No such thing as summertime sadness at Harvest Espresso

My opportunity came on the Australia Day long weekend when my best friend Vee and I were catching up for lunch. Knowing I was desperate to pay Harvest Espresso a visit I suggested it as the venue, and to my great surprise Vee had never been! So we were locked in, and made our way there.

I’ve never gone to Harvest Espresso for lunch before. Normally for me it’s a get there as early as possible situation to avoid the masses waiting for a table. Lunch was busy, and we found ourselves waiting for around 25 minutes. Never mind though – waiting is not a problem when you have your bestie, we happily entertained ourselves by talking at one another non-stop the entire time. We definitely worked up an appetite!

Choosing what to eat is easy enough and not long after we place our orders at the till our drinks come to the table. We’ve both ordered Emma & Tom’s Life Juices which are beautiful Australian made drinks with minimal processing and no preservatives, added sugar or concentrates. I’ve chosen the coconut water ($4.50) which is made from the water inside young green coconuts. I know coconut water seems to be all the rage these days but it’s something I’ve drunk since I was young, and love the beautifully light flavour it has. It’s really thirst-quenching and refreshing!

Vee’s choice of Extreme C sounds beautiful, a mix of orange juice, apple juice, strawberry puree, guava puree, acerola berry and rosehip. It’s bright orange and smells amazing, and I’m lucky enough to get a sip. Immediately I fall in love! I will definitely be ordering this drink next time, it’s so vibrant and zingy!

I knew immediately what dish Vee would choose as soon as I spied it on the menu. Grilled octopus, smoked chorizo, poached eggs and hummus ($21.50). Octopus is definitely one of her favourite things to eat, and the combination of ingredients and flavours was so tempting I nearly ordered it myself!

There’s a really generous amount of octopus, and its cooked perfectly. The hummus is plentiful which is nice to see (never skimp on the sauce folks), and I love that the smoked chorizo looks more like a hamburger patty. It’s so meaty and acts as a perfect base to hold the other ingredients (including those two spot on eggs which burst forward with tantalising yolk porn as her fork pierces the surface). Mmmmm. I can tell this is going to be a damn popular dish this season.