Gorski and Jones

Great food, creative menu options, nice presentation!

Tre Bicchieri

Tre Bicchieri has a cosy old style Italian interior and the menu is quite basic.

But the food is tasty and expertly prepared in a tiny kitchen by a single guy working furiously away!

Coffee is great too - by Coffee Supreme

Dood 328

I was a bit anxious about coming here, Reid had selected Dood 328 from a random search on Urban Spoon & there weren't any results on my usual website for cafe selection - broadsheet.

We got here about 11.30am, peak Saturday brunch time, and the place was relatively empty - another warning bell!!

Then! the menu - hard laminated card with lots of generic choices, with the occasional out of place funky option - this would usually be enough to turn us away. But it was too late - we'd already ordered coffees.

However! I had one of the funkier menu options; poached eggs rolled in dukkah on top of a potato & pumpkin rosti, with chili jam! And it was YUM!! Well presented, good portion size, perfectly cooked eggs.

Reid had the vege big breakie which also looked great, but - it lacked flavour and needed a sauce or something to give it a kick

So overall, it was alright, but we won't be rushing back

Coffees weren't great either

Little Henri

It was very pleasant sitting in the back courtyard in the autumn sun

My eggs benny was tasty, lots of hollindaise and super thick slices of ham off the bone.

Reid, on the hand, votes this as worst breakfast he's ever had! Worse than a time he had hollindaise from a tube. He had baked eggs with cheese and a garlic, salt crumb. The garlic was so overwhelming it had permeated everything and was inescapable. It put him off eating. Plus the eggs were overcooked!

Giddup

Sunday brunch in south Melbourne after a visit to Chef's Hat & the market

Giddup was nice - it's a little unassuming spot on Coventry St with only a few tables inside and a scattering of tables and crates outside.

Friendly service, minimalist design, quality menu classics, and decent coffee

Mama Bear

Mama Bear is a new cafe in Flemington, the decor and furnishings are pretty cool, it feels like a little bit of Brunswick out West (no hipsters tho!)

The coffee today was amazing - single origin from Brazil - it tasted like chocolate!

The food was pretty good too with great options. Some a bit creative others a quirky twist on the classics (eg Mr Benedict with bacon and apple cider hollindaise). Everything was well presented and very tasty!

But!! And there was quite a serious but!

The food took forever to come out. We did get a warning when we ordered that it would be about a 25 minute wait - which would have been fine if it was true!! 45 minutes after ordering and an hour after arriving we were finally served. To their credit they did check in a couple of times to let us know the food was "coming". Although at the same time they could have asked if we wanted another coffee or topped up the water.

Also - my eggs were a bit undercooked and Reid's were a bit overcooked! And I'm pretty sure they weren't free range!

Plus there were lots of flies inside - which was a bit weird & gross!

Auction Rooms

This is another specialty coffee spot with pour over, single origin, and fancy coffee making devices that make it look like a chemistry lab!

It's super popular with a continuous queue of people outside waiting for a table

Inside is cool decor and friendly staff

The food is amazing, so well presented and great flavours - I had eggs with goats feta and hollandaise, the perfect flavour combo. Sides were served in cool glass jars

Coffee was pretty impressive too!

Overall awesome!

Secret park

We finally went to the secret park for a picnic - it's Cliff Allison Park and it's hidden from any main road right behind our house!!

http://m.google.com/u/m/-Wx6yl

John Gorilla

Officially we're in Brunswick West - one of few cafe's in the area! It's development has a nice community story - locals chipped in to fund the build after the construction was delayed.

It's fun and quirky, with tasty menu options and good coffee. Plus a courtyard out the back and heaps of bizzaro collectables - like Prince Charles mugs, and little pen drawing doodles lining the walls

Swell

We're down at Jan Juc dog sitting so we've come by the local cafe for brunch. It's a beautiful sunny day & there's a rustic outdoor courtyard. Food's pretty good!

I had a spinach & feta pikelet - a bit unusual, but also a bit undercooked

Pamona

Between a pizza joint and lawnmower shop on Murray road in Preston is a little cafe - well little from the outside at least - the cafe extends through the block out to an alfresco area and vege patch. The decor is cute but basic

The menu options sound great with fun names like Fox in Socks but the presentation let it down a little and the food was nice enough.

Hardware Société

A little mid week breakfast treat at Hardware Société in the CBD.

The donut hole with the coffee is a nice extra

Small Victories

We've ventured into a new area today to eat at Small Victories in the Rathdown Village.

There are quite a few places in this area to explore

The food is great - well presented, interesting choices, very tasty! My coffee was luke warm, but still tasted ok! Staff were very friendly

Boathouse

Sunday arvo session, pizza & vino at the Boathouse

The Napier

The Napier is a new cafe in Essendon, only open for 3 weeks

It's pretty standard fare, but decent quality.

Points for biscotti with the coffee but the eggs benny, while tasty, looked a bit plain (more points for the homemade hollindaise)

Babka

It's a bit chaotic here - most people are coming in to get goodies from the bakery, there isn't much space so everyone is squeezing by each other & it's pretty loud.

The breakfast menu is pretty generic but they had some interesting specials. We both had the Menemen scrambled eggs - with roast capsicum, feta, tomato, chilli, and herbs. I found the herbs a bit overwhelming and it took me a while to eat so by the end it was pretty soggy.

I'm definitely getting a pain o chocolat to go!

Christmas in Melbourne

The Town Hall & Flinders Station

Stephen Merchant

At the Athenaeum with Reid, James, & Sherman

Hello Ladies

Back at A Minor Place

Mum's here and we're having a quick breakfast before yet another house inspection. Next time I'm definitely having something different!

Laurel Hotel

Commiserating our auction loss at the Laurel Hotel rooftop bar on a beautiful sunny Melbourne day

Rusty Duck

I expected this place would be much the same as the other Moonee Ponds cafes - generic menu, average quality food and coffee, and no creativity!

I was kinda right - but there were some surprises!!

Reid had the corn fritters with poached eggs and hollindaise. It was well presented, the hollindaise was homemade and the serving size was substantial!!

I had eggs benedict and it couldn't have been more different - the presentation wasn't great (although there isn't much you can do with eggs benny), the hollindaise looked pale and from a jar and the ham was a bit average.

Coffee was ok

Plus one of the wait staff was a bit odd - her facial expressions suggested impatience, but her words were regular and polite!

Post Office Hotel

We've ventured into Coburg for breakfast today, at the Post Office Hotel

The menu seems pretty generic but they dress up the standard options with a bit of flair. The eggs benedict came with prosciutto and Reid's poached eggs and chorizo came with pickled peppers on the side

The quirky waiter thought the chef had nailed the hollindaise - I thought it was a bit buttery, but it was still pretty good and definitely handmade

A Minor Place

Quick hearty breakfast old reliable (although today Reid's corn fritters weren't the best!) before heading out for a full day of house hunting!

Ray, again

Back at Ray - the food is amazing, AGAIN, the best hollindaise sauce!

Reid had the Tunisian Firecracker - also with a great sauce, and the best bacon!!

Proud Mary

The coffee is amazing!!

I forgot to take pics of the food. I had bacon, eggs and hash with a bagna cauda sauce. There was a lot of sauce - it was a bit overwhelming!

Otherwise all the food looks great - we sat at a communal table - I had plenty of food envy!