Restaurant Review: On the hunt for brunch? Check out Hemingway's Tavern in Melbourne

This review should not have been about brunch.

A breakfast review appeared here last week, and the idea is to vary restaurant styles, locations and the types of foods they serve. But after discovering that the place that should have appeared here was scheduled to get a complete makeover, that one was off. 

So, as recommended by fellow diners at Grills, to Hemingway’s Tavern for brunch we went, intending to use it in the future. But having been served a pair of fine meals, into the newspaper Hemingway’s goes.

You read about the funky-but-not-cluttered, sunny, Key-Westy ambiance of Hemingway’s about a year ago, and it’s just the same, and though its name includes “tavern,” it’s less a bar than a lot of other restaurant-lounges and really is quite family-friendly.

The menu has a lot of lunch and dinner offerings, much with a Caribbean vibe, but you knew that too.

Brunch includes four eggs Benedicts, four brunch plates and one dessert, Quatro Leches Bread Pudding ($5), which would have been dandy had we the room for it. Mimosas are served by the glass ($5) or are bottomless ($14).

The four plates and four Benedicts didn’t sit well with one of my brunch companions, who really wanted eggs and promptly told our server. Ordering off the menu is never a problem, she was told cheerfully, and how unique was that? We ordered poached eggs with grits ($8), which really would be polenta, it was explained; a fruit platter ($8); and the Havana Dream Benedict ($12).

Biscuits make visit to Wanderlust worthwhile

While we waited for that, we, like everyone else, were surprised to receive two miniature guava pastries, compliments of the chef, and they were lovely, warm puff pastry filled with a little guava and a dab of whipped cream (underscore “cream.”).

Truthfully, lesser eateries can end anyone’s craving for guava filling forever, so sugary-sticky do they make it. This was a lovely, fruity treat, a delightful touch that told us about Hemingway’s food-forward attitude.

My friend orders poached eggs when she’s feeling picky. They’re easy to mess up, and she does them extremely well. She also is not much on presentation or plating, just wants her eggs and bread.

At Hemingway’s she pronounced them “perfect,” served with a gigantic scoop of polenta she also appreciated, and English muffins toasted as ordered, to a brown crisp.

The fruit was nicely, though not too fancily, set on the plate, which clearly had been put together upon receiving the order, and it was most welcome. 

A Havana Dream has twin mounds of mojo pork over toasted English muffins, topped with poached eggs and Hollandaise. The pork was marinated and seasoned properly, and roasted perfectly, but although one of the eggs was faultless, the other was overcooked. It had less sauce than I would have preferred too, but I’d still order this dish again. And again.

The citrusy-spicy pork and accompanying home fries were that good, more like what you would make at home than that you would get in a restaurant.

Now a word about service: Flawless. This server behaved as one would at a very high-end restaurant. She knew the menu and was not afraid to recommend. She did not hesitate about special orders. Coffee, tea and water were delivered and refilled at once. The table was cleared quickly when necessary. Proprieties, like bringing lemon slices and milk for tea in the appropriate serving vessels, were observed. Her manners were exquisite.

This alone is reason to visit Hemingway’s for brunch or any other meal. See you there.

Hemingway’s Tavern (brunch)

Three and a half stars

Address: 1800 W. Hibiscus Blvd., Melbourne

Hours: Brunch: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; otherwise, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday

Call: 321-802-9648

Online: www.hemingwaystavern.com

WiFi: Yes:

Other: Indoor and outdoor dining; full bar with specialty beers and cocktails; daily specials; take-out

About our reviews

Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.

Five stars: Excellent. A rare establishment to which you’d be proud to take the most discerning diner.

Four stars: Very good. Worth going out of your way for. Food, atmosphere and service are routinely top notch.

Three stars: Good. A reasonably good place with food and service that satisfy.

Two stars: Fair. While there’s nothing special about this establishment, it will do in a pinch.

One star: Not recommended. Don’t bother.

Email toastofthecoastfloridatoday@gmail.com.