Forest

Overview

Pah Road is coming up fast. Corner Burger's serving takeaways so good they'll melt your face off, Little Jimmy is mixing cocktails and fresh Kiwi fare with the best of them, and now Forest has appeared to fill the hole for Epsom brunch lovers.

The café itself is charmingly simple. It's little more than a rustic sharing table adorned with a vase of white flowers, a pristine La Marazcco espresso machine atop a pale wood counter and a floor to ceiling street facing window. The menu follows suit, offering only 10 or 11 well executed brunch classics like eggs benny, smoked salmon bagels and a couple smoothie bowls.

My pick's definitely the smashed avo ($16.50). As you'd expect it features a thick slice of grainy bread, generously smothered in green breakfast gold then topped with a perfectly poached egg. What really sets it apart is the generous smudge of beetroot relish on the plate, and the dukkah that adds texture and an interesting Middle Eastern flavour. It's probably one of the best smashed avos I've ever had — and I've smashed a few.

Despite a voice in my head that said 'full grown men can't order smoothie bowls' I defiantly ordered the green one. This multi-textured mix of avocado, banana, spinach, nuts, muesli (and something called green powder) was actually bloody delicious. The creaminess of the avocado, mixed with the flavour of the fruit and the crunchy muesli made for an interesting meal variation that I'd happily recommend.

To drink, there's all the staples: a raw cacao smoothie, some fancy Novel and Savage teas and perfectly brewed Supreme coffee, anyway you like it. While you're not going to find thrice whipped Peruvian goat feta on the menu, you will find all the classics executed perfectly. In such a charming wee spot, what more could you want?