The Federal Store (440 Devon Street East)
Located at the other end of town to where we were staying, we opted to drive to brunch before driving back in the opposite direction to Oakura Beach. The Federal Store was a different kind of trendy to Monica’s, rather it was bustling and packed and over-decorated. There were pictures or objects where ever you looked, in addition to a crazy big cabinet and an enormous menu. Unlike Monica’s, there was so many options of delicious sounding food – if I had to repeat offend, I think I could probably eat at The Federal Store every day for an entire week and order something different each time.
I ordered the classic club sandwich with fries – and I immediately regretted it when I saw it come out to the table next to us. It was so big, that I only ate about half! It was delicious though; the fried chicken was very tasty and I ended up just pulling out the chicken and eating that once I started getting too full. Andy’s Big Breakfast was delicious – also enormous, there was a good variety and quantity of everything.
The staff were extremely friendly and relaxed; not a hint of annoyance even when I had to send them away about 5 times before I could decide what I wanted. I really liked the hustle and bustle of this place; it made for a wonderful people-watching spot, especially if you can get one of the window seats.