People don’t just go to restaurants for the food anymore. No, the venue has to be knockout, the dishes have to be Instagrammable, the overall vibe has to be on point.
Okay, that’s true of everyone, and not always for us (we love a hole in the wall for a shawarma and a karak as much as a meal at Zuma), but if you’re the kind of person that loves visting somewhere for the overall package, then Sanderson’s may just be the place for you.
Across the board, this café, out the back of Al Seef Village Mall, is a crowd-pleaser.
It has a California-style feel to it. The colour palette and the inspirational quotes, the chia puddings and superfood soothies, and, the general niceness about the place… It’s enough to make some people feel queasy.
The staff all don bright printed shirts and are full of smiles. There’s an outdoor area just brimming with good vibes. It’s the perfect lazy breakfast spot, and that’s why we’re here this time around. Well, and for Insta likes.
The menu has plenty of options, a lot to offer and has had an update earlier this year. There’s enough to suit most tastes – from pancakes and waffles to eggs Benedict and even a baba ghanoush pizza (though we’re not quite ready for pizza in the morning — unless it is left over from the night before.
There are inspirational messages printed and presented alongside the coffees. “Do more of what makes you happy” it says. Fine, we’ll tuck into some food.
The avo and eggs on rye is as close to perfect as you can get. The yolks are runny, chunks of feta give few salty bursts of flavour and the hitherto untested addition of garden peas is a pleasant surprise.
Brioche French toast is also impressive. We soak the huge slices of bread, topped with fresh berries and vanilla cream, in lashings of syrup.
In need of a further boost, we order two more coffees (mainly to get a little message of hope). “Don’t ruin a good today by thinking about a bad yesterday. Let it go,” it says. Yesterday we had a banana at our desk, how did Sanderson’s know?
This place is a real gem. The total package, indeed.
