I wanted to visit Empire Coffee Co for ages before I finally made it in, and by the time I did it had already moved twice and grown a fair bit from wherever it started. The latest home was Honeysuckle, though I had no idea where in Honeysuckle, which became painfully clear this morning when I walked a good five minutes past the front door before doubling back.
This is a 2017 time-capsule. Empire Coffee Co, the Star Wars cafe in Honeysuckle, has since closed, so this is me remembering it rather than sending you there. Keeping it up for the archive.
I made it back eventually, and I made it in time for breakfast, which is really all that matters. I was late to the Star Wars fandom. I have seen all the movies now and I genuinely love them, just nowhere near the level of my breakfast buddy Tilly, who was born on May the 4th and treats that as a personality trait.
the theming
The whole cafe was packed with Star Wars memorabilia, mixed in with bits and pieces from the rest of pop culture. We skipped the menu for a while and just looked around the room instead. There was a life size Iron Man standing behind our table and Captain America closer to the door, and while neither of them is technically Star Wars, they did not feel out of place. Star Wars was clearly the main event though, collectibles on every surface, Star Wars versions of things you would never think to make in the first place, all here.
Even our table number was themed, and honestly I would have been let down if it were not. We picked our order and went up to the counter to pay, which I only worked out because other people had gone up first. I always feel a bit awkward when I cannot tell whether a place is table service or not.
the food
There were not many vegetarian options and nothing was labelled with a little V to flag it, which is a small thing I always appreciate on a menu. I am sure they would have pulled the meat out of a dish if you asked. After far too much deliberation I went with the smashed avo, talked myself out of a vegetarian breakfast roll, and fell back on the old favourite.
Now for my one and only complaint about the whole thing. The egg. I do not eat egg, not like that, not outside of something it is baked into, like a cake. I did not order egg, egg was not on the menu, and yet there it was sitting right on top of my smashed avo. I checked the menu twice to make sure I had not somehow missed it. When I mentioned it the waitress asked if I had not wanted egg, and since egg does not gross me out the way meat does, I said it was fine and moved it to the side.
The smashed avo itself was delicious. The balsamic and the toppings were spot on and the toast was thick and so fresh that I gave up on cutting it and just picked the whole thing up, because sawing through a crust like that is a workout I did not sign up for. I am still not sure why the egg turned up. Maybe someone in the kitchen decided to be nice, here, have some poached eggs on the house.
The egg did not sour anything and it would not have stopped me going back. They also stocked some ridiculously cute Star Wars keep cups.
A must visit for any Star Wars fan. The food was good, but the real deciding factor was always going to be whether or not Star Wars did anything for you.
I love trying out new cafes and restaurants, and my home town is full of them. Empire Coffee Co is not around anymore, which is a shame, because a Star Wars cafe with a life size Iron Man tucked behind the tables is exactly the kind of place a town should get to keep.
> # end of file
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