Seagull Café, always a charm

Written by Marjan Thu'thu

I wonder whether I could really write an objective review about the Seagull Café House. After all, the café has been at the Chaandhanee Magu Fareedhee Magu junction as far back as I can remember. I looked forward to going there for ice cream when I was a child, as many kids my age did, and years later when the coffee culture hit Male’, I was often there, sipping away chitchatting with my friends.

Anyway, however unfit I may be for this particular task, I head there, dragging a friend along, because try I must in our quest to bring you the best restaurants and cafés this small city of ours have to offer.

When I got there, around 11 in the morning, my friend was already upstairs waiting for me. I wave a quick hi and head to the water dispenser to get myself a glass of water. As you might already know, Seagull’s gone plastic free; no more plastic water bottles and straws. Instead you get your water for free from the water dispenser, and if you really want your water to be brought to your table they’ve got glass-bottled brands available too. 

With my water in hand I head to the table my friend had chosen for us. “We are going to have breakfast right?” she asked as I took my seat. And I reply with a yes.

Seagull serves breakfast all day, and I quickly tell the waiter to bring me an eggs benedict because if I am going to write about the food from there, I might as well write about my favourite. My friend on the other hand goes for their Morning Eye Opener.

“So many people here today,” my friend remarks as she thanks the waiter for bringing us our drinks; my black tea and her black coffee. “Office people and tourists,” I observe.

We talk about life and other things as we wait for our food. The place is abuzz, conversations merging with the hustle and bustle of the city outside, the greenery outside blending with the cafés dark wood and creamy open interiors, and the both of us, cosy in our conversation.

Our breakfasts arrive. This time I’ve ordered my eggs benedict with smoked salmon, although I could have ordered it with grilled sausages too. And here it was, two poached eggs sitting on top of two generous helpings of smoked salmon sitting on two thick pieces of toast. The hollandaise is poured on top while on the side is their espresso and tomato jam. Being very hungry, I dive straight in, cut through the layers of the hollandaise-covered goodness, take a bite and am instantly comforted by this familiar delight. I do love the poached eggs, and how they combine with the salmon and the toast in my mouth, but I must particularly mention the espresso and tomato jam on the side because that brought a lovely bitter sweetness to the dish which I think serves well in balancing the sourness of the hollandaise sauce.

My friend’s Morning Eye Opener comes with a lot of things. There’s a hash brown, a grilled tomato, toast, butter, jam, grilled sausages, and eggs she’s ordered scrambled. She even got a fruit plate that had pineapples and papayas.

We actually eat in silence for a little while and when I ask her about her breakfast, she tells me that she likes the hash brown because its nice and crispy and tells me she thinks the sausages are pretty neat too.

After the food, we sit around for a little while, sipping our drinks and waiting for the bill. My friend shows me their vegetarian quinoa burger advertisement sitting on our table and we talk a little about how healthier and vegetarian options are finally and gradually popping up in Male’s cafes.

Our bill comes; it’s around MVR 350. And we head out knowing very well that we’d be back again in a couple of days because we humans are creatures of habit. And before I sign off with this article, I’d like to recommend some of my other favourites from Seagull Café House, the chai latte, which now you can even order with almond milk, and their chicken curry, which they serve with rice and add-ons such as salads and chutneys; it’s actually one of the best curries I’ve had in Male’.