With a tin roof and a blue-green mural enveloping the exterior, Moo & Bean Kitchen & Bar is exactly the sort of all-day eatery you want to discover in a sleepy coastal town like North Haven. On the cottage’s front verandah, a row of bar stools look straight out to the waters of Camden Haven and some expectant pelicans waiting for the first fishing boat to come in. The interiors are light and bright, with your eye caught by hot pink neon signage that would no-doubt be even better by night.
At breakfast time locals and blow-ins alike descend for steaming cups of Artisti Coffee Roasters brew, roasted on the mid-north coast in Coffs Harbour. It goes alright in a strong flat white ($5.50) and a cappuccino ($4.50). The works ($25) will take care of all your breakfast needs with well-handled scrambled eggs and a bang-up pork sausage the standouts in the medley of bacon, spinach, slow roasted tomatoes, balsamic mushrooms, hashbrowns and slightly dry brisket on buttered sourdough.
Spying something different on the breakfast menu — caramelised onion eggs ($19) — had me ordering it immediately, though I wish I’d been warned by staff it was eye-wateringly sweet. Built over sourdough painted with a pale onion jam (it needed more vinegar and darker caramelisation) this vegetarian breakfast included halloumi, roasted capsicum and a pair of poached eggs. Getting some house-made habanero sauce on the side helped but I was still left wishing I’d ordered something else.
