I wanted to like it so badly

Penny went to KOPAPA 14/2/2015

Specs: 👓

Overall Rating:         ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Average Cost pp:     (coffee, main, alcoholic cocktail)  £30

Nearest Tube:          Covent Garden

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Since Will had abandoned me for India I invited a fellow lonely heart for valentine’s, or what I cleverly coined ‘palentine’s’, brunch at Kopapa. Translated from Maori the name means to be full or crowded and that it certainly was. With queues out the door I was glad I pre-booked. Past the line of eager brunch enthusiasts the place was a tricky manoeuvring exercise of bodies and bags as we squeezed into a table awkwardly close to star-crossed lovers on either side. Content in one another’s company we were seated by a cheery waitress who was the perfect mix of efficient, attentive and just generally nice throughout the course of our meal. Just off the vibrant Seven Dials the place is a buzzing with young trendy types and the venue itself is very pleasant. With a brasserie styled bar, pretty patterned tiling and brass furnishings it was all pleasing to the eye.

Presented with menus we ummed and ahhed over splashing out on expensive breakfast cocktails. Agreed that it was a “special occasion after all”, two ‘Orchard Fizz’ (Apple, Poire William, Vodka, vanilla and Prosecco) were ordered at the pricey sum of £11.50 each. Realising we were in fact missing out on some much needed morning coffee we abandoned cost-concerned thoughts and added to that two flat whites. Quickly following suit was an order of the famed ‘Turkish eggs’ – poached eggs, yoghurt, hot chilli butter and a side of toast – and spiced banana French toast with bacon, orange blossom labne and a tamarind raisin relish & orange vanilla syrup. As we eyed and envied the very tasty looking dishes of our uncomfortably close neighbours’, our food was hotly anticipated. The cocktails arrived and were fine but perhaps not worth the price tag, the taste of vodka undermining any apple flavours – but the coffee was good.

Service was prompt and our meals arrived with the utmost enthusiasm. This quickly dissipated. Befitting for romance we decided to share both plates of food between us (much to my imminent delight). I began with the Turkish eggs. Not sure whether to dunk my toast into the bowl of what looked like principally chilli oil, or attempt to remove an egg from its swamp and dissemble it on the toast; I hesitantly went for the dunk. To my dismay I lost the runny yolk to a pool of oil and disappointingly my first bite was little more than dry toast and oil. Defiant and determined I tried again this time capturing the yoghurt at the base, some egg, but again mostly oil. The mixture of oily spiced melted butter, natural yoghurt and egg, to me was just incomprehensible. I’d go as far to say I hated it. And I do not hate food. Imaginably, this came as a shock so I persisted. I wanted to like it so badly especially since reviews raved that it was “a must try”, “a Kopapa favourite”, but increasingly I grew jealous of Alice as I watched her fawning over her half of the French toast. The exchange couldn’t have come sooner. And it was, thankfully, quite tasty. The crispy bacon, creamy labne and sweet orange syrup worked well together and it was overall enjoyable, a welcome break from the eggs at the very least. Alice, to my surprise enjoyed the eggs I could no longer stand and led me to question my own palette.

By all means give the Turkish eggs a go. That many glowing reviews indicate it was a matter of personal taste. There were of course more classical, risk-free options on the menu that maybe I was safer sampling. The chorizo hash with fried eggs, rocket, sriracha & crispy shallots sounds delicious. But the meal was expensive at £30 a head (including service) for coffee, cocktail and brunch. Ultimately, once I took such a fervent dislike towards the eggs, the atmosphere I had initially enjoyed began to wear thin – the hustle and noise soon became irritating and led me to conclude that Kopapa, unfortunately, was not for me.