My husband and I have a Saturday morning ritual. Every weekend we get up early, work out, and then reward ourselves with breakfast at one of the many great cafes around town.

Working out in the city means that we generally end up eating somewhere nearby, Two Before Ten, Pulp Kitchen, A . Baker, and Mood Food have been our recent haunts.

We live in Belconnen, which hasn’t given us many options close to home. But with the redevelopment of the town centre, that’s slowly changing. Of course Ellacure, Ricardo’s and HaHa Bar have been around for some time, but there’s now an exciting new kid on the block. And it’s called Chatterbox.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that I’d met the owner of Chatterbox some months earlier. Odje (I’m not 100 per cent sure that this is how he spells his name–apologies if you’re reading this, and it’s incorrect!) had been part of the friendly Mavi team, in the Department of Health building in Woden. Odje always had a smile, and a cheerful greeting to go with the excellent coffee he poured. And so, I was temporarily disappointed to hear he’d be moving on, until he told me he was opening his own cafe, in the old Tax building across from the Labor Club in Belconnen.

But I digress. Unlike its surroundings, Chatterbox is bright, airy and modern. There’s plenty of seating, both indoors and outside under oversized umbrellas.

Walking inside, we greeted by Odje. It’s been months since he served my last coffee, but he asks “it’s a large skim cappuccino, right lovely?”, and within a couple of short minutes I’m enjoying it.

The menu has good variety, and I struggle to choose, baked eggs vs smashed avocado with poached eggs and Persian fetta (above). I can’t go past the avocado. Mr Running Girl orders the potato stack, which is potato rosti, cottage cheese and your choice of bacon, ham or smoked salmon (below). Mr Running Girl will always choose bacon, and so it was.

My dish was delicious. Perfectly poached eggs, fresh and plentiful avocado, and just the right amount of salty fetta, complimented by slivers of basil.

Mr Running Girl (who is not great with adjectives) describes his dish as “very good”. When pressed, he says “the eggs were nice and runny – but not raw, there was plenty of bacon and rosti–both were nice and crispy, and the cottage cheese was the perfect counterbalance to the bacon”.

I see plates with brioche french toast and caramelised banana, and fresh fruit salad with yoghurt crossing the pass, and both look fabulous. You can check out the full menu here.

To be honest, I was in two minds about whether to write this review. Chatterbox is one of those Canberra gems, tucked away in an unlikely spot. At the moment, it seems that it hasn’t been discovered by the masses, but I just know that it won’t last. This new edition to the Belconnen scene is much needed. Good food, great service, and local.

As we pay, (under $40 for two meals, two soft drinks and a coffee) I notice all manner of sweet goodies in a cabinet near the coffee machine, along with a range of posh sandwiches. I take a mental note to give these a try in the not too distant future.

Chatterbox is a sister cafe to Mingle Espresso bar in the city. Odje is also providing catering services through Chatterbox, which is sure to be welcomed by the local business district.

the essentials

What: Chatterbox Espresso Bar
Where: Corner of 40 Cameron Avenue, Belconnen
When: Open 6:30 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, and 8:00 to 14:00 Saturday and Sunday
Web: www.chatterbox-catering.com.au