casual

HOT: The Green Grocer, 217 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

May 26, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

When Stuff White People Like author Christan Lander visited Melbourne in 2009, he went in search of the whitest suburb in the city. He landed in North Fitzroy. To be precise, he landed at The Green Grocer ‘a trendy cafe-slash-grocer. It’s the sort of place that sells organic vegetables, bio-dynamic meat and expensive pots of [...]

HOT: Friends of Mine, 506 Swan St, Richmond

May 25, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Friends of Mine is the culinary equivalent of a friendship circle. Everything in the cheery establishment, from the produce to the artwork to the furniture, has been sourced from friends or friends of friends of the owner Jason Jones – hence the name. Isn’t it great to see a cafe really embrace the philosphy of [...]

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: North Cafeteria, 717 Rathdowne St, Carlton North

May 10, 2011 ⋅ One comment

North Cafeteria is small and straight to the point, just like this review. It’s located on the northside of town. To be specific, it’s a favourite with the locals of North Carlton, right in the heart of sedate Rathdowne Village. The cafe is essentially one room with small corridor of outdoor space at the back. [...]

HOT: St Ali, 18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

May 9, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

No doubt many of you have heard of St Ali, the cafe and specialty coffee purveyors who are one of a handful of places responsible for Melbourne’s love affair with ‘third wave’ coffee. Well, I don’t drink coffee, so this puts me at a disadvantage when a reviewing a place such as St Ali. However, [...]

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 [...]

NOT: Shire Cafe, 69 Victoria St, Fitzroy

April 28, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

The majority of the time my reviews on the blog are of places and events that I attend because I’ve done some research beforehand. Thus, it’s always surprising (and a little disappointing) when that research turns up a NOT experience. Such was the case with Shire Cafe. I’d read positive reviews of the place in two food [...]

NOT: Thanh Nga Nine, 160 Victoria St, Richmond

April 5, 2011 ⋅ 9 comments

*This post has no photos because of a technical glitch with my memory card! If by some miracle I can recover the images I’ll post them. Sorry!* Isn’t it awkward when your friend raves about a restaurant so you go on their recommendation…and then you don’t like it very much? Well, a public apology to [...]

HOT: Le Cellier, Shop 2, 231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

March 1, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

The Age recently ran a story about the rise of the gourmet sandwich and one of the places which was omitted from the article was Le Cellier. This cosy nook is an outpost of the slice-of-Paris restaurant next door, Madame Sousou. It shares the same provincial French outlook – cane chairs, gleaming copper features and Edith Piaf [...]