Legoland has a problem: there's nothing to do. There's nowhere for your little mini citizens to go eat, relax or work. Legoland has police stations, fire stations, gas stations, airports, train stations but you know what it doesn't have? Amenities. Amenities like a library, an office, a pool or a restaurant are seemingly scant or more often than not, non-existent. Did you know Lego has never made a Town/City library, a school or a supermarket? Did you know Lego has never made a warehouse, a sports clubhouse or a hardware store? It feels like Lego City consists of thousands of police stations and gas stations, but nowhere to eat or relax.

And Breezeway Café feels like an answer to this problem. This set, along with other sets like 1993's Pizza to Go or 1992's Sand Dollar Cafe (which I've reviewed previously) fills in that gap in your Lego city by providing your citizens with somewhere to eat and relax. Those places are far and few in Legoland/Lego Town and Breezeway Cafe, while appearing to be an upscale, fine dining eatery looks, aims to bring a bit of leisure and relaxation to your Lego town layout.

Reviewing Breezeway Café was always going to be a bit difficult as this set is considered a bone fide classic. It's one of the few sets Lego re-released as part of their Legends line at the turn of the millennium, up there with classics like the Metroliner train, Guarded Inn and the venerable Black Seas Barracuda. I mean, this year is this set's 30th anniversary! I wasn't alive when the set came out, and I don't know if the Legends line ever released in Australia but something about the look of the set has always appealed to me. It's got a very Italian vibe, same as Pizza to Go, with the white, the red, the curved glass and the yellow highlights - very 1980's too. It was a bit out of my reach though for years, as it can be a bit pricy to buy online but when I found a decently priced set online in Australia, I decided to pick it up and I'm so glad I did.

Building Experience

The building is a simple bottom to top build, all built upon a green 16x32 baseplate. I was a bit worried when I saw the baseplate as sometimes they can end up being flimsy and wobbling but the size is perfect for the build as everything stays nice and rigid. It also makes it easy to integrate into your town builds. Build wise, you focus on building the kitchen on the lower floor of the café first, before adding in windows, the second storey and the terrace garden out the front. The Breezeway Café gets some lovely shaping through the use of these giant curved 6 x 6 x 9 trans-clear panels on the second storey of the building, which breaks up the blockiness of the building. The giant glass panels are great, they really make it look like a 1980's glitzy glamour restaurant and help to bring this set alive.

There is a great bit of building with the archway on the side of the café as you put trans-coloured 1x1 studs under the archway to simulate lights, something I thought was really novel and well done. That being said, there's no overly complicated build techniques here. You might have some trouble attaching the plants to the indoor roof of the café's second story, and to the little terrace/vineyard area on the side, but take your time and line it all up.

You get five minifigures with what was meant to be a medium-sized set for the time, which is pretty generous. I feel like Lego would give you three these days and have one of them working as a chef and waiter combined. You get two patrons on the second story, male and female, both outfitted in some nice formal clothes. The female minifigure has a white top with necklace, and the man has a black suit with red shirt. On the ground floor, we have a chef with white chef's outfit and the chef hat. I love the chef hat Lego made in the 1990s, it always reminds me of Lego Pizza and Papa Brickolini, and it looks brilliant. Next, we have a waiter with black suit and bow-tie and lastly, on the ground floor is another patron of the cafe, a man in a blue suit and grey cowboy hat. All the minifigures have the classic Lego smile, with no alternate face as this was well before the years of that trend.

You've also got a classic Lego palm tree with the articulated trunk, and the four large palms. I love this tree, it's such a classic Lego element and even now, 30 years later, it puts the modern brick/Technic built trees to shame. The new ones just look too shiny, too smooth for my tastes.

When you're finished, you're left with a really lovely completed model. You've got a balcony with seating, an enclosed second story area behind the curved glass panels, an outdoor area, a vine covered archway, enclosed kitchen with grill and bar, and an enclosed waiting area. There's also a very handsome entranceway with curved glass and white downlights marking the entrance way. Breezeway Café reminds me a lot of a set from the Paradisa line, with the curved glass, plants, palm trees and relaxed setting.

Parts

One thing I like about the Breezeway Café is that it is made up of pretty common parts, which is always a plus for replacements, repairs or restoration. The bricks used are common white bricks, fence pieces, archways and plates.

The only real hard to find pieces are the large trans-clear curved window panels on the second story which were a staple of a few late 80's/early 90's Legoland sets. They show up every so often, sometimes decades apart, so they're not rare per se but when the 'Ristorante' sticker is applied to them, they're a bit rarer as that variant of this piece only appeared here. But they're not that rare that you're going to be breaking the bank for those two large panels -a good condition version of this window goes anywhere from $1.50 to $3.00 dollars for it. And I'd argue you could easily go without the Ristorante sticker and make it an unobstructed view.

Almost all the minifigures are common ones, with no one being exclusive to this set in either parts, face print or accessories.The blue cowboy hat wearing minifigure appears here and in the re-release of this set but that's as a completed, all in one minifigure. He isn't rare at all, his parts like the top, hat and legs are common and easily available online.

So all in all, nothing rare and you could easily buy this out of parts on Bricklink for cheap.

Playability

Playability is always a hard one for me to rank, given that I'm not a kid playing with this set and most adults I know don't really worry themselves with play functions. And honestly, I'm always a bit biased towards sets with relaxed settings, as I think it gets a kid thinking outside a conflict based mindset, or the typical 'cops and robbers' Lego stories. It's nice to have a down-tempo, relaxed set in Legoland, to contrast with all the repair crews, construction crews, police, rescue teams and such.

Story wise, the Breezeway Café has some great imagination potential here with five minifigures and a two-storey building. You can start to tell more grown up stories at a café, and I could see a minifigure going to work here and working a shift at the café. There could be a break-up, a new romance happening with the man and woman on the second floor. If it's conflict you want, maybe the waiter hates his job and hates the crowd that come to the restaurant. Maybe the couple upstairs are plotting something secret? And as always, you could combine this set with other minifigures or sets to make new outlandish stories. Maybe the Blacktron forces land from outer space to have a drink?

Detail wise, this set lacks some stuff we might expect from modern sets like action features or accessories. You get some crystal goblets and a frying pan for your waiter to take around, but the lack of accessories or "action" is sort of part and parcel of sets from this time. They have a kind of dollhouse quality to them and kid's can excuse that for playability's sake.

But the people reading this review now are probably adult collectors or those looking to Breezeway Café to a city layout. I don't know how well it would work in a modern Lego city layout, with the modular buildings and the like, as it comes from a much simpler era of Lego. There isn't that detail or depth that the new buildings have, and it lacks proper walls and flooring. But that stuff could be added on and an enterprising builder could easily add it in near a beach or marina. I suppose if you had two of these sets you could actually enclose the top and bottom with some clever building. I think it still could hold up in a modern town layout, and would help to add some fictional 'history' to a diorama as this could be an old 1980's café.

Some adult collectors will bemoan a lack of stairs, or the small size of the café but I always saw these older Town models as 'cutaways' of larger buildings. You're not seeing the whole of the Breezeway Café but maybe a quarter of it, as there's probably a big ground floor dining room, a larger terrace, a bigger kitchen, etc. But that's up to your imagination, the cutaway buildings always left me with a sense of 'What if?' and imagining what could be.

So I don't have anything to really criticise here, except maybe the question of the giant palm tree growing out of a second story balcony, but I can live with that one, un-realistic as it is. The model is very displayable on a shelf or bookcase. It's got a great assortment of colours, with white, yellow, red, green all popping out vibrantly. And the small size means you could easily sit this on a desk or small sideboard and have it add a burst of colour to a room.

Value for Money

I paid $75 dollars on Bricklink for a relatively complete set, with the only things missing being the large window panels on the second floor (the 'Ristorante' ones), which I bought for $2.50 each. So all up, $80 dollars and that's in line with the regular going rate for this set with the instructions. The Legend re-release of this set costs a little more, and I don't have that version to compare the differences. The set is made up of fairly common pieces aside from the window, so the value proposition here is really built on the set itself as a finished model

There's a lot of nostalgia around this set and I don't really have that nostalgia, I've only seen the hype online. People say this is the best restaurant around, which might be virtue of it being one of the few restaurants around. But I think this is a great set for the piece count and the parts, and it looks visually beautiful and classic. I don't know if I would say this worth $120 dollars or so, but I can say that for my $80 dollars I have definitely got my money's worth.

One thing I will say is that due to most of the pieces being white, you can end up with some pieces being dirty, scratched, discoloured or the like. I also find that old white pieces tend to get dirty at the studs and connectors, meaning all the lines between the bricks look very noticeable. Those hoping to buy a complete version may wish to buy new or lightly used versions of some parts to ensure an even colour tone. You should also ensure the windows aren't scratched or blemished and that the stickers are in good shape. And again, I'd also say the stickers on the windows aren't really necessary. They're nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't think you really need them here for his set to work.

Final Thoughts

In the authoritarian landscape that is Legoland/ Lego Town, Breezeway Café adds a splash of colour and life, giving your citizens somewhere to relax and have a night out at. While Lego has gone on to release more town amenities in the City line, usually in their modular building range, this is one of a few classic Town sets that give your minifigure people a place to eat and drink.

I think this set is an absolute classic, and I can see why Lego re-released this in 2000. And I can see why this has the reputation it does - it's bright, colourful, happy, stressfree and is one of the few classic Town sets that depict a relaxing scene. It's got a great playable scene and looks handsome when all built up. If you can find it for a nice price, I'd definitely say to pick it up!

This is definitely one of the best Lego sets of the 90's. It's just amazing, and here's why!

Pros

• Great and unique glass pieces!
• 5 minifigures for what I'd consider more of a medium sized set!
• It's a restaurant! There weren't too many sets of these back in the day. There was a pizzeria, McDonalds, snack bars and restaurants in the idea books but not sets! The thing is, really the only true restaurant is for the rich!
• Nice, simple kitchen.
• Lot's of seats for the figures!
• Really nice detail, a parrot, and a palm tree!

Cons

• None, really. I think the only thing that bugs me is that one of the red food pieces in the kitchen easily falls out, but if you're careful or displaying the set, it's nothing really.

To conclude, this is a great set! I really wish Lego had made more restaurant sets (Imagine a classic Lego Town diner!) but I guess it just helps to bring out the creativity in children by making them make their own restaurant. But, for really the only true classic restaurant, it's great and welcome! I give this set a 10/10!

First time I ever saw this set and I wanted to have it, no words could describe this set, in a matter of fact the set speaks for itself, yet it has a feeling of a nice Italian Restaurant.

Having a restaurant is a very nice thing, and this set has wonderful things to offer, the chef, the palm tree, the parrot, the guy with the cow-boy hat and those big glass curved panels.

The building of this set was not too hard, but I only had problem with the vines both in and out.

The bar and the kitchen are below normal, I won't say poor, because of the size of the set and I don't understand why there is an open space between the kitchen and the entrance.

All in all its a wonderful set.

Pros

• Palm Tree
• Curved glasses
• Minifiguers
• Parrot
• Utilities
• The entire Structure is beautiful & Cozy

Cons

• Kitchen could be a little bit better and could use a cabinet on top the oven
• No stairs
• Food Could be better, at least it could be printed
• Hole not covered between the kitchen and the entrance

I would recommend it

This is one of the last sets I got as a kid back in 1990, after that I lost interest in Lego until some years ago when I rebuild all my old Lego, fortunately I store al my set very well and all the sets are complete.
As I remember this was the first time that Lego releases a big restaurant, it has two floor, in the ground floor the restaurant lobby, the kitchen and a terrace with a dining table, in the second floor it has an outdoor table and the main table inside the restaurant with two chairs.
It contains 5 minifigures, One chef, a waiter and 3 costumers, however I normally put all my town minifigures inside and make big parties inside the restaurant.
This is a great set and I was thrill when I saw it as a Legend, it was a good choice.
The colour scheme is nice and the big transparent windows are amazing.
Overall definitely a Legend and deserve a 5.

Ever bought a kit and thought “gee, this kit is so cool, but the color scheme is a bit plain” or “I really love this kit, except that one of the vehicles’ is kind of lame.” Well, with Breezeway Café, you don’t have to worry about finding that one small problem, because there are none.

Firstly, the cafe is pretty big! The two floors and the outside area have plenty of room for the diners, cook, and waiter. Plus, there are a lot of neat details packed in!

Outside, a pair of small lights are placed in front of the curved doorway. A fence separates the doorway from the outside dining area, complete with a table and two chairs. The arch is probably my favorite detail; the lights and ivy add flair to a seemingly simple construction! Inside the curve doorway, there is a flowerpot, but not much else. Left of the waiting room, however, you find a stove with pots and a ketchup and mustard dispenser with cups. The chief here has got a nice kitchen overall. On floor 2, two more tables and three chairs fill the area. The large curved glass windows look mighty spiffy, and the palm tree at the end is a nice touch.

The whole design overall is a work of beauty. The design is compact, yet roomy enough for all the cool details included. But, the kit’s amazing qualities don’t stop there!

No, as piecewise, the Breezeway Café also triumphs! Tons of useful and fairly rare items, like the curved glass panels, palm tree, red fences, clear goblets, pots and pans, flowers, and even a parrot are included! The kit also has a large supply of tall white beams and yellow chairs, not to mention two white windows with clear panes.

And figure-wise, this kit is still a winner! 5 figures are included: a cook, waiter, and 3 diners. The cook is ordinary, but the waiter is very cool, with a nice torso! I love the diner with the cowboy hat; he looks just like a senior customer! The other two diners are nice also, especially the woman; her necklace torso is beautiful!

So, overall, this kit is literally perfect. A great design, a nice selection of pieces, and a generous amount of figures all add up to a set that can’t be criticized in any way. If you are a town fan, this is a must! After all, every good sized town should have a nice formal restaurant for the citizens to eat on special occasions, don’t you think? 10/10