Jordan C.
Yelp
Finally, finally, FINALLY got the opportunity to try Afternoon. After hearing so many wonderful things about Afternoon, seeing pictures/posts on social media, etc. I made my way over to see what all the hype was about. Afternoon is a quaint brunch eatery serving up some unique, fresh dishes. They pride themselves on using high quality, local ingredients, as well as making very good coffee and pastries. It does get busy and you will most likely have to put your name down to wait for a table. With that being said, I would recommend arriving early to get your name on a waitlist, especially on the weekends. My friends and I arrived around 11:30 on a Saturday and had to wait roughly 30 minutes for a table for three. While we waited, we checked out a local plant shop called Serpentine that was near by to kill the time. When we got a text our table was ready, we promptly made our way over and seated right away. The inside is cute and they offer both indoor and outdoor seating. Our server was very sweet, but she did rush us to order a little, no big deal though. It was hard choosing just one thing to order and did take us a little while to make our decisions. Their menu does seasonally change, as do the pastries they offer. They do have specials and offer Dutch babies on the weekends, as well as cinnamon rolls. One thing I was disappointed by was the wait time for our food. It took probably between 30-40min for our food to come out after we ordered it. This was slightly frustrating. I do understand that they make everything from scratch and it is all prepared fresh to order, but this wait seemed a little long. It appeared that all the tables around us had to endure this wait as well.
I ended up starting with a pastry, our server recommended the guava and cheese turnover. There was only one left, so she snagged it super quickly for me, which I appreciated. This was PHENOMENAL. Super flaky and buttery with a sweet guava filling that paired perfectly with cheese. A wonderful pastry, seriously couldn't praise this turnover enough and would highly recommend. Then we ordered our mains, I went with the Afternoon Hash with a side of Johnny Cakes. The hash includes their crispy potatoes, sautéed veggies, brown butter hollandaise, 2 eggs (your style), and choice of sausage or bacon. I went with scrambled eggs and sausage for my protein. As stated above, the food took a while to arrive, but when it did, oh boy was I excited to dive right in. My hash was fabulous. The potatoes were excellent and I can see why so many people like them. So crispy, with the perfect amount of seasonings. The sausage had a great savory, fennel taste to it and wasn't dry at all. The eggs were scrambled just right and the hollandaise tied the whole dish together. There weren't many sautéed veggies, but nonetheless the dish was a hit. The Johnny cakes were like cornmeal pancakes. They were a more savory than your traditional pancake, but were delicious with the maple syrup. My friends all enjoyed their dishes as well and agreed that we must return! We wanted to try a dutch baby, but weren't interested in the current flavor they were offering, maybe next time.
Overall, Afternoon is a great brunch establishment in Gainesville serving brunch like no other. They had a great menu and there is surely something for everyone. Everything we ordered was great with the best flavors. Their pastries are a must and compliment the meal so well. My hash was one of the best breakfast hashes I've had in a while and I cannot say enough good things about those potatoes! My only reason for knocking a star was due to the really long wait for our food. The service is decent, but could be more attentive. The interior is cute and there is a nice ambiance. Cannot wait to return and explore more of their menu, and try their coffee too!