There were a lot of options on the menu
14:35, 26 Jul 2024Updated 00:04, 28 Jul 2024
Hannah Rees joined the newsroom as the Liverpool ECHO’s newsletter lead in 2021 after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University with a master’s degree in Journalism. She is now the Liverpool ECHO’s social media editor.
Zara’s Breakfast at Zara’s Hub, Childwall(Image: Hannah Rees)
It’s not often I’ll make the trip from Melling to Childwall for food, but every time I do I haven’t left disappointed. This is thanks to Zara’s Hub, a tiny bistro nestled between a row of shops on Childwall Abbey Road.
I’ve visited the ‘Mediterranean style’ bistro and bar for their evening menu, which has a selection of delicious mains, pizzas, cocktails and more. But during the day it offers a variety of breakfast and brunch options that I’ve been looking forward to trying.
We visited the bistro for breakfast at 10.45am on a Saturday morning. It’s always a good sign when you’re worried about getting knocked back by how busy the outside is.
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Every table in front of the bistro was full, which can only be telling of the breakfast and brunch they serve. Luckily, we managed to grab a table inside and took a look at their offerings.
The breakfast and brunch menu, served from 9am until 2pm, offers everything from full English breakfasts to BLTs, with vegan and vegetarian options available. The menu is broken down into breakfast, light bites and bagel options. There are around twenty different options on the menu, which seems like a generous selection for somewhere that also serves evening meals.
I opted for the £9.50 ‘Zara’s breakfast’ which consists of one sausage, bacon, egg, hash brown, black pudding, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and toast. However, a larger option is available with two of each item. My partner went for the £9.50 bacon, sausage and hash browns on toast.
Zara’s Hub, Childwall(Image: Hannah Rees)
Given how busy it was both indoors and out, I thought we’d be waiting a long time. It took about two minutes for our glasses of juice to arrive and around twenty minutes for our food.
As I went to tuck into my delicious looking breakfast, I was stopped in my tracks by an egg on a plate. A waiter had brought over a single fried egg, which I quickly turned away, having not ordered an extra side of egg.
But it wasn’t until I went to stick my knife into the yolk that I realised that it was supposed to be on my plate. The confusion was quickly resolved, and my breakfast was now complete – with my side of egg now on my plate.
The egg was cooked exactly how I like it, with a runny yolk and egg whites that haven’t been cremated by oil. The same goes for the black pudding. It had a slight crunch to the outside, but was still soft in the middle.
The mushrooms were seasoned well, although cut slightly on the thicker side for me, and the tomatoes had a lovely, sweet taste. I always find hash browns hit and miss as I personally prefer them to be as soft as possible on the inside. Fortunately, the one on my breakfast was exactly that – soft inside but a tasty, crunchy coating on the outside.
The highlights for me were the sausage and bacon. They were excellent quality. The sausage and bacon were really flavoursome. The bacon in particular was cooked well, crispy enough not to be spoiled by chewy fat, but pink enough to keep its flavour.
Based on the quality of the food, and size of the portions, the price was very reasonable. The bill came to a total of £28.90, which seemed like good value for money given how stuffed we were.
Zara’s Hub is open from 9am until 9pm on Monday to Thursday. The bistro extends its hours from 9am until 10pm on Friday and Saturday and closes at 8pm on Sunday. The address is 42 Childwall Abbey Rd, Liverpool L16 0JN.