I often feel that if I have to explain (on the blog) a pun post title I have failed (it happens a lot), but this one is perhaps a bit left field even for me with it being a meshing of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and a character in Under Milkwood in the form of Myfanwy Price. After an example of my philestine nature in term of the naming of Nighhawks in last weeks post, I am attempting (vainly) to restore some cultural honour to the blog.

Anyhow back to the matter at hand. Breakfasts have featured quite heavily on the blog with the likes of Ground and Parador 44 (such that I will no doubt be accused of being obsessed by them – duh it’s food, of course I am), but one breakfast highly rated by Cardiff’s bloggeratti that I had yet to try was that at Cafe Milkwood (lunch and their weekend evening small plates yes, breakfast no).

One of the advantages of consulting is I can work when I like (oddly when employed I hugely begrudged working on the weekends, but now it is nae problem as I can have any other day off), subject to meeting deadlines, and I didn’t have much on on a Friday, so a suggestion from J of breakie at Milkwood was eagerly agreed to.

I had heard tale of an epic hash brown to rival that on the Parador 44 breakie and anything that comes close to that is a “be still my beating heart” event.

The menu is an all day affair with a mix of breakfast brunch and lunch dishes

with an interesting (more lunch focussed) specials board (the reuben sounds the absolute business).

We were there for breakie and the steak and eggs (£13) immediately leapt off the menu at me (J was of like mind). There is something rather decadent about having steak for breakie that really appeals to me.

Fabulous looking dish this, with two eggs, an abundance of steak and multiple hash browns.

The steak, flat iron, was cooked bob on for me with a beautiful ruby red core.

Over cook a flat iron steak and you may as well eat your shoe, but here it had been given exactly the right treatment. A bit of mastication is always required with a flat iron, but in return for your effort it gives you max. flavour.  My only slight criticism would be it was a touch light on the seasoning. There are sachets of salt and pepper on the table, but to me a slightly more generous application of sea salt would have been a welcome addition. I would add, J vehemently disagreed with me on this (as is oft the case, when she is wrong and I am right 😂). French mustard (a must with a steak in my view) was provided on request.

The eggs (x 2) had a lovely runny yolk, which delivered a lipid golden pool on being pieced.

Great for dunking both the steak and the hashs brown in, but again a couple of cracks of sea salt (pepper was in abundance) would have amped this up just that little bit more.

The hash browns had a rather alluring bronzed “Brits in Benidorm” hue, with a crisp oil free shell and a soft fluffy (well seasoned) interior.

These were very nice, although in my view they are bested by the Parador 44 number.

Saying that, my only real issue with the Milkwood hash browns was the sheer quantity of them on the plate. I think between our two plates J and I had at least 8 hash browns (of which I had 6 as her 4 defeated J). With the dish billed as steak and eggs, personally I would have happily lived with losing one or even two of the “Benidorms” in exchange for an extra egg.

Mrs. SF had the full Milkwood breakfast, with poached eggs (£11).

Good looking plate this, with it getting the thumbs up from Mrs. SF (never one to be easily pleased in my experience). Everything was pretty much cooked on point with non flabby, but not nuked, back bacon (smoked, which is not Mrs. SF’s preference but she said it was a light smoke so she was happy enough) and a girthy banger with no sign of filler in the mix. The poached eggs had a suitably runny core, with none of the off putting white goo, and the tomatoes had a nice caramelisation to them (bane of a breakfast plate is an underdone tom).

Hash browns added nicely to the mix and the only detracting element was a little too much carbonisation on the toast (sourdough, of which Mrs. SF is not a huge fan – gets too crunchy when toasted according to her), which added a touch of bitterness to an otherwise exemplary fry up.

Plenty of options on the drinks front,

including booze if you are brunching or lunching.

I do like a proper Bloody Mary (not just a vodka and tomato juice, but with all the added extras inc. a dash of sherry) at breakie on high days and holidays, but otherwise tend to refrain from a tipple before the sun is over the yardarm during the week (slippery slope stuff otherwise).

We all had coffee, with me intrigued as to the difference between an americano and a long black. If you are curious it is coffee then water in in the first case and vice versa in the latter. No idea what difference putting water in first (long black) makes to be honest, but Mrs. SF and J were all ears when I told them (not – it was a source of much merriment and piss taking whilst we were all on a short break in the Mumbles the following week)!

I had the king of coffees, a cortado, Mrs. SF a flat white and J a cappuccino. All with a good flavour and, crucially, properly hot. As I have said before there seems to be an inverse correlation between the size of a coffee machine and the heat of the coffee produced (bigger it is the more likely it produces a lukewarm coffee as far as I can tell). No such issue here on that front, thankfully.

The verdict

Love the steak and eggs breakie option here and their wider breakfast, brunch and lunch options also hit the spot nicely.

It is rightly popular so booking is advisable and it has the jump on nearby Ground on that front (although Ground’s “overnight bacon” is an event horizon draw for me).

With this place, Parador 44 and Ground I could become quite obsessed with the Cardiff breakie scene. Any other suggestions for a good breakfast in Cardiff gratefully received.

A lunch of egg and chips at this place next time I reckon – brings back memories of my long departed grandpa who use to take me down the cafe in Mellows Park in Wallington for egg and chips (was probably about 25p back then). A table by us had it and with three eggs and bountiful crispy chips (£6), it looked amazing. Love that they have the balls to do such a seemingly simple (but totally easy to cock up) dish.

The details

Address: 83 Pontcanna, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 1HS

Website: https://milkwoodcardiff.com/