Located in the Rawdah Star development, Bert’s Cafe is set across two floors with a singles section on the Ground Floor and a large and open Family area above. The concept is French, you might have guessed from the name “ Bert’s café Contemporain.” That’s ‘contemporary coffee’ for those of you that skipped your French classes.

The venue has a traditional and yet modern feel with its salmon pink ceiling, low hung lights, stainless steel bar and large flat panel LCDs. These contrast with the beautiful (and French!) wooden floorboards, gold baroque mirrors and leather chesterfield sofas. Almost every little detail from furniture down to their ingredients has been shipped in for its recent opening.

While early morning traffic was nipping by, I decided to delver further into the menu at Bert’s, I had been here previously, but had yet to sample any of their ‘healthy breakfasts’, now was my chance. It was 7.59 am and according to my memory they opened at precisely 8am. True to their word, the doors were open as I arrived and I went straight for my order.

I was interested to see how quickly one could stop for breakfast, open at 8am I was told to expect a wait of approximately half an hour, compared to other breakfasts this might seem long. But then there are no microwaves here, everything is prepared fresh. To accommodate I decided to opt for a takeaway and return to pick it up half an hour later.

I went for a healthy but hearty breakfast of smoked salmon scrambled eggs (with two large slices of white toast), a fat burner smoothie, and a cappuccino, totaling 89 SAR. Not cheap, but then this is no egg Mc Muffin.

To be honest the fat burner smoothie I tried is more than enough for breakfast. Full of fruit, the smoothie is loaded with vitamins, the freshly prepared smoothie includes cranberry, apples, apple juice ,fresh banana and 99 percent fat free frozen yoghurt. Cool and refreshing, it’s an ideal ‘pick me up’ in the morning. I would have been entirely satisfied with it, if it was all I had for breakfast.

The smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were an interesting sight, perhaps only because I am a huge fan of egg yolks, and they were no where to be seen.

Now I understand scrambled eggs, are scrambled, so of course you can’t see the yolk. However usually the bright yellow color is a dead giveaway that they are in there. Yet at Bert’s the scrambled eggs are a milky white, this is because all yolks are removed before the scrambling actually begins. This makes for a lower cholesterol meal, at what some might argue: the cost of taste. Personally I would be the first person to stand up and say I should be watching my cholesterol intake, which on my last count was higher than it should be! However in this case I would probably rather skip the eggs entirely than miss out on the egg yolks.

However, if like me you are a fan of your yolks, I have since been informed that you can actually ask for them to stay in the mix, good to know for next time! Just make sure you ask! And nice to see Bert’s accommodating everyone’s tastes.

In contrast the cappuccino here is excellent, both smooth and creamy, with Bert’s using one of their exclusive blends, coffee lovers should be impressed, and I continue to stop by regularly for the fat burner smoothies. If you haven’t yet passed by Bert’s perhaps it’s time you gave them a look.

Address: Rawdah Star development on Rawdah Street near the Binladin Group Offices.

(Rashed Islam is a food critic who hosts Jeddahfood.com)