Paddy Hills

So the other day we were looking for a place to have breakfast before heading to Children’s Centre for Creativity at Gillman Barracks and a friend of mine suggested Paddy Hills at South Buona Vista Rd. The address sounded really familiar but we couldn’t figure out why until we arrived at our destination – it’s where our favourite duck rice place used to be!

I like that they open at a decent time on weekends because so many cafes only open at 10 or 11 am these days. The place gets lots of natural light and the food is very photogenic and Instagram-able. The menu is interesting, the coffee is good, and the hot chocolate is awesome. They have a good number of high chairs for babies/ kids as well as children plates and cutlery.

However, they are quite expensive. The kids had 3 Little Pillows ($22) and it was pancakes with berry soup, yuzu sorbet, and goodness knows what else. It was so fancy that Adrian remarked that it reminded him of a Balinese spa. We also had Hash Hash ($24) and the beef shank tasted good but wasn’t particularly filling. Adrian wanted his usual hearty big breakfast but there wasn’t anything like that on the menu.

The staff could have had a bit more initiative. I walked in with three kids (Adrian was parking) and there were only a couple of tables occupied at that time. They saw me coming in but didn’t get me a table so I dragged two tables together by myself while carrying the baby. They also didn’t offer us children’s cutlery until we asked if they had any. Since my kids just need boring old pancakes with maple syrup, Adrian wants his Big Breakfast, and I’m after Eggs Ben, we probably won’t be going back there for breakfast again. Still open to trying lunch or dinner there though!