Breakfast/Brunch

The Diplomat

Rolled oats, almond and mixed seed granola with chai panna cotta, berries, lychee, coconut yogurt and a mocha infused quinoa

Seriously good. Although a bit more yogurt would have made this even better.

★★★★☆

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Potato rosti with smoked salmon, yuzu mayonnaise, grilled asparagus spears, avocado and wasabi cream and a Japanese boiled egg

The yuzu mayonnaise and the avocado and wasabi cream really brought this dish to the next level.

★★★★☆

Green tea and mango smoothie

★★☆☆☆

Pear, honeydew and rhubarb mixed juice

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Comfortable bright open space, easy-going staff, colourful and well presented food. The menu here is unique in that every item (aside from the toast) has its own interesting and delicious twist. I must return soon to try their other dishes.

The Diplomat

4 Railway Parade, Highett, VIC

(03) 9939 6289

Three Williams

Duck Narnie

(peking duck, cucumber, shallots, fried onion, coriander, cabbage, orange hoisin)

★★★★☆

Wild Mushrooms

(lemon and garlic sautéed with wild mushrooms, mushroom and goats curd tapenade, fried egg, hazelnuts, truffle oil, parsley, sourdough)

★★★★☆

Golden Gaytime French Toast

(crunchy brioche french toast, vanilla ice cream rolled in a chocolate cookie crumb, chocolate crisps, fresh strawberry, toffee sauce)

★★★★☆

Splice Shake

(orange, apple and coconut blended with ice cream)

★★★☆☆

Banana smoothie with native honey, macadamia and wattleseed crumb

★★★★☆

Super Smoothie

(kale, apricot, apple, linseed, sunflower, almond, banana, ginger, cinnamon)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Terrific food, friendly service, minimalistic decor. There are often queues for this popular place during the weekend so we decided to visit on a weekday and were seated straightaway. It’s a place that’s definitely worthy of a return visit.

Three Williams

613A Elizabeth St, Redfern, NSW

(02) 9698 1111

Home

Le Petit Prince

Mushrooms and Chorizo

(with smashed avocado, beetroot hummus, poached egg and feta on quinoa and soya toast)

★★★☆☆

Green Bowl

(kale, kiwi, cucumber and coconut smoothie with black chia seeds, house granola, coconut flakes and seasonal fruits)

Simple, colourful, guilt-free.

★★★☆☆

Iced Matcha

Check out the huge clumps of undissolved matcha powder.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I liked how the menu here was divided into 3 sections: ‘The Light’, ‘The Healthy’ and ‘The Rich’. Of course my eyes immediately went to ‘The Rich’ section and I had to convince myself that ordering from ‘The Healthy’ section would be just as good. Service was helpful and I really enjoyed sitting outside under the shade of the large leafy trees.

Le Petit Prince

1A Mercer Rd, Armadale, VIC

(03) 9824 6404

http://lpparmadale.com.au

Flour and Stone

Pastrami on rye with pickled fennel and manchego

★★★☆☆

Chicken, tarragon, aioli, celery, walnuts and watercress

★★★☆☆

Pannacotta Lamington

★★★★☆

Overall:

We visited Flour and Stone early on a weekday morning and discovered that their baked savoury items were still in the baking process. At least we were able to get our hands on one of their popular pannacotta lamingtons which was indeed very moist and very delicious! The place itself is teeny-tiny though, so getting takeaway might be the better way to go if you are not keen on being right up close to all the other customers around you.

Flour and Stone

53 Riley St, Woolloomooloo, NSW

(02) 8068 8818

Home

Devon Cafe

Eggs Blini

(buckwheat blini, citrus cured salmon, asparagus, chives, salmon caviar, maltaise sauce)

★★★☆☆

Breakfast with the Sakumas’s

(miso grilled king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63° egg, radish petit salad, kewpie mayonnaise)

★★★★☆

Lost In Devonshire

(Devon’s style French toast, peanut butter, raspberry jelly, vanilla cream, chantilly, peanut butter cookies, freeze dried strawberry and maple ice cream)

★★★☆☆

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Ruby Heart Berry

(juniper berry, rosehip, hibiscus flowers)

★★★★☆

Overall:

Good service, nicely presented food, normal looking cafe in the front area, odd army-like decor and graffitied walls in the back area.

Devon Cafe

76 Devonshire St, Surry Hills, NSW

(02) 9211 8777

http://www.devoncafe.com.au

Cote Terra

Celeriac Fritters

(served with house smoked salmon, pickled fennel, dill aioli and poached eggs)

The fritters themselves were somewhat dry and bland, so had to be eaten together with the runny egg yolk and the dill aioli. But the standout of this dish was undoubtedly the house smoked salmon which was absolutely delicious!

★★★★☆

Miso Mushroom

(roast field mushrooms, crispy enoki, cassava, parsnip puree with poaches eggs on rye)

There was only one thing that stopped me from liking this dish, and that was the EXTREMELY salty mushrooms. Everything else was great though.

★★★☆☆

Chips with chipotle mayonnaise

Crunchy golden chips that really satisfied the chip craving I had.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Generous servings, friendly service and great coffee. It’s always particularly exciting to discover decent brunch places this side of town.

Cote Terra

17 Station St, Oakleigh, VIC

(03) 9939 6805

http://www.coteterra.com.au/

Mountain of Bears

BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

(slow cooked pork shoulder served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, fried shallots and house made slaw with a side of grilled kipfler potatoes)

The pulled pork was juicy and well flavoured while the potatoes were a nice change from the usual side of chips that you get from everywhere these days.

★★★☆☆

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Valencian Paella

(clams, squid, chorizo, chicken and shrimp cooked with saffron infused rice served in a claypot, topped with parmesan and spring onion)

Bland but filling.

★★☆☆☆

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Berries For The Bears

(strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, milk, yogurt)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Tucked away in a small arcade, Mountain of Bears is a place that offers friendly service, an inviting atmosphere and cleverly named menu items. Let’s avocuddle anyone?

Mountain of Bears

556 North Rd, Ormond, VIC

(03) 9578 9882

Pavlov’s Duck

Lankan Frenchy

(organic croissant, soft boiled egg, chilli fried potatoes, Asian tabouli, fish and potato fritter)

★★★☆☆

Sweet and Savoury

(bircher muesli mixed berries, coconut chia pudding and clustered granola, boiled egg, sourdough toast)

★★★☆☆

Red Velvet Pancakes

(with lemon curd, grapes, banana, almond flakes, raspberry jelly, agave syrup and crispy bacon)

★★★☆☆

Milk Rice

(rice pudding with chilli chicken curry, spicy onion relish and an Asian pretzel)

★★☆☆☆

Kottu

(chopped roti, vegetables, spices, fried egg)

★★★☆☆

Hoppers

(three plain hoppers with dhal, coconut sambol and chilli onion)

★★★☆☆

Monsieur Truffe 70% Hot Chocolate

Rich and velvety, one of my favourite hot chocolates at the moment.

★★★★★

Overall:

If you are looking for a unique brunch menu, look no further than Pavlov’s Duck! The Sri Lankan inspired dishes here are bold, full of flavour and wonderfully plated. Service was down to earth, and the warehouse-like space is typical of a hipster brunch place. A hoppers making station can also be found at the front so you can watch your hoppers being freshly made. In any case, I’m coming back for the hot chocolate.

Pavlov’s Duck

401 Smith St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9416 4336

http://pavlovsduck.com.au/

Alimentari

Toasted muesli, baked granny smith, lemon thyme yoghurt

The steaming hot apple was nicely unexpected however the muesli to yoghurt ratio could have been improved (more yoghurt, less muesli).

★★★☆☆

Fried eggs, harissa baked beans, braised greens, whipped feta, flat bread, olives, hash browns

Fantastic combination of flavours with the whipped feta being the highlight.

★★★★☆

Hash brown, baby spinach, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise

A reasonable dish that could have been bigger in terms of portion size.

★★★☆☆

Spanikopita, ricotta, mixed greens, dill, feta, poached egg, with hash browns on the side

With flakey delicate pastry and a tasty ricotta filling, there was a lovely homemade quality about the spanikopita.

★★★★☆

Pan fried ricotta gnocchi, broccolini, garden peas, lemon, fresh ricotta, chilli

Fresh and zesty with delicious light clouds of gnocchi.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Pleasant staff, warm atmosphere and quality food with a beautiful deli at the front. Whatever you decide to order, make sure you get a side of their fantastic hash browns!

Alimentari

251 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9416 2001

http://www.alimentari.com.au

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

Breakfast Bagel

(hard boiled eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, tomato, beetroot, spinach, capsicum)

The freshly baked bagel was simply outstanding.

★★★★☆

Salt stick with cream cheese and cucumber

This may not look or sound very special but out of everything we sampled, this was actually my favourite. The lightly salted bread was perfect and worked fabulously with the cream cheese and cucumber.

★★★★★

Vegetarian Pierogi

(Polish dumplings that contained potato, cheese, spinach)

These smelt delicious and were pleasantly crispy on the outside, however the filling was somewhat lacking. If only these dumplings were served with some kind of sauce.

★★★☆☆

Cherry Cheesecake

The light cheesecake and the decadent chocolate cherry layer were nice separately but sensational together.

★★★★☆

Orange Zest Babka

I’m not an expert in babka, so I wasn’t sure if the dry crumbly texture was intentional or not.

★★★☆☆

European doughnut with plum jam

Wonderfully soft and fluffy with a slight yeasty taste.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The bread here is AMAZING! And with more than 50 types of Polish and European breads available, there is something suitable for everyone! With so many menu items on offer and such friendly service, I can see myself returning over and over again.