By Irene Merenda

Sun Day Gathering Table, 73 San Marco Ave, St Augustine  32084. 904-481-8825. 8:30-3:00pm  Closed on Mondays

Three friends and I decided to try Sun Day, a place none of us had been, as our pre-holiday lunch.  The restaurant is small, cozy and serves breakfast, brunch and lunch.  When walking into the restaurant, the first thing one sees is beautiful artwork by local artist Jenna  Alexander on the walls.  There is also a display of prints, notecards with her drawings and prints for sale along one wall.  Much of the artwork is related to Florida, and specifically to St Augustine.  There is a coffee bar with specialty drinks as well as wine and beer on the menu.  There is a lovely front porch where several tables of diners were eating when we arrived.  We debated, but ultimately decided to eat indoors as the weather was cool and gray and also because we were lured by the aroma of freshly ground coffee.

I had not planned to review the restaurant, but after our meals were served so beautifully, I couldn’t help myself.  The Sourdough B.A.L.T. (bacon, avocado, baby lettuces, tomato and Dukes Mayo-$14) was huge and was reportedly delicious.  It was served with a bag of chips, but could have been served with a choice of several sides for an up-charge.  My friend took half of her sandwich home.

The root vegetable hash ($13) included chunks of potatoes, beets, carrots and turnips with fried eggs and Hollandaise sauce accompanied by a mixture of fresh greens.  It was fresh and unique.

The St. Augustine Shrimp Cobb ($17) was, again, very large and filled with fresh mixed  greens, avocado, egg, bacon and served with a herb buttermilk dressing.  The large shrimp were firm and fresh.

I ordered the Shakshuka, (above) mostly because the name intrigued me.  It was stewed tomatoes, peppers and cilantro with eggs and sourdough toast. ($14)  The eggs are usually served poached and “runny” as described by our server, but I requested mine be “un-runny.”  It was  good, but the tomato mixture was so over-powering that I was unable to experience the other flavors in the dish.  My friends said they would order their selections again.  I would not.

Sun Day is not the restaurant for you if you’re looking for  “typical” breakfast or brunch food.  There was nothing resembling a pancake or a Western omelet on the menu!  But if you would like some unique selections, in a quaint ambiance with interesting art work, you might want to give this one a try.  Sun Day does not have a parking lot, but on this particular Tuesday we had no trouble finding a space on the street just a couple blocks away.  The tables in the restaurant were filled, but we had no difficulty holding a conversation as the noise level was minimal.

4 spoonbills of 5