The Rise Buffet Breakfast is Rydges’ new standardised healthy breakfast across their hotels and resorts. I’ve had it once before at Rydges Capital Hill in Canberra when it was fairly new. Coming to Jindabyne and staying at the Rydges Snowy Mountains Resort, I was not sure whether to expect it to be really matching a city buffet or whether it would be much simpler.
It is simpler, but I must say, I am very pleasantly surprised with how close it is. I should note though that we were there in Summer, and there is a large section of the restaurant that was closed off, so it may well be identical in Winter when the resort is busier.
We were there for 9 days, and despite it being the same base menu every day the kitchen did do a good job of changing things up subtly enough to keep it interesting. Kyle and Danni were on alternately throughout the week and were two of not many staff that looked after the buffet and guests. They definitely made us feel welcome and made sure we had everything we needed!
The buffet that we had access to though has a hot section which includes much of the same items you might expect at a city Rydges:
- Poached eggs
- Hollandaise sauce
- Scrambled eggs
- Bacon
- Rustic baked beans (these are the same as the city buffet’s and are some of the best baked beans you will eat)
- Mushrooms
- Hash browns
- Roasted tomato
- Assorted sauces including a particularly nice coconut chilli one that had some real kick but an amazing flavour
Then there is the continental section. This is probably where it is more noticeable that the buffet is simpler. It’s certainly nothing to complain about though, all the staples are there and there is plenty to enjoy including:
- Cereal selection
- Build your own muesli
- Assorted breads
- 2 types of cheese
- Sliced meats
- Pastries
- Fresh fruit
- Natural yoghurt
- Fig compote
- Bircher muesli
- Pastries
- Muffins
- Scones (sometimes)
- Fresh honey from the comb
There wasn’t a juice bar like in the city, but this is something I definitely didn’t expect it to have anyway. Your choice of juice is pretty much what you would expect with the addition of cranberry:
- Pomme
- Orange
- Cranberry
It’s also worth noting that (at least when we were there), if you need soy milk, they don’t put it out, only skim and regular are put on the table. If you need soy, you will need to ask one of the staff and they will be happy to provide it for you.
The build your own muesli made available a number of options on top of the base muesli including:
- Toasted pepitas
- Macadamias
- Dried apricot
- Dried apple
- Dried cranberries
- Shredded coconut
- Stewed berries
- Passionfruit
- Fresh fruit
Making it a healthy and delicious breakfast option!
While we were there, we tried the hot food. It is more or less the same each day, but sometimes things change a little bit. For example, some days the mushrooms were served on their own and sometimes with spinach. Sometimes the poached eggs had to be scooped up, other times they came in ramekins with seasoning. Overall little things that kept it interesting and added a little bit of variety without really changing the menu.
One thing to note that is quite different is that on quiet days (eg mid-week), the hot buffet is closed. Instead you can order your choice of meals from the menu in addition to utilising the continental buffet. At first I was a little disappointed about this, but after getting the meal, it was exactly the same food anyway, just cooked fresh to order which meant it was actually better.
The Rise Big Breakfast comes in both a vegetarian and non-vegetarian option. I was quite impressed with the vegetarian, and definitely didn’t go hungry:
There is no vegetarian eggs benedict option, but as long as the kitchen has avocado available they are quite happy to swap the ham out for avocado instead, and it makes for a delicious breakfast!
Not much to say about baked beans and scrambled eggs, but I definitely appreciated the beans being in the little ramekin. It made it much easier to eat them.
Getting into cold food there are lots of good options!
I didn’t actually notice this fig compote in Canberra, so I think this might be something a little different at Rydges Horizons. It’s fig and apple and very nice. I’d probably suggest a little bit of milk or yoghurt with it though as it is quite sweet.
The natural yoghurt is served on it’s own, you can add your combination of other things to it though.
There were not always scones, but I can vouch for the fact that they are perhaps the nicest scones I’ve had anywhere. The pastries were as well. I don’t know if they make them here, or if they get them from the Sundance Bakery across the road, or somewhere else, but they are amazingly good!
The coffee machine makes your typical coffees but if you would like anything fancier, including hot chocolate, you do have to pay extra for it. Due to an issue with our dinner being forgotten about the night before, we did get a free hot chocolate and cappuccino for breakfast the next day, and I do recommend them, Kyle did a great job on them!
Overall, very impressed with the quality of food and the service of staff! I’d just recommend getting there early, especially if it’s quiet. Things will disappear and if it’s quiet, they probably won’t be replaced once they are gone.
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