Cucina On Hay

'Cucina' is Italian for kitchen. And certainly the decor when you walk inside this cafe/ restaurant has an Italian theme. But the food is much more varied. The brekkie menu ranges from your savoury dishes (such as eggs Benedict, sardines on toast, poached eggs with buffalo mozzarella) thru to fruit and yoghurt, acai, or waffles with berries. In fact, I'd rate their breakfasts as some of the best I've tried...( and I've tried quite a few cafe breakfasts over the years). There are at least 10 different meals to choose from for brekky alone.. and each one has its own interesting taste. Plenty of tables of different types inside- eg for business deals, pre-Court conferences, or just the family meal. And weather permitting, there are several tables outside to enjoy the streetscape and 'passing parade'. Hanna is usually there to greet you with a smile...and she is just the most perfect example of a friendly waitress- always considerate, thoughtful, and she has a great sense of humour!!! Cucina on Hay is on Hay Street in the East end, 3 doors down from the corner of Hay and Irwin Street. It's an ideal location, across from Westin and just near the Courts precinct.....(Hence it is not uncommon to see lawyers meeting with their clients at Cucina , or just enjoying a 'pre - trial' meal).

Brekky with my sweetheart on Saturday. Staff were welcoming & friendly. Food & beverages were received promptly. Lovely modern venue. I had the Breakfast Bruschetta. Delicious, eggs cooked perfectly and I loved the buffalo mozzarella. Negative - soft white untoasted bread was used instead of ciabatta bread as outlined in the menu, everything became a tad soggy. My hubby had the Waffles. I am 99% sure the waffles which were $17 were store bought. (Woolies had the same waffles 6 for $5). Waffles usually are light, these were hard & heavy. Without the condiments the waffles would have been inedible. Very disappointing that a restaurant/Cafe associated with the Mercure would not serve freshly made waffles.

Let down by the service. 30mins for poached eggs on a quiet Sunday morning. Cashier (maybe the manager) was very rude, rolling her eyes when I politely asked to split the bill into 2 when ordering, “We’ll NOW I have to start from scratch”. Wanted to give 1 star but that wouldn’t be fair to the waitress that was actually accommodating.

After sitting at my table for more than 30 minutes, I enquired if I was going to get my meal, to which I was told “oh sorry it appears they’ve given it to someone else” Was then told “we can make it now won’t take long”, I told them not to bother and it wasn’t till I was about to walk out that I was asked if I would like a refund or not. Really poor customer service I’m not sure how you can sit at a table with one of your numbers on it and no one can I ask or see if everything is okay, and they didn’t seem too fussed for the inconvenience.