Brunch at Coffee & Bagels

by Iyath Adam

If you’re looking for a cool brunch spot, then we’ve got just the place for you this time! 

Coffee & Bagels – as the name itself suggests – is a great place to grab some coffee and bagels. Located beachside in Hulhumale’ Phase I, the space has a warm, welcoming feel to it with both indoor and outdoor seating. They have a wide variety of breakfast/brunch dishes available – different types of bagels and sandwiches along with some very interesting drinks.

The service is impeccably prompt, and we were soon provided with a menu. While some of their bagel options are available only until 11:30 AM, there are also some killer options which you can get throughout the whole day. 

We went for one bagel dish and one sandwich – a ‘Sophisticated Eggs Benedict’ and the ‘Delta Prawn’ sandwich, and an iced latte as a drink. Of course, brunch wouldn’t really be complete without dessert, so we went with their Pain Perdu – French toast with a custard filling inside and poached pears on top. 

To start off, the iced latte was a great balance of flavours with coffee, milk, and the sugar syrup – not too sweet (as some drinks can be) but also not so bitter that you couldn’t enjoy the feeling of having a cold drink. Off to a good start. 

Now, for the main dishes. 

The ‘Sophisticated Eggs Benedict was sophisticated’ indeed! A bagel half, topped with sautéed spinach, smoked salmon and two poached eggs with the signature hollandaise sauce. And when we say poached eggs, we certainly mean it! 

Perfectly runny egg yolks just split out of both the poached eggs when cut into it – always a good sign when you’re having Eggs Benedict! The earthy flavour of the spinach and the saltiness of the smoked salmon really complemented the bagel and the poached eggs. We really couldn’t get enough of this dish, but the portion size was exactly right for brunch. 

The ‘Delta Prawn’ sandwich was a burst of flavour – deep-fried breaded prawns in a cheesy, mayo sauce, stuffed in an Italian bread sub with fresh lettuce and fries. The prawns were light yet meaty at the same time and the umami-ness of the filling really went great with the bread. Be warned, readers – it’s a messy dish to eat but oh-so-delicious!

The Pain Perdu was just fresh off the griddle and hot. The poached pears on top, along with the slightly tart berry sauce drizzled around was a really nice addition to the cinnamon-y, pillowy toasted bread and the vanilla custard inside; sweet yet a little tart and with different textures to boot. It really was the perfect end to the meal. 

Overall, the dishes at Coffee & Bagels were really tasty and delicious, and we can’t wait to go back and try more of their food to see what else they have to offer!