brunch: Eva Dixon's Cafe at the Zoo

Occasionally, you'll find a restaurant (usually Chinese) with a fish tank. From my perspective, this is all good - something to look at while I wait. Besides, lively, brightly coloured fish are supposed to attract positive ch'i - good feng shui.

What I liked most about Eva Dixon's is they have a large biotope aquaria dedicated to African cichlids - which unlike the typical flaccid goldfish - were busy defending territory, checking out potential mates, digging out nesting spots - genuinely lively. And so was Eva Dixon's - Sunday brunch for us.

Luckily I'd done the haka and insisted the family drag itself from bed to be there at the obscenely early hour of 9:30. Turned out no-one complained - Eva's was starting to rock by the time we got there and there was 12 of us! The waiting staff were very accomplished - tolerant and friendly without being excessively matey.

Tolerant was important to us as one of our number decided to go into lion mode, eschewing those newly gained walking skills and crawled around the floor in full growly mode. Coffees arrived - bowl nicely warmed - nothing worse than a lukewarm latte in the rank cold bowl so frequently encountered here in the capital.

I ordered the vege benedict - poached eggs with tomato and avocado. I toyed with the idea of getting a side of mushrooms, but this was a new place for me and I didn't know how big the servings would be. Turns out mushies would've been all good - not that the serving was overly small, just that there's not that much in a couple of eggs, a tomato and a quarter of avo. The poached eggs were done to perfection (I can't cook poached eggs to save myself) and sat on gently grilled tomatoes on the crisp rounds of toast. The meal was presented very well although I was surprised to see the avocado was served with the scab ot the stem still attached. What the hell - if it was a slice of fresh pineapple with the skill on I wouldn't think twice, and often in China I had the chicken head served as a garnish (I assume) along with the rest of the bird.

Waiting time was quite acceptable. Others at the table ordered the Scrambled Eggs Royale - a bit pretentious given the context, but a good serving of scrambled eggs and salmon, served on a dark bread. A couple of eggs florentine (I swear that's a Wellington signature dish) and a pancakes with banana and bacon were also quickly polished off. More coffees and we were ready for the winter again. I note from the bill there was a 'Barbie' and a 'Bob' consumed somewhere on the table - I'm assuming this was the drinks the kids guzzled.

The downsides: all hard surfaces make hearing a bit of a challenge - but then our crew have lungs so any fantasies we or any of the other tables had about soothing into Sunday needed to be revised.

It was cold - hey, it's winter outside - but the place never warmed up even with a herd of rugby supporters and the rest of humanity gobbling down food. Come back in summer it'd be lovely.

This could also be an upside: the zoo gift shop is next door. Cherie helped me manage to get out with only buying a cute toy lion for my lover; you might not be as lucky. This is great for the kids who can get in touch with their inner animal while you find your wallet. The lemur toys were also cute.

Upsides: Good parking (apparently this is not always the case). Good business - when the herd of ruggers turned up the waiting team magic'd up the usually outdoor tables and folding chairs and somehow found (comfortable) space for another couple of dozen people.

I think very kid/parent friendly. You can't bear kids? Well, go elsewhere - it's the zoo, kakkhead. The waiters seemed to manage our little roarer very well. There's a kids menu. Chips for breakfast - sure why not? You know as well as I do if you'd stop trying to convince yourself you're on Atkins (and you're not, you're just a snob) you'd rather have that than the hoity-toity crap you're pretending to enjoy. There's an excellent cage with toys for kids to play in, on a more sunny day the kids could go outside and play on the grass; and, where else could you sit, have a latte, and watch the meerkats watching you? No, kakkhead, they're not on the menu. Nine adults, three kids, one barbie, one bob. $188.50. You do the sums.

Big advice: Sundays are their busy day. Get there early. Get used to the idea that the gift shop next door has irresistably cute fluffy animals - it's for a good cause. A really happy combination of good food, good coffee and kid friendly. Like McDonalds, except for adults.

Overall rating: 9/10
Points off: cold, noisy
Points on: menu readable without glasses (just), kid friendly drinks cabinet (low, so they can see to pick their own)

Eva Dixon's Cafe at the Zoo
200 Daniell Street
Newtown
Wellington
(04) 389 6222 note: they don't do bookings - be early