Coffee

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.

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

101-103 Foster St, Dandenong, VIC

(03) 9706 9194

http://www.polishryecrustbakery.com.au/

Cheerio

Baked eggs with spicy beans and lentils, fresh herb salad, lemon labne and dukkah served with toasted sourdough

The fresh chilli gave this dish a nice kick!

★★★☆☆

Quinoa, charred corn and zucchini fritters, shaved fennel, watercress, fresh herbs, sumac dressing, dukkah, poached egg

The fritters were good but the real highlight was the amazing salad and dressing.

★★★★☆

Sticky ham hock, fresh Asian herbs, chilli, black vinegar, tamarind hollandaise, and poached eggs on toasted sourdough

The ham hock was fall-apart-tender and the hollandaise extremely delectable, however this was quite a heavy dish and was a struggle to finish.

★★★★☆

One quarter of the brioche french toast special

We were too full to order individual desserts so we decided to share the french toast amongst the four of us. What came as a surprise was that the chef took the time and effort to divide up the dish and had plated it up on four separate plates! Thoughtful service aside, this dish was delicious!

★★★★☆

Overall:

A delightful gem of a place that stood out not only because of the food, but also the terrific service. The staff were super friendly and we felt very welcome right from the get-go. The only downside about Cheerio is its tiny size and limited seating, so there may be a bit of a wait during peak times.

Cheerio

323 Lennox St, Richmond, VIC

0456 925 659

Street Talk Espresso

The Boss Of All Challah

(Challah French toast squares, stewed apple, seasonal fruits, mascarpone, Tim Tam sand, espresso caviar)

★★★★☆

The Mighty Ducks

(zucchini, cauliflower and haloumi fritters, 5 spice duck breast, lemon tahini yogurt, soft herb salad, toffee glass shards, butter and sage jus)

★★★★☆

Overall:

Friendly service, casual atmosphere, and delicious food that was beautifully presented. Well worth a visit for all you brunch lovers out there.

Street Talk Espresso

710 High St, Armadale, VIC

(03) 9509 9687

https://www.streettalkcafe.com.au/

Glass Merchants

GM Eggs Benedict

(12 hour braised beef cheek cooked in green apple and spices, raw spinach, two poached eggs and harissa hollandaise on a milk bun)

The beef cheek was incredibly tender, the eggs perfectly poached, and the hollandaise really good.

★★★★☆

King Smoked Salmon

(salmon, harissa polenta, goats yogurt, broccolini, roasted heirloom tomatoes and two poached eggs)

A tasty dish however a bit more salmon would have been nice.

★★★☆☆

Acai Berry Smoothie (banana, chia seed, cinnamon, almond milk, cocnut water, protein powder)

Mango and Passionfruit Smoothie (pineapple, frozen yogurt, protern powder, almond milk)

Super filling and were almost a meal themselves. And how awesome are their glasses?

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I loved the eclectic feel that this place had with its quirky mixture of pop art and rustic design. Located in a warehouse that was previously a glazing company, Glass Merchants offers a menu of well known classics with a fresh twist on them. We also found out that this place is often rented out at night for various pop up restaurants which is such a great idea considering how impressive this space is. There is also ample parking right next to the building which makes visiting really easy. A place worth checking out if you are in the area.

Glass Merchants

63-65 Nelson St, Balaclava, VIC

(03) 8528 0118

http://www.glassmerchantsbalaclava.com/

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Glass Merchants.

Percy’s Aeroplane Cafe

Matcha Hotcakes

(green tea hotcakes sandwiched between a Nutella brioche donut drizzled with chocolate ganache, pistachio and a dollop of whipped cream served with fresh and reduced red berries)

Deliciously decadent without being excessively sweet.

★★★★☆

Percy Thyme

(roasted mushrooms infused with thyme and garlic, tossed through baby spinach and served on smashed avocado and multigrain toast, served with dukkah, goats curd and a poached egg)

A good solid dish however the serving size of this used to be larger.

★★★☆☆

Pulled Pork Benedict

(poached eggs smothered in apple cider hollandaise, apple, roast pumpkin, onion, garlic and carrot, resting on a toasted pan de mie bun)

The toasted bun was surprisingly incredible! Generously buttered, soft in the middle and ultra crispy around the edges. The rest of the dish was also quite tasty however the rubbery overcooked eggs were a disappointing let down.

★★★☆☆

Matcha latte

Weak and watery.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

A friend of mine suggested this place for a recent catchup and I was pleasantly surprised with our experience. The atmosphere was comfortable and although we were seated by ourselves all the way in the back room, the service was great as the wait staff continually checked up on us to refill our water and ask if we needed anything. What I also liked about this place was the staff’s interest on customer feedback. Apart from asking the usual question of whether or not we enjoyed our meals, we were asked about our thoughts on the Matcha Hotcakes, which were a new menu item (eg. Was the serving size adequate? Was the dish sweet enough?). Serving sizes in general could be improved, but I’d still return if I was in the area.

Percy’s Aeroplane Cafe

96 Denmark Street, Kew, VIC

(03) 9939 7642

Barry

Ricotta hot cake, apple, cinnamon creme, crumble

Crispy edges, soft centre, and had just the right amount of sweetness.

★★★★☆

Benedict eggs, slow braised free range ham hock, apple cider hollandaise, granny’s apples, potato hash

Perfectly poached eggs, tender flavourful ham hock, tasty but stingy amount of potato hash.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

There were a few unusual menu items that I wanted to try (eg. activated charcoal porridge and even the crunchy peanut butter and tomatoes on toast) however we ended up playing it safe with our choices and had no regrets doing so. With delicious food and helpful service, it’s no surprise this place is always crowded.

Barry

85 High St, Northcote, VIC

(03) 9481 7623

http://www.barrycoffeeandfood.com/

Two Little Piggies

Pea & Ham – crisp roasted pork belly, poached free range eggs, green pea veloute, sourdough toast

Heavenly succulent pork with a beautiful crispy crackling. The pea veloute was also superb and the eggs were well poached.

★★★★☆

Little Pig Cubano – Mojo pulled pork, Grandmother ham, Blackjack cheddar, pickles, dijon mustard

A wonderful union of delicious ingredients made this a very enjoyable (and very filling) sandwich.

★★★★☆

Majestic Fries – duck fat and mustard aioli

Generous serving of light crispy fries.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Relaxed vibe, simple decor, easy going service. With a porcine influenced menu and an enticing charcuterie selection, the owners of this place are clearly passionate about meat. Choosing what to order was extremely difficult as everything sounded absolutely amazing. In the end I really enjoyed what we had picked out and will certainly return to sample some more dishes.

Two Little Pigs

146 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, VIC

(03) 9939 4042

The General Food Store

Arabesque

(poached eggs, grilled halloumi, beetroot relish, hazelnut dukkah, baby spinach, toasted sourdough)

★★★☆☆

El Capitan

(pan fried chorizo, spring onion, pea and chard, white bean puree, poached eggs, toasted sourdough)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

This cosy cafe has a teeny-tiny kitchen so it was understandable as to why it took some time for our food to come out. The menu is small and changes monthly as they use seasonal ingredients that are mainly sourced from local and greater Victorian food regions. Note that this place doesn’t take bookings but if you call up 20 minutes before you arrive, they will reserve a table for you.

The General Food Store

377 Belgrave-Gembrook Rd, Emerald, VIC

(03) 5968 3580

http://www.thegeneralfoodstore.com.au/

Daniel Son

Corn Fritters with Chilli Con Carne aka ‘Mariachi El Brunch’

(two deep fried corn fritters with con carne, cheese, two fried eggs, guacamole, sour cream)

Good simple flavours, portions could have been a bit more generous.

★★★☆☆

The Inglorious Bastard Sandwich

(pulled pork fritters, ‘slaw, house made BBQ sauce)

I wasn’t a fan of these fritters as the pork was somewhat dry and insipid. I also didn’t like the fact that you had to deconstruct this sandwich in order to eat it.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I have never watched The Karate Kid and would not have made the connection between the name of this place and the film had it not been for the pictures of Mr Miyagi that were on our menus. Daniel Son is a bustling suburban cafe that offers a small menu and friendly service within a comfortable space. The dishes I sampled weren’t particularly amazing but perhaps some of their other menu items are.

Daniel Son

471-473 Neerim Rd, Murrumbeena, VIC

0497 690 628