love their coffee, love their cakes, love their .........

I Went there for the first time this week-end, they have a nice terrace on the south side, facing the 3.3 but hidden behind bamboo trees. I had the BBQ menu... 180RMB for a huge plate full of different kinds of grilled meat and fish. It was served with salad and fresh nems. The meat quality was good and the cooking was perfect. I would highly recommend to try it.

The next day I went for the brunch ( yes I know it took me some time to try it), I don't have much to say about it (because everything I had was good) except I was a little disappointed realizing there is no breakfast menu including all options (pastries, fruit&yogurt, eggs and meat) they told me they home some kind of breakfast buffet but it closed at noon.....on Sunday ?!?!?!

The service is perfect, about the decor, I think this place lacks of personality but hey.... I only care about the food and service anyway.

I'm not in SLT often, especially during daylight hours, but the Village Cafe is my go-to spot for a snack or light meal whenever I am in the area. It's always (at least when I'm there, which is rarely peak hours) quiet, uncrowded but not frigid, and the staff attentive yet not overbearing. 15% service charge is annoying when one gets used to not tipping, but I've eaten out in America long enough to appreciate what the hotel is trying to do. Plus the design of the place, and the entire Opposite House, is entirely to my taste. Not completely relevant, but it's nice to relax in an environment that is so well-appointed. As a creature of habit, I can't speak to a lot of the dishes on the menu, but the vegetarian summer rolls and their nice selection of house cocktails have never done me wrong. It's fun to sit at the bar and peek into the open kitchen; the Village Cafe is also EXTREMELY comfortable in the heat of the summer.

I thought arriving at the restaurant and seeing only a few guests dining there was a bad sign. Now, I understand why.
The food wasn't all that great. The portions were small and the service was only mediocre. Ordered moussaka as a main dish and it was literally just cheese and a few sheets of eggplant. How is that filling? Then on to dessert, which I'm a huge fan of and ordered cheesecake, but I couldn't even finish it coz it was tooo heavy and rich. I wouldn't go back, but then I'm tempted to try their brunch. I'm afraid I'll get disappointed once again.

I was with a couple of friends in the SLT neighboorhood looking for brunch, when we decided on the Village Cafe. The Opposite House is a swank enough location and like Elements Fresh, bloated with expats craving a sunday morning brunch. I ordered the classic eggs benny, my companions ordered the smoked salmon benny and the scrambled eggs with toast (boooooring). The classic benny is served on a buttered bagel instead of english muffins, which is a nice chance, poached eggs, a drizzle of hollendaise sauce and several roasted cherry tomatoes on the side.
Frankly, I've had a mad love affair with eggs benedict and it had been so long since I had ordered it, so I was super excited. But, as soon as I knifed open the eggs, my expectations were lowered. The eggs were poached med-hard. No yolky goodness to speak of, just pasty yellowness. Of course, I ate it anyways, and it was good. I would have been better with some hash browns or homefries, which would have been nice to have on the side, for the price (68 RMB). Add the coffee (which was not bad at all!) and the 15% service charge and I had a palatable brunch for 110 RMB. I'm definately going to check out Chef Too next time.