The restaurant is not far from the station and the area is rather industrial. This is what makes the restaurant so intriguing as you would never think such a quaint and homely place would be located in this area. When I arrived the place was filled to capacity. A few people were waiting for takeaway coffee and it wasn't long until I secured a table. This place is renowned for its coffee, at least according to the word on the street, so despite not having enjoyed caffeine for two weeks (no, it isn't a resolution for the new year, it was simply because I was too wired from drinking too much of it) I couldn't say no to one of the iced variety. I was informed that one of the specials was a potato and fennel soup and with my interest piqued, I ordered that along with a slow roasted pork shoulder sandwich with apple and cabbage ($14.50) to follow.
The soup arrived with a large chunk of bread. I could smell the fennel and it also had a small island of the aromatic plant in the centre of the bowl. Combined with the potato, it was a perfect consistency and by the time I was done ripping apart the bread and cleaning every bit out of the bowl, one would never know there was soup in it. I really enjoyed this.
The atmosphere is not loud at all despite being at capacity and I attribute this to the old terrace architecture. An old chandelier acted as a focal point which gave the restaurant some charm and made the friendly staff all somewhat familiar even though our paths had not previously crossed.
The slow roasted pork shoulder sandwich followed and you can tell that the kitchen had put some consideration into its preparation. It wasn't thrown together, some thought was put into not only the combination of pork, apple of cabbage which worked very well but also the presentation was attractive.
The Duchess is only open for breakfast and lunch and it has a very intriguing menu that is certainly value for money. I may be presenting myself again in the short term before one of the ODI cricket matches that are coming up so that I can prepare myself for a day of revelry as their breakfast selection looks pretty awesome, for the lack of a better word.
I didn't even know Spotswood existed until I looked up where the restaurant was and I can assure you I will remember it as a happening destination thanks to the Duchess.
My Rating: 13.25/20
Service: 3.25/5
Ambiance: 3.25/5
Quality: 3.25/5
Value For Money: 3.5/5
Twitter: @epicurean3006
e-mail: epicureanofsouthbank (at) gmail (dot) com
At the time of this post, 86% of the reviewers on Urbanspoon also like The Duchess of Spotswood.
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