Papa Leo’s knows all about breakfast
Before I finished breakfast at Papa Leo’s, I knew what I was going to order on my next visit.
On a Sunday morning, the restaurant’s handful of tables were just about full, but the food was served quickly so turnover was good.
Though the restaurant did a few one-off holiday dinners in December, the day-to-day focus is on breakfast and lunch, which ends at 2 p.m.
Lots of ingredients are local, including the coffee from Red Hill Coffee Trade, which has re-branded itself Relay Coffee Roasters.
The breakfast menu includes standard bacon and egg options, and also features less common offerings such as Crab Cake Benny, charcuterie-style Continental and Papa’s Eggs (poached eggs on avocado with cheddar-cilantro sauce — I’m coming for you next).
The morning hash is poached eggs on top of a nice full bowl of potatoes, onions, red peppers and corned beef (sweet chorizo sausage was also an option). The potatoes were perfectly pan-fried, the eggs were done to my specifications of over-hard rather than poached, and the meat was savoury.
It took care of my Sunday breakfast craving without being greasy.
The same was true of my partner’s steak and eggs. The steak was a thick cut done medium rare. It was tender, juicy, flavourful and came with a side of potatoes.
We were both impressed by Papa Leo’s take on toast. All breakfast options are served with a slice of toast. If you want a second, it’s free but you have to ask.
As any breakfast aficionado knows, lightweights will often leave the second slice after overdoing it on bacon, omelettes and hash browns, so this probably saves a ton of food from going into the garbage.
As a bonus, if you opt for no toast, as we did, you’ll be offered sliced tomatoes. A nice touch.
To finish, we split a side of avocado. Because I’m susceptible to unexpected add-on offerings like this, I was excited to also find sides of mozzarella, feta, goat cheese and cheddar.
Concession Street has some real gems in terms of restaurants and Papa Leo’s is no exception. Their lunch menu sounds as enticing as breakfast, with a diverse menu of sandwiches, salads, tacos, pasta, and salmon frites.
Food and service are great, as is the atmosphere and prices.