Birdie

Breakfast time!

Honestly, I have always been very big on brunches, especially when I was living in London. I adore the idea of going for pancakes topped with bacon and maple syrup or salmon and adocavo on toast. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day but there is nothing better than combining both breakfast and lunch and getting a super awesome tasty meal. Of course, London is absolutely full of places that do brunches – varying from banana bread and Greek honey to the whole English breakfast. But when I came to Geneva I did not think this was a known thing. In fact, I didn’t think cafés at all were a thing considering the coffee prices.

I read up on where I could go here in Geneva and luckily for me a few places showed up - a couple were in hotels such as the Tiffany Hotel which I already have planned to try out, but the one that really caught my eye was Birdie. I saw a few blog posts about this café and the foodies posted some pretty delicious looking photos on Instagram- so I convinced myself that the prices were average and that it deserved to be tried out. So I went there with my friend before our French lesson on a Wednesday.

The café was very quiet, I’m not sure if at the weekend’s it will be more filled up, however luckily for us we found a table straight away and we were able to speak to each other without the overpowering voices of other people talking.

The interior is a casual, rustic décor which is very warming and cosy. There are two separate rooms meaning they are both very spacious. This is positive because you do not feel overcrowded or under observation.

The Food

The menu is quite limited as in you can choose between six food options, but every single option looks absolutely delicious (and they have a separate menu for cakes). Each option is very different, you can chose between a classic salmon and avocado on toast which is their signature dish, you can chose porridge, home made granola, a croque-monsieur, quinoa salad or a veggie wrap. Every single option is boosted with something different and interesting for example their croque-monsieur is made with Gruyère cheese (Swiss specialty) and mascarpone, Parmesan and ham. Although everything sounded tasty, we ended up by choosing their signature dish of avocado, poached egg and salmon on toast- it was served with two extra slices of toast and coffee butter.

Every bite of it was insanely delicious- I never wanted it to end. The salmon was so fresh and the egg was poached perfectly. One of my favorite parts of this dish though was the coffee butter I put on the toast. It is such a unique concept and it really complimented the rest of the dish. All in all It was full of flavor and it filled me up for hours - perfect!

Birdie establishes that all their food is made with local products. They assure that they have close relationships with all their suppliers and that they give privilege to products that have been labeled “Genève Region Terre Avenir”. It really makes a difference when a café establishes that all their products are local, it makes you feel at ease that their products are all fresh.

The Drinks

The drinks menu was also slightly limited but even then I found it very difficult to decide what drink to have. Apart from the classic espresso and long coffee (which they describe as smooth and mellow), they have aeropress and chemex. The aeropress is their preferred method of coffee making, to which the coffee comes out intensely flavored. The chemex on the other hand really impressed me and I will have to try it out some day. They then have the classic milky coffee options, hot chocolate, teas and fresh fruit juice. We chose freshly juiced apple juice which tasted incredibly fresh and flavorsome – if you love apple juice I strongly advice you try this.

Birdie really excels and perfections their coffee. They make sure they carefully select their coffee from excellent coffee-merchants. They give a lot of value to the quality, the period of collection, the procession it goes through which I find highly essential when looking for high quality products. I have noticed that they use traditional Italian coffee machines meaning that the coffee they produce is of exceptional standards.

The Desserts

Birdie also outstands themselves when it comes to their desserts. They have a wide range of options such as their cheesecake, an affogato (ice cream and coffee), carrot cake, chocolate or banana cake, and smaller options such as chocolate cookie, cannele and coconut rocher. They all looked splendid on the counter and I really must return to try the banana cake slice.

All in all the prices are very low (apart from their signature brunch dish) – therefore if you find yourself in Geneva do not hesitate to come here!

Rue des Bains, 40 – Genève.

For more information about this café check out their website: Birdie Coffee.