Plunge No. 46 – Summer Hill

Bianca: A quaint retro café banging out modern Middle Eastern inspired café dishes? Welcome to ‘Plunge No. 46’. An interesting menu is generally a sure-fire way to get me in the front door, especially when it pertains to breakfast/lunch. I just can’t possibly look at another avocado on toast dish or baked eggs. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Enter Plunge, with its interesting menu, casual laid back vibes, I’m slightly perturbed as to why it isn’t more popular than it is? It has everything going for it!!

When there’s food to eat, the squad must assemble and so here we are.

First up was the ‘Crumbed cheese with tomato, poached eggs & hollandaise on toast’ $17. Some may balk at coated and fried cheese first thing in the morning but we love a challenge. Besides, the tomato and sweet potato balanced all that heaviness and virtually zeroed out all that oiliness. Fact!! I have never been one for hollandaise as I do find it too rich (Shock, horror) but it wasn’t overly heavy and could easily be removed and it would still be a very enjoyable meal. For aficionados, the eggs were poached perfectly.

Despite being intrigued by the goodies on offer on the breakfast menu. I was always going to get the ‘Cheeseburger’ – w/pickles, mustard, salad & hand cut chips $17. I was pleasantly surprised, it wasn’t your typical cheeseburger, the mere presence of the crispy water reduced it to a humble hamburger… but the Middle Eastern spices were immediately evident on the first bite. Nothing kills a burger quicker than a bland under seasoned beef patty and they were on the money here. There was an ample of amount of mustard and ketchup but I would have preferred a sharper cheese. For my FBAS Fatties a 3.4/5 pickles.

Burgers were the order of the day, we could not look past the ‘Fried Chicken’ –w/cabbage & carrot slaw, spiced mayo on a brioche bun $12. An equally tasty burger, with a generous piece of succulent, crispy chicken breast. A heap of slaw, which in this case worked well to cut through the oiliness of the fried chicken. I would have liked more mayo but a decent burg for those that are keen on the poultry. A 3/5 pickles.

We couldn’t go to a café serving mezze style Middle Eastern dishes without dipping our toes in the water and so we decided to get a few things to share. The ‘Crumbed eggplant’ w/gruyere cheese & red pepper sauce $10 was tasty but having just eaten the Eggplant Parmigiana at Pilu a day before, it didn’t come close in terms of flavour. The cheese was a highlight and the sauce worked well to cut through the richness of the fried eggplant and the saltiness of the gruyere.

And lastly, the ‘Fried Cauliflower’ –w/tahina & nigella seeds $7. Firstly, such an ample portion for the price. Cauliflower seems to be popping up more and more on menus across Sydney, which is kind of nice, they’re a rather underutilized vegetable. These were lovely, crispy, spongy and soft on the inside but most importantly were very tasty. One of our favourites.

Definitely a cool little place I’d recommend if you’re in and around Summer Hill.

Bianca