SUNDAY DRIVE

A SEASON FOR NEW LEEVES

The past year has been quite the journey for Red Eight at Portstone, so it is fitting to introduce a new name for the café, Leeves at Portstone. Owner Stephanie, who started the original Red Eight in Kaiapoi, chose the new name to reflect the current location at 465 Ferry Road’s Portstone Garden Centre. She describes this as a “fresh approach” for the café. “Leeves ties in with the garden centre and is also a play on words, as it’s also a nod to my surname, Reeves!” The café’s cabinet is one of the best in town, with all food being made on-site using fresh, quality ingredients. This shows in the delicious flavours and presentation. She also muses on Leeve’s signature dish and states that a “café is judged on its Eggs Benedict”. “Ours really is special. Agria potato rosti, which is deep-fried and crunchy, with two perfectly poached eggs, hollandaise sauce made in-house, with crunchy seeds, and topped with the choice of mānuka-smoked freedom farmed bacon from Peter Timbs, mushrooms sautéed with our pesto and wilted baby spinach, or Akaroa Salmon’s hot mānuka-smoked salmon.” For a dose of fun and whimsy, there is ‘Fancy Pants Fridays’ at Leeves. This is where Steph and the team really turn on the fancy! The Facebook page announces on Thursday evenings what the four to five extra treats will be, and then from 9am, the deliciousness emerges from the kitchen. “It could be freshly cooked doughnuts, topped with Italian meringue and chocolate pastry crème, or cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting. Our canelé – a delicious French custard patisserie treat – has been popular, and our sponge drops create quite a stir!” Leeves locale is enviable, with its lush greenery to sit amongst. The outdoor seating area is tranquil and currently perfumed by all the Daphne plants. You can sit in the sunshine or shade and bring your four-legged friends. Leeves is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 3.30pm, and weekends from 9am to 4pm.

Minimal fuss maximum lush.

CREATE your own antipasto. EXPLORE the gardens. RELAX with a bottle from the cellar.