Golden Spoons Review: Boggy Sand Café
(CNS Foodie): In the mood for a change of scenery, my companion and I decided a small trip to West Bay was in order, plus the opening of a new café had caught my eye. We found the place fairly easily; the Boggy Sand Café is in the car park next door to Foster’s Republix. It is in a new building which is actually quite nicely done — interesting brickwork and curved walls.
The café is light and bright with plenty of seating options. It is very new and so everything looked clean and fresh.
We were there for breakfast, and it was a late breakfast so there were only a couple of other occupied tables. We were greeted warmly, shown to our seats (a bench seat that for once did not make me feel like a child eating at the grown-ups’ table; the padding was firm and the height just right) and given the menu and some water. The choice is not extensive but comprises quite a good mix, from callaloo and salted cod to a classic American breakfast to a breakfast pizza, with all about $10.
My companion chose the breakfast wrap ($10.75), consisting of tomato, avocado, egg, callaloo and cheddar jack wrapped in a flour tortilla. I had the Boggy Sand breakfast ($9) – eggs, plantain, bacon and coco bread. Once we had ordered breakfast and coffee (they have a Lavazza Blue pod coffee machine which is very good), we sat back to relax. The food was not long coming.
Both dishes were well presented and although many people might consider the scrambled eggs overcooked, I was happy to see that mine were firm and not runny. The coco bread was interesting; I had not come across this sort of bread before and found it to be like naan crossed with a brioche and I quite liked it. There was a very subtle sweetness to it, with the texture of good chewy bread. Both dishes were served with a little bit of sliced, pickled vegetables that added extra interest. There was a jar of these julienne vegetables on the table, too, should we have needed more.
The breakfast wrap should come with a slight warning: It contains chillies (which is not listed on the menu). Although my companion thought they added an extra dimension to the dish, if you do not like it hot this might be a problem. The wrap was also served with a generous portion of fried potato wedges.
Overall the food was very good — well cooked and tasty – and the coffee excellent. However, the ambience was just OK. Unfortunately, there is no getting away from the fact that this is a café in a car park. There is no view to enjoy, but they have done their best with the inside décor.
Also getting high marks was the ladies’ toilet (sorry, I cannot report on the men’s!), which had plenty of room to deal with small children, including a changing mat anchored to a bench.
The lunch menu looks good, too, and again not overly expensive – classic burger at $10.50 to escovitch fish sandwich at $13.50. Dinners range from $13 for a margherita pizza to up to $35 for a 10oz steak and lobster tail. It should also be noted that the café serves alcohol – cocktails, beer, cider and wine – and, although the drinks menu is not extensive, it covers all the bases.
The Boggy Sand Café offers good value for money given the quality of the food and coffee (which is an important consideration for my first meal of the day). I would be more than happy to return for another breakfast.
Gratuity: 15% added to the bill
See readers’ comments on Boggy Sand Café here
Category: Breakfast, Golden Spoons Review
I think you are off track on considering the location of this cafe in a local shopping center a negative. True there is really no view of the ocean, but even the Ritz-Carlton offers no real views in its well regarded restaurants. The decor speaks for itself, just like in this informal cafe. There are many, many much more expensive restaurants in Cayman that are located in shopping plazas. They don’t seem to get demerits for location. I hope readers will focus on the “Spoons” given for food and service.