Santos has recently opened another café on the corner of Quay Street and Gore Street in the city - an ideal venue for early morning cyclists.  It's on the waterfront, there are plenty of walls outside against which to park your bike, the staff are friendly and the seating is well spaced out to provide room to stretch out.

Oh, and the coffee is superb, especially if you like it strong. Santos get their coffee beans from the Santos roasters in Mt Eden (hence the name) and do the standard coffees.  They also offer a Kiwi version of the cortado, a Spanish version of a macchiato comprising half milk and half and coffee.  I've been told that a true cortado  sometimes uses condensed milk or cold milk but the Santos version was an excellent combination of steamed milk and strong coffee.

I didn't have breakfast last time I dropped in but after seeing the others hoeing into a sizable portion of scrambled eggs with crispy bacon and pesto on the side, I was rather regretting that I had already had my muesli.  For breakfast the menu is pretty comprehensive and you can get your eggs scrambled, Benedict and in an omelette with plenty of variations and side orders.  Santos also have a wide range of panini with a multitude of fillings, so there should be no excuse for not being able to find something you like.

If you don't like coffee (in which case why are you bothering to read this column?), you can try one of Santos' Brazilian-styled mixed fruit juices, including the new Acai (pronounced aah-sai-ee) juice from the rainforests of the Amazon.  It has a taste akin to chocolate and cherries and contains everything you need for an energy drink, including omega-6, omega-9, iron, calcium and magnesium.

But if you like your coffee strong, go for the cortado.

By Java Addict