breakfast

HOT: Monk Bodhi Dharma, Rear 202 Carlisle St, Balaclava

May 24, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

What do you expect to find in a supermarket carpark? Cars, trolleys, a rubbish skip and maybe some delinquent kids? Certainly not the coolest cafe-in-a-brick-shed in town. Monk Bodhi Dharma sounds like the temple for some Eastern cult, but in fact it’s a fabulous rustic cubbyhouse cafe nestled away from the bright flourescence of the [...]

HOT: The Maling Room, 206 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury

May 18, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

At first glance, the sign for The Maling Room looks like The Mailing Room. Which is an apt name for the airy cafe housed in a Victorian era former post office, its faux majestic columns hailing the entrance to the little village street known as Maling Road. Maling Road is a favourite pram-pushing destination for [...]

HOT: Gypsy Hideout, 68 High St, Northcote

May 2, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

Sometimes a wrong turn can be the right decision. I was cycling along the Merri Creek bike track one afternoon, intending to head up to CERES. However, at the junction for the path heading north I heard the loud rumble of excavation works and chainsawing and so I decided to take a right hand turn [...]

HOT: The Farm Cafe, Collingwood Childrens’ Farm, 18 St Heliers St, Abbotsford

March 23, 2011 ⋅ One comment

I believe that everything must taste better when it’s eaten outside. How else to explain the popularity of alfresco dining in the freezing depths of a Melbourne winter? The Farm Cafe is the ultimate location for relaxed open air dining. The sweetly rustic eatery is located in the bucolic surrounds of the Collingwood Childrens’ Farm [...]

HOT: Mixed Business, 486 Queens Pde, Clifton Hill

January 27, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

After what seemed like endless weeks of packing, I’ve finally moved into a new house. As we boxed up our worldly goods, I cursed RM’s penchant for book-buying and RM banned me from buying any more kitchen gadgets. So even though I spotted a waffle maker for $20 recently, I resisted temptation. Which is a [...]

HOT: Babycino’s Garden Cafe, Northampton Place, South Yarra

January 18, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

While I don’t yet have kids, there is a baby boom happening with my friends and acquaintances such that I increasingly have to consider whether or not a venue is kid-friendly when I suggest meeting up. If you’re in a similar situation, then I highly recommend Babycino’s. Nestled in the back streets of South Yarra [...]

HOT: Arcadia, 193 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

January 13, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

With so many great cafes on Gertrude Street, both old and new, it can be difficult to choose where to go. My advice? Just start from one end and work your way down :–) That way, at some stage you’ll make your way to the pine-tree stencilled windows of the excellent Arcadia. Arcadia ticks all [...]

HOT: Penny Farthing Espresso, 206 High St, Northcote

January 12, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Penny Farthing Espresso is a cute combination of the bygone era of top hats and handlebar moustaches with insouciant Northcote coolness. The cafe first caught my eye because of the fabulous steampunk bicycle in the window. Apparently it’s a working apparatus, although the penny farthing enthusiast who built it has only ridden it twice…and fallen off [...]

HOT: De Clieu, 187 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

January 10, 2011 ⋅ 8 comments

De Clieu is the hottest cafe on the Gertrude Street strip at the moment and it was one of the reasons I’d avoided it till now. The crowd overspilling into the footpath tables and lounging in the frame of the large street-facing windows seemed too cool for school (or at least too cool for me) [...]

HOT: Coin Laundry, 61 Armadale St, Armadale

November 29, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

It’s a testament to the power of positive reviews that a small cafe on the opposite side of the river to me, hidden in a residential area, can capture my attention such that I’ll make a special trip there early on a Sunday morning. Such is the pulling power of Coin Laundry. Just like the [...]