Coral Tree Cafe (Breakfast)

(310) 979-8733
11645 San Vicente Blvd
Brentwood, CA 90049

Adequately Fed: $10
Sciliana Breakfast Panini***
Marcella Scramble***
(Out of Five Stars)

The reason that this review is noted specially noted as breakfast is due to my own admitted prejudice against the early morning meal. Heavy breakfasts weigh me down and I can never finish more than one or two eggs in one sitting. I came to Coral Tree Cafe at 11:00 and the menu was still breakfast oriented. Rather than opt for the sugary items more suitable to my morning palettes such as the pancakes or the French toast, I ordered a panini.

This is a self-order counter restaurant; armed with a plastic number, I traversed the weekend brunch crowd for a table in this rustic, barn-themed cafe. Ashamedly, I am not a coffee drinker so I did not take advantage of Coral Tree's extensive java menu. However, if I had arrived later, I might have tried the numerous wines featured by glass or bottle. I might even have bought a jar of nutella to take home with me if I weren't on my way to another destination.

Given the crowd, the panini didn't take too long to come out. It is served with either roasted potatoes or a fruit medley of cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew and pineapple. The sandwich had roma tomatoes, pancetta, mozzarella, red pepppers and much fried egg. The later ingredient unfortunately unsettled my stomach and I could not finish the sandwich. Even the bread for the panini was dry and uninspired. Besides my own dish however, the breakfast burrito, pancakes, and French toast looked splendid.

The scramble included egg whites, sundried tomatoes, spinach, penne, mushrooms, and parmesan reggiano. This managed to be light and not weighed down by grease common in bad omelettes. The egg dishes come with the option of whites only, which in retrospect, would have been a wiser choice.

I cannot give an objective review of Coral Tree Cafe because I just can't enjoy breakfast on that kind of level. I would be happy with a glass of milk and a bowl of cereal, plenty satisfied and not feeling bloated or greasy. Therefore, I will consider coming back to Coral Tree one day for lunch.

Recommendation: Supposedly, the cappuccino are amazing.