Introducing: House of Boulevard

Integrity and options are two words that crop up a lot when the co-owner of House of Boulevard, in Silverdale, Lucas Lu, talks about food.

Lucas and his business partner Ricky Sun opened their cafe in Central Boulevard at the start of the month.

While both men have years of hospitality experience, this is their first solo venture and they are keen to deliver the best café dining experience possible.

Ricky is managing the administrative side of the business, while Lucas, a trained chef, is overseeing the front of house.

Lucas believes the careful selection of ingredients is where good food starts.

“We’re sourcing food from individual suppliers so that the quality of the food is guaranteed,” he says.

“Our bread, for instance, is baked freshly daily in Auckland and we make all our own cabinet food, and sauces and pesto. There are no shortcuts and I have very high standards.”

The food is hard to categorise, reflecting Kiwi, European and Asian influences.

Lucas said the menu took months to develop, with each dish tested repeatedly until he was satisfied it was right.

“The food isn’t extravagant, but each dish is crafted to be flavoursome and healthy. My favourite is the steak burger, but I’d also recommend the BLVD salad. It’s our healthy equivalent to the ‘big breakfast’.

“I’m still working on a tapas menu, which will be available after 2pm.”

No less care has been taken with the selection of coffees, teas and alcoholic beverages.

The hand drip coffees are carefully chosen from coffee growing regions around the world with different varieties for each season.

“This means the coffee is more of an experience for our customers. We also have a selection of single origin beans for a special cold brew coffee that is brewed for six hours, and cascara tea as well.”

The bar stocks Garage Project Craft beers, wines from NZ, France and Germany, Scotch whisky and gin.

The coffee is a special blend made exclusively for the café.

“We chose Silverdale for our cafe because it is a very friendly community and we think people here will appreciate having a café that goes that extra mile to deliver food and drinks with integrity and choice,” Lucas says.

“We’re looking forward to working with the community and would like to eventually display local art and crafts.”