Breakfast/Brunch

District Brewer

Black Forest Bircher

(80% cocoa chocolate, crushed pistachio, cherry labneh, fresh grapes, coconut)

Absolutely amazing! I loved the presentation and spent a bit of time oohing and ahhing this dish before taking my first bite. This bircher was so incredibly fresh and light, and had a delicious combination of ingredients with wonderful textures.

★★★★★

Just another photo of this pretty dish…

Mr Benedict

(toasted rye bread, slow braised beef cheef, miso babaganoush, wilted calvo nero, curry hollandaise, poached eggs)

The beef cheek was a tad dry however the curry hollandaise was terrific.

★★★★☆

White chocolate and strawberry doughnut

Disappointingly dry. If only it tasted as good as it looked.

★★☆☆☆

Salted Caramel and Oreo Milkshake

Sweet frosty milkshakes that were unbelievably filling.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

This fantastic suburban cafe ticks all the boxes: delicious food, super friendly staff, bright and cheery atmosphere. I strongly recommend visiting District Brewer as soon as possible while there are still no lines during peak time. Oh that Black Forest Bircher…I cannot wait to have it again.

District Brewer

36 Brewer Rd, Bentleigh, VIC

(03) 9972 3812

http://www.districtbrewer.com.au/

Fifty Acres

Chorizo scotch eggs with avocado, manchego, spinach and seeded mustard mayo

Perfect scotch eggs. Deliciously crispy on the outside with golden runny yolk. The only downside to this dish was that it wasn’t very substantial.

★★★★☆

Citrus cured NZ King Salmon, green olive tapenade, poached eggs on dark rye

Well poached eggs with tasty salmon and tapenade.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Delectable food, stylish minimalist decor, calm and relaxed environment, efficient service. There are still so many things on the menu that I want to try (ie. pumpkin pancakes, brioche french toast with nutella) so I must return to Fifty Acres soon.

Fifty Acres

65 Bridge Rd, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9421 0296

http://www.fiftyacres.net.au/

Muharam Cafe

Golden Gaytime Shake

EXTREMELY SWEET and didn’t really taste like Golden Gaytime now that I think about it.

★★☆☆☆

Spiced Sweetcorn Fritters with red pepper salsa, avocado and haloumi

Crispy fritters with a hint of smokiness and spice.

★★★☆☆

Trio of Sliders: Chicken Schnitz and Slaw, Wagyu Beef, Mushroom and Haloumi and Pesto

The chicken and beef were dry, while the haloumi and pesto combination made for a significantly salty slider.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

After seeing heaps of Instagram photos of Muharam Cafe’s incredible Nut-tellin’ doughnut shake (which is essentially a Nutella doughnut on top of a Nutella milkshake), I knew I had to come here to try one. The only problem was that they had run out of doughnuts! At 12:30pm! On a weekday! Our friendly waitress told us that they could still make us the shake minus the doughnut, but who would want a doughnut-less doughnut shake? Now onto the food menu. I had already looked at the menu before coming here and knew that I wanted the Red Velvet Pancakes. You can only imagine how devastated I was when we were told that the Red Velvet Pancakes had sold out! My next choice would have been the crumpets but before I could even form the words in my mouth, our waitress told us that the crumpets had also sold out! Dammit.

After all that disappointment, I had my fingers crossed that what we ordered would have been great to justify coming back again for the Nut-tellin’ doughnut shake and Red Velvet Pancakes. Unfortunately it wasn’t so I don’t think I’ll be coming back here in a hurry.

Muharam Cafe

97 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9818 7722

http://www.muharam.com.au/

Serotonin Eatery

Positive Pancakes

(three organic banana flour pancakes with house-made banana ice cream, mixed berries, yogurt balls covered in roasted almonds, organic agave)

★★★☆☆

Happy Zucchini Linguine

(raw zucchini spirals in red pesto with walnuts topped with fresh basil, mint and dill)

★★★☆☆

Super Smashed Avo

(smashed avocado topped with house-made beetroot relish, fresh chilli and poached eggs on organic sourdough)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The menu at Serotonin Eatery simply screamed HEALTHY. The words ‘organic’, ‘raw’ and ‘house-made’ appeared everywhere, while the familiar words of ‘bacon’, ‘french toast’ and even ‘fried eggs’ were nowhere to be found. In fact everything on the menu is vegan or gluten free or both. Having said that, the food we tried offered great flavours and I left feeling wonderfully guilt-free. I can’t say that I also left feeling completely satisfied though as portions were a bit on the small side. The service was average, the atmosphere bright and cheery, and the decor simply unique with their shiny gold cutlery, comfortable Japanese style couches, and awesome swing chairs! The perfect place to head to for those who are health conscious or for those who just really like swings.

Serotonin Eatery

52 Madden Grove, Burnley, VIC

(03) 8658 3124

http://www.serotonindealer.com/

Legacy

Hokey Pokey hotcakes with honeycomb, orange, ricotta, vanilla bean crème fraîche, pomegranates and strawberries

These hotcakes had a nice crispy outer ring but had to be eaten with the crème fraîche as they were a bit dry. The pomegranates provided good texture and the sticky honeycomb added a great element of sweetness.

★★★☆☆

Sweet potato, kale and amaranth fritters served with goat’s cheese, Kaiser bacon, cherry vine tomato chutney and a poached egg

Delicious fritters, fantastic bacon, terrific chutney, perfectly poached egg.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Outstanding menu, tasty food, simple decor with a strong brick theme. We were originally seated at some bar stools along the large communal table that took up most of the place, but asked to move as soon as one of the smaller tables became free. I usually don’t mind bar stools but when there isn’t a hook for your bag or anywhere to put your coat, it can get tricky balancing everything on your lap.

Legacy

347 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell, VIC

(03) 9041 1796

Aunt Billies Cafe

Backyard Brekkie

(eggs anyway, garlic and thyme mushrooms, pumpkin, haloumi, kale, bean ragout)

Hearty and satisfying.

★★★★☆

Billie’s Bowl

(cauliflower, freekah, kale, avocado, seeds, almonds, grains, currants, poached egg)

A substantial salad that could have been improved with a wider variety of textures.

★★☆☆☆

Roasted Mushrooms

(mushrooms, kale, toasted hazelnuts, goats fetta, lemon, and a poached egg on grain toast)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Solid dishes, down to earth staff, welcoming and cheery atmosphere. No wonder this little suburban cafe was packed when we went. Note that this place takes bookings.

Aunt Billies Cafe

184 Surrey Rd, Blackburn, VIC

(03) 9894 7774

Axil Coffee Roasters

Red velvet pancakes with cream cheese ganache, raspberries and black sesame ice cream

A must try for all those with a sweet tooth! These glorious pancakes had fluffy centres and crispy edges, and were almost cake-like. The cream cheese ganache and black sesame ice cream were delicious accompaniments, while the raspberries provided some lovely tartness to this overall sweet dish.

★★★★☆

Beechwood smoked duck breast with fennel, blood orange, pistachio and vincotta

Well cooked duck breast served with a fresh zesty salad.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

An excellent place to head to for good food, friendly service, and of course quality coffee.

Axil Coffee Roasters

322 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9819 0091

http://axilcoffee.com.au/

Lemon, Middle and Orange

Corned beef hash, mustard piccalilli puree, kohlrabi sauerkraut, swiss cheese, bagel wafer & fried egg

Delicious except for the bagel wafer. Not sure whether or not it was meant to taste stale, but it did.

★★★☆☆

Slow cooked beef brisket, cabbage slaw, grilled onion, dijon mustard & gherkin on toasted sourdough

I was really hoping for melt in your mouth beef brisket but it was just regular beef brisket in a regular tasting sandwich.

★★☆☆☆

Orange Infused Hot Chocolate

I was really glad I took on our waiter’s recommendation to order this. This was absolutely delectable as the zesty orange flavour cut through and nicely complimented the rich hot chocolate.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Surrounded by industrial warehouses and factories, Lemon Middle and Orange is a bright hidden space that serves up classic breakfast and lunch foods with an Irish twist.

Lemon, Middle and Orange

25 Rokeby St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9415 1593

http://www.lemonmiddleandorange.com/

Code Black Coffee

Leek and goat’s cheese croquettes with crispy pancetta, carrot puree, snow peas, baby carrots, toasted almonds and a poached egg

I enjoyed every single bite! Delicious flavours and perfect for those who love goat’s cheese.

★★★★☆

The Brunswick Ploughman’s Lunch

(soft boiled egg, smoked eggplant, pickled fennel, house made feta, olives, fresh radish, pastourma, smoked yogurt and house made flatbread)

★★☆☆☆

House made crumpets with orange and cinnamon ricotta, toasted pistachio, poached berries and vanilla syrup

★★☆☆☆

Grilled roast mushroom sandwich with caramelised onion and gruyere cheese served with a mushroom broth

A great tasting sandwich however the broth was extremely salty and essentially tasted like soy sauce.

★★★★☆

Overall:

What can I say about Code Black Coffee? There was a lot of black: black building, black walls, black ceiling, black tables. This former warehouse offers high quality coffee and a wide variety elegantly presented food. I had my eye on the grilled banana bread before coming here and was a bit shattered when I found that it was no longer on the menu. It is meant to be amazing so I hope they bring it back in the future.