{"id":66,"date":"2017-10-01T16:51:19","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T16:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/megson.me\/brunchclub\/?p=66"},"modified":"2017-10-01T19:49:57","modified_gmt":"2017-10-01T19:49:57","slug":"stir-the-first-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/megson.me\/brunchclub\/2017\/10\/01\/stir-the-first-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Stir: the first review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stir
Stir signage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s the first official outing of the Brunch Club CBG (mainly because Noah values his privacy at breakfast), so we went to a favourite with (most) of the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Value for money: 💷💷💷\u25ab\u25ab
\n<\/span><\/strong>“Brunch and a couple of drinks for just under \u00a320; not too bad at all…”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hipster-ness: \u0001\u0001\u0001👌👌👌\u25ab\u25ab
\n<\/span><\/strong>“Great use of wooden paddles instead of plates, but no Bennies on the menu… boo!”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation: 🍽🍽🍽🍽\u25ab<\/span><\/strong>
\n“All of the food looked great; nicely presented and laid out.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Taste: 😋😋😋\u25ab\u25ab
\n<\/span><\/strong>“Would have been a higher, but some of the food was cold (mainly due to service time)”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Service Speed:<\/strong>\u23f0\u23f0\u25ab\u25ab<\/span><\/strong>\u25ab<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/strong>“Some of our group were served 50 minutes after the rest… despite prompting twice for somebody to check. Not cool.”<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So, where to begin. From the off there were split views on Stir, most of our little group being massive fans but me myself being in the opposite camp (and I couldn’t remember why). But, after much moaning\/persuading I agreed and as a group we set off for our first official #BrunchClubCBG brunch.<\/p>\n

As soon as I looked at the menu, I remembered why I had such strong anti-Stir views; no Eggs Benedict! Not only did the original Benny not make an appearance, there was no Royale, Blackstone, Florentine, or any other Benny derivative available. As J pointed out when she went to order, there was poached egg and salmon on rye, but it just isn’t a Benny.<\/p>\n

I settled on the Breakfast Board (a kind of paddle with all kinds of brunchieness), substituting (at cost) tomatoes for Salmon, an OJ and a large latte. The rest of the group chose their options, including four other brunch boards (more on that later).<\/p>\n

The drinks came, and as a Barista trainer in a former life I have to say the coffee is exceptional… by far the stand out. The rest of the group chose various drinks including multi-coloured smoothies and fruit juices, and all was good. The sun was out, and we felt refreshed.<\/p>\n

After about 15 minutes a very friendly member of staff came over with my Brunch board, and N, P and J also received their choices. I reminded the member of staff about my OJ (I bet you wondered what had happened to that, didn’t you?!) and it turned up pretty promptly.\u00a0The OJ was also pretty great – clearly fresh and not chilled (Note to other establishments; chilling OJ is a travesty) and a large enough serving to have needed several trees of oranges to produce.<\/p>\n

\"Stir
Stir Brunch Board, minus the tomato, with extra salmon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking at this plate made my mouth water; good enough to eat certainly! I amazed the others at my avo-prepping technique (ex-greengrocer trainer… always helps) and got ready to tuck in, waiting for the others. And waiting. And waiting…<\/p>\n

After about five minutes of politeness, I succumbed and tucked into my (now slightly cool) brunch. The eggs were well poached, and the particular high point of the brunch itself for me was the tangy chutney – a really great addition to the Halloumi.<\/p>\n

Remember the others? DK, T, and MT? They were still,\u00a0still<\/em>, waiting after I finished. MT had asked the question as to where their food was at the same time my OJ arrived, but still nothing. Eventually, J (after finishing her brunch) asked another server. A very apologetic member of staff said there had been a mix-up (read; mis-read ticket) in the kitchen and their food would be rushed across. She offered all of the order free coffees (not anything else, so I was OK but the caffeine-free members of our group had to go without) to compensate the wait. 50 Minutes after starting brunch, our final trio received theirs – tasty, but late.<\/p>\n

To me, and speaking from my years in the hospitality business, if a table isn’t fully “mealed up” when you serve it, it’s always a good idea to check “is there anything else missing” and follow that through. This is an essential service tip, and one that I have always instilled in my teams. It is a shame that, for the lack of such a small and seemingly insignificant question, this issue occurred.<\/p>\n

In summary, Stir creates great coffee, a good brunch, and is reasonably priced. But the kitchen cock-up left a sour taste even in the most devout Stir aficionados (MT?) mouth. The lack of a Benny will always be marked down for me; I don’t\u00a0always<\/em> choose it but I want the option, especially going for a high-hipster and higher-end establishment.<\/p>\n

Overall, Stir scores an aggregate of 15\/25 (or 3 out of 5, if you prefer). Definitely\u00a0 worth a trip (if you aren’t a Benny monster like me) but possibly needing to improve on it’s service management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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