Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day; brunch is first and coffee is second. Billy is a relatively new café on the Domain side of Newmarket, serving food that's brilliant for breakfast, but is even better for brunch. All this in an intimate, modern setting looking out over the Auckland Domain, decked out in whitewashed minimal design.
Grab a seat outside if you can and order a coffee straight away. They use Supreme beans and their young barista seems to know exactly what he's doing, consistently whipping up brews that rate among the best I've had in Auckland.
If you're a tad peckish the menu's not too complicated, but it's packed with tempting items. My favourite has to be the green eggs benny burger ($16), made with green tea-infused hollandaise, heaps of cheddar, eggs, bacon and a potato rosti all on a pillowy brioche bun. When it comes to starting your day off right it's hard to do better than one of these buttery beauties.
The rest of their menu is almost as luscious, but I'm told it's only a stop gap until their full menu is completed. This badboy is said to include creations such as kimchi nachos, and pork belly with grilled pineapple — set to debut soon so keep an eye out.
Post coffee, if you're up for a drink and a snack there's plenty to choose from. I'm talking beauties such as a cacao smoothie with coconut milk and cinnamon, a full range of six barrel sodas and fresh cabinet treats baked in-house. It's obvious that the group of friends behind the place know what their doing.
Billy's hard not to love. The impeccable café fare, the scenic view over the Domain, friendly vibes and perfectly brewed Supreme coffee make sure of that.