Esprit Café

C says:

Once again, we were deceived. We came here for lunch on Sunday after finding Ken’s Noodle House closed. I was under the impression that Canele was running the Esprit Café – indeed, the last time I came to recce the café a few months ago, it was definitely still under Canele’s management, because the signature Le Royale cake was display. Alas, a rude surprise was in store for us – the Esprit Café is now run by Aromas (other branches include one at Craig Place). The emptiness of the café should have been a dead giveaway…

So instead of chi chi sandwiches and salads bordering on pretension, the menu here is now very basic – no-frills bacon and tuna melt, and toasted BLT, smoked salmon and roast beef sandwiches. I was a tad disappointed because I was hoping for a slice of Le Royale.

Still, the sandwiches that we ended up having were passable. Nothing fancy nor particularly outstanding, but more than edible. A had the toasted smoked salmon sandwich, and I had the bacon melt.

Surprisingly, though mine looked much yummier with all the melted cheese, somehow it fell short; I’m not quite sure why. I think the individual ingredients of cheese and bacon just weren’t of particularly good quality, so the whole thing that tasted a bit ordinary, like a sandwich I could’ve made at home. The smoked salmon one was better – it didn’t try to be too fussy, and just had smoked salmon, some capers and lettuce, but somehow that simple combination worked.

Still, I don’t foresee us coming back here again, unless Ken’s isn’t open again, and we don’t fancy anything else in the vicinity.

A says:

This is my kind of place. Just sandwiches, desserts, milkshakes and coffee. Although honestly, for the price they charge I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you want a quiet, uncrowded place to eat in town.

Esprit Café
(by Aromas)
Centrepoint extension, 3rd floor