Esspressoholic

It’s funny how different people can have such different experiences with a place. Wellingtonista are bitching about Esspresoholic; not in the normal fashion I encounter since I moved here 15 years ago because you get cool points for emphasising that you stopped going there when they moved from Willis Street to Courtney Place, but because, apparently, the service sucked for someone.

I will tempt fate by saying this is something I’ve never hit there. In fact, I’ve been rediscovering the place with some joy; a dozen or so years ago I’d hang out there at 3 or 4 in the morning when it was one of the few places still open, or go in during the evening for the delicious-but-pricey food.

Fast forward to now and the food is still delicious (mmmmmm, nachos), still arives in great mounds I struggle to finish (mmmmm, cheesecake), but since their prices don’t seem to have altered in the intervening decade they’ve moved from expensive-but-good to reasonable-but-good. Seriously, when “toast and spreads” in most of Wellington gets you a couple of hunks of bread, a gruding amount of butter, and one flavour of spreadable goo for your $4-$5, it’s nice to get half a dozen spreads and a pile of toast. And, like I say, best. cafe. nachos. ever. And their ever-delicious desserts.

And, most importantly, bonus points for being one of the select few cafes where the staff actually pay attention when I order a fluffy for my daughter, and grasp that an 18 month old does not have the abaility to drink them safely if the person behind the counter heats them to the point they’d blister skin. This is, sadly, an attribute that’s rarer than you’d think. Pointing out the unsuitability of scalding milk for toddlers and suggesting warm would be a better alternative produces annoying sulking at more than a few places.

I still love Esspressoholic even if the cool kids don’t.