards to locate this mysterious cafe. It turned out that the cafe was practically down the road from work.

On this sunny day, the local area is relatively quiet yet the cafe is buzzing with activity:

Outside of Cafe

Upon arrival, I was seated at a large share table facing the street (read: optimum people watching spot). However, as I was sitting behind their monolith coffee machine, I found it hard to flag down staff to place my order as they were all busy behind the kitchen counter.

There are only a handful of menu options here so choice is limited and I selected the Tiramisu French Toast ($16):

Aerial View of French Toast

Side View of French Toast

This dish is basically a twist to the traditional french toast, in which the brioche slice was topped with the usual tiramisu ingredients of mascapone cheese, sponge fingers, and coffee (included in the biscuit crumb placed on top). Flavours were good and I thought the inclusion of red quinoa in the biscuit crumb was an interesting (accidental or intentional?) touch to the dish. I think the french toast deviated from the menu - instead of a dulce de luche coffee cream, there was a berry compote hidden inside - and the bread had more of a croissant texture. Sadly, I couldn't see or taste any egg batter...😞

Cross-section of Tiramisu French Toast

Along with the french toast, I ordered a hot choc ($4):

Hot Choc

Unfortunately, if you visit on a Sunday, this cafe does have a 10% surcharge so I'd probably stick to visiting on other days of the week.

Aerial View of Tiramisu French Toast and Hot Chocolate

Visit #2 - 15th Sep 2016

This time I came by to visit for lunch on a workday and they changed their menu! No more slow-cooked beef cheeks... *cries*...

Since I was having a late lunch and not feeling that hungry, I opted for their light chicken open salad for $12:

Aerial View of Open Chicken Salad

Close-up of Open Chicken Salad

The chicken salad included three small slices of poached chicken on a bed of sweet potato, alfalfa, a pine nut and walnut dukka, and decorated with micro herbs. It was rather simple but was surprisingly filling and I really enjoyed it.

This dish would definitely work for those looking for a healthy, light meal.

Open Chicken Salad