Crossing Cafe, Ryde

In recent years, various culinary hares have entered the race to challenge that curmudgeonly old tortoise, the standard full English breakfast. We’ve watched with delight as international cuisine has snucken its way onto our morning menus, bringing welcome diversification to those classic pork-centric offerings.

Many will welcome the introduction of Mediterranean and North African spiced dishes, Mexican black beans and tofu – although some may think yoghurt AND eggs on the same plate is a food fusion too far.

Not us. We have probably had enough processed pig products in our lifetimes to give our colons a welcome rest, so are happy to choose from a brunch blackboard chalked with words such as turmeric, whipped feta and cucumber ribbons. And we’d be hard-pressed to find a better place in Ryde for these options than Crossing Cafe.

Entering the venue, we could see at a glance that it ticked many of the style boxes of the typical hipster joint; slate-coloured walls, with metallic accent pieces, clipboard menus and upcycled vessels for table flowers and crockery stowage. There was also an intriguing wooden map on one wall, with the countries jigsawed together to create today’s recognisable continents, though it might have been fun to spin back the clock 335 million years, rearranging the pieces to when the Earth’s landmass was the giant Pangea.

We parked ourselves on cushions sheathed in upcycled coffee sacks. A nice touch, as was the coffee itself; a very decent brew from local roastery Jasper’s.

If you want a traditional breakfast of bacon, sausages, black pudding and whatnot, there are small and large versions here, plus regular meatless options, also more Benedicts than the average monastery – so there was plenty to choose from.

The courgette and sweet potato cakes were superb. The rosti-style patties had been slightly caramelised in the frying and consequently had a pleasing sweet note. Sandwiched between the cakes were slices of very fresh avocado, and crowning the stack was a top class poached egg. The dish was finished with a really fabulous turmeric and garlic yoghurt smear, and a twirl of pea shoots. It was an exceptionally lovely way to start the day.

We also chose one of the egg/muffin combos – the royale. Poached egg with hollandaise sauce and salmon; one of the best we’ve had – and we have had many! The sauce was fantastic; the salmon was really fresh. Poached eggs done perfectly; not too runny not too hard but just right; Goldilocks would be thrilled.

Crossing Cafe served us well with its traditional and modern breakfast choices. We liked the attention to detail, with balsamic glaze and different green garnishes to our meals – rocket on one and pea shoots on the other. And, of course, it all tasted great! We are happy to recommend this new addition to Union Street’s food scene.

This is the full-length version of a review that was printed in the Isle of Wight County Press.

71 Union Street, Ryde PO33 2LN

07712 256712

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