Ruex Cafe and Bar: Australian brunch in Surrey
Ruex Cafe and Bar is a new brunch spot in Surrey inspired by Melbourne/Australian brunch. I came here with 3 friends to check out their menu.
Interior
I love the interior! It’s very pretty and Instagram-friendly with a calm and pink palette. As a table of 4, we were seated near the window by the bar area. Two of the seats were the wicker chairs, and the other 2 was a loveseat sofa that surprisingly had good back support even though it felt really low compared to the table height.
Overall, love the vibe – really great place to go with girl friends or your mom. They also have a live DJ station, which I thought was kind of fun. Lots of plants and foliage decorating the walls – very refreshing and lively atmosphere.
Food
My boyfriend and I order a simple iced coffee to share. They offer specialty brewed coffee and they have a full bar as well so you can order morning cocktails.
Halloumi avocado toast ($19)
One of my friends orders the avocado toast, which has avocado, Halloumi (a type of cheese made with sheep and goat milk), tomatoes, and pickled vegetables on sourdough.
It’s actually quite a large dish as there are actually 2 pieces of sourdough bread. The presentation is very colourful and appetizing, however, my friend found it difficult to eat because the sourdough bread was quite stiff/hard to cut.
I also found the price tag to be expensive for avocado toast. I mean Vancouver already charges us up the ass for half an avocado ($4 at usual brunch places).
Ruex brekkie burger ($21)
My boyfriend orders the brekkie burger, which comes with 2 rivers chorizo patty, a sunny side up egg, coleslaw and house-made tomato jam on charcoal bun. It is served with fancy pave potato.
Again, I really like the presentation. It is very elegant and I like how they made it unique with the charcoal bun and the paved potato, which I find often shows up in upscale dining places so I was happy to see it at brunch.
The burger is really tasty. The chorizo patty also gives it a unique taste and I love the pairing with the house-made tomato jam, which adds a bit of sourness/tartness to the savoury burger.
Biscoff french toast ($21)
My other friend orders the biscoff french toast, which – surprise – is also beautifully plated. It features a cornflake-crusted brioche french toast, stuffed with warm biscoff and served with cinnamon mascarpone and brulee bananas.
Portion size wise, it is really large. It was really fun to cut up the ball of french toast and see the caramel flavour ooze out. Bananas are seared well like a creme brulee and the french toast is thick and crunchy with the cornflake – a very unique dish! It is also quite sweet so perfect for those with a sweet tooth.
Mango hotcakes ($15)
I order the mango hotcakes, which is kind of similar to pancakes except it’s a type of griddlecake that is thicker than a normal pancake. Ruex’s housemade buttermilk hotcakes is served with vanilla bean chantilly, mango compote and chia seeds. Beautiful presentation again!
When the server placed down my plate, she informed me that she had never seen anybody finish this dish. She was not wrong because I also could not finish dish – I could only eat about half of it. The first bite was amazing – warm fluffy hotcake with some kind of condensed milk like sauce at the bottom. It was like eating a cloud! Really liked pairing it with the vanilla bean chantilly and some mango as well.
The biggest reason I couldn’t finish it was the sheer size. They give you 2 servings of hotcakes but I really think even 1 would be good enough because they are quite thick. It is also a sweet dish too but not as sweet as the french toast.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The 4 of us had an enjoyable brunch at Ruex Cafe. We strategically chose 2 savoury dishes and 2 sweet dishes so we can try a little bit of everything. They actually offer a brunch board for $79 which includes the mango hotcakes, avocado toast, mini brekkie burgers and the eggplant omelette. Even though it had 3/4 of what we ordered, we wanted to try the french toast so we just ordered al le carte. It is important to note that they do not do any modifications to the menu items, but they do have a vegan and gluten free menu available for those with dietary restrictions.
Out of our 4 dishes, I think the mango hot cake and the french toast is a must order for your first visit because they are just so unique and pretty. In terms of value, I think the mango hotcakes offer more food for your buck at only $15. However, I am more of a savoury gal so I would actually order the brekkie burger again, but I don’t know if I would order the sweet dishes after trying it.
I’m really happy to see more modern and upscale restaurants like Ruex in areas like Surrey (i.e. just not downtown Vancouver) because it really sucks to drive or commute all the way downtown just to wait hours to eat brunch. Every dish was presented beautifully and it’s certainly a very Instagram-friendly spot if you ever want to impress your date or friends or mom/grandma.
Sincerely, Loewe