The husband and wife team behind Mount Maunganui’s beloved Café Eighty Eight have moved on to a new project. Joel and Kate Byrne opened Me & You in early March and fans of ‘Eighty Eight’ will be delighted to hear they’ve brought lots of their fail-safe faves with them. The counter is brim-full with platters of pleasure, all baked fresh each morning. The selection of muffins (sweet and savoury) is a Byrne hallmark; they’re packed with so many good ingredients you wonder what’s holding them together.
So, there’s plenty of naughty… but also, now, a growing menu of nice. The new kitchen (designed and purpose-built by Joel himself) has enabled the couple to try new food directions they lacked the space to explore before. So, week by week, they’re adding more raw and clean eating options to the menu – there’s four to five salad options (we’re not sure about that word, salad – it underplays the flavour-packed medleys of fresh produce on offer) and a range of gooey, sweet slices that you wouldn’t guess were free of sugar, gluten and dairy. They’re the kind of treats that make you want to eat healthy, not have to eat healthy.
Coffee is by emerging brand Three Beans who roast in small batches and service only a hand-picked handful of cafés.
If you’re in for breakfast, Me & You make a seriously good eggs bene, or try their outstanding version of smashed avocado on toast; the creaminess of the avocado is counterbalanced with chilli, fresh coriander, lime, cherry tomatoes and toasted sunflower seeds. The bread is a rustic slow-rise baguette, made fresh every morning by an independent local baker. Its warm, doughy deliciousness is also part of another Me & You menu highpoint – their slow-roasted organic pork belly sandwich, layered with a rocket, fennel and apple salad and garnished with figs, pecans and blue cheese. It’s lick-your-plate stuff.
The interior, all designed by Kate, was inspired by the first piece bought for the space – a huge antique printer’s cabinet with a cast-iron top, sourced from a French factory. The cabinet’s dark wood and natural patina were jump-off points for other gorgeous design choices, like the industrial factory lighting, antique chairs from a British Rolls Royce factory and a massive farmhouse table in the centre of the café.
There are fresh floral bouquets for sale each day (grab a takeaway flat white and a bloom), courtesy of Joel’s florist sister, Kate. In fact, the whole family have played a part in one way or another – from helping with the café fit-out, to minding the newest member of the family, 17-month old Espen, to playing a key role in the kitchen team. Whatever they’re doing, the recipe is working. Just between me and you: this place is a hit.
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