Bacon

De Clieu

187 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 9417 6498

Berkshire Pork Neck

Meltingly soft 24 hour slow cooked free range pork, crispy spring onion roti, house made BBQ sauce, yolky fried egg, roquette

= Good

Middle Eastern Eggs

Fried free range eggs, crispy roti bread, roquette, organic sausage which I found to be slightly dry, hummus, dukkah

Notice anything particular about the eggs? Do you see the massive piece of egg shell?!? I suppose having a big piece of egg shell is better than having lots of little pieces as you can at least pick the big piece out.

= Not bad

BLAT

Double smoked bacon, avocado, roast garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, quinoa & soy sourdough, roquette

What made this sandwich enjoyable was the amazing quinoa & soy sourdough that added a little crunch and the terrific roast garlic aioli.

= Good

Overall:

Small menu, small portions, average service, relaxed atmosphere.

Crabapple Kitchen

659 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn 9078 5492

Sweet corn, coriander and chilli fritters with Cyprian Haloumi, avocado, tomato, cucumber, red onion, mint salad and a poached egg

= Not bad

Myrtleford buttermilk pancakes with pears in spiced sugar, pecan and pine nut praline, white chocolate mascarpone with pure Canadian maple syrup and a side of bacon

Enormous serving size! (I only managed to finish one pancake) These soft fluffy pancakes were sweet yet salty, and I probably didn’t need the side the bacon.

= Not bad

Overall:

I was a little disappointed in the food, but I liked the high energy atmosphere, the super friendly and efficient service, and the ‘Friday Night Flights’ menu (which changes fortnightly and inspired by food from around the world). Note that this place does take bookings.

Merchants Guild

680 Centre Rd, Bentleigh East 9579 0734

Soy latte

Pumpkin, feta and harissa polenta biscuit, free range poached eggs and za’atar

Shortcut bacon with an avocado and charred corn salsa on sourdough with poached eggs and jalapeño pesto

Doughnut french toast with vanilla mascarpone, peaches, berries and pistachios

Thoughts:

Soy latte – strong with a rich aroma = Good

Polenta biscuit – this polenta biscuit was fantastic as it was full of flavour, crisp on the outside, and soft and delicious on the inside. The eggs were nicely poached and the herbaceous za’atar added an interesting element to the dish = Excellent

Bacon, avocado, eggs – ordinary bacon, tasty avocado and corn salsa, terrific jalapeño pesto (it gave the sourdough a nice little kick) = Good

Doughnut french toast – delicious! My only grievance with this dish was the small portion size = Good

Overall:

A delightful gem of a place where the service, atmosphere and food is great. It’s comforting to know that there are terrific brunch places like this south side of Melbourne. I’m looking forward to my next visit.

Friends of Mine

Toasted piadini

(pork/chilli/fennel sausage, tomato chutney, smoked scamorza cheese and spinach)

Small portion size so wasn’t very filling.

★★☆☆☆

Smashed avocado

(avocado, thyme buttered mushrooms, poached egg, marinated feta and torn basil on toasted five grain bread)

This exact dish is bigger and better at Porgie and Mr Jones (same owners as this place)

★★☆☆☆

Eggs benedict

(smoked ham hock terrine, poached eggs, a rich and tangy apple cider hollandaise and baby herbs on an English muffin)

★★☆☆☆

‘Jack + Jill’

(toasted ciabatta, poached eggs, bacon, 12 hour roasted tomato, avocado and thyme buttered mushrooms)

★★☆☆☆

Citrus semifreddo

Sweet, rich and creamy, served with almond praline and raspberries

★★★☆☆

Overall:

A nice place to catch up with friends as the noise level is low and the dining area is quite spacious and comfortable. The staff (who wear these cute denim aprons that have the word ‘Friends’ on them) are lovely, the coffee is good, but the food is average at best. Note that this place is cash only.

Friends of Mine

506 Swan St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9428 7516

http://www.friendsofmine.com.au/

Small Victories

617 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North 9347 4064

Baked Eggs

(creamed corn, streak bacon, lardo soldier, thyme salt)

Poached eggs on toast, house smoked salmon, soused cucumber, pickled onion, heirloom radish, braised mustard seed and roe

Thoughts:

Baked Eggs – also from the Herald Sun’s list of Melbourne’s 25 best breakfasts. Simply marvellous = Excellent

Poached eggs with salmon – colourful with a generous serving of salmon = Not bad

Overall:

Small simple place, slow service, fantastic Baked Eggs.

Eden Espresso

121 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern 9509 9119

Olive Bread Benedict

Middle Eastern Eggs

Thoughts:

Olive Bread Benedict – 2 slightly overcooked poached eggs served on Noisette’s Kalamatta Olive Sourdough with a slice of fresh tomato, baby spinach, crispy grilled bacon and drizzled with a lovely home-made hollandaise sauce. I probably would not have ordered this had it not been for the olive sourdough which definitely made this dish extra yummy. I love olive sourdough = Good

Middle Eastern Eggs – 2 poached eggs served in quite a spicy tomato concasse, topped with squeaky pan-fried haloumi, chorizo, spring onions and a side of crusty Turkish bread = Not bad

Overall:

A nice place for breakfast if you happen to be in the area. The service is quick and there is heaps of seating room (tables and couches inside, a small back room as well as an outside courtyard).

Hobba

428 Malvern Road, Prahran 9510 8336

Bubble and Squeak

Smashed Avocado (with a side of smoked trout)

Thoughts:

Bubble and Squeak – comes with half a roasted tomato, a fried egg, a thick slab of bacon, sourdough toast and some enticing brown butter hollandaise sauce = Not bad

Smashed Avocado – a huge serving of creamy, lemony avocado with Yarra Valley fetta that comes with a free range 63˚C slow poached egg on some delightful pumpkin grain toast = Good

Overall:

I’m slowly working my way through the Herald Sun’s list of Melbourne’s 25 best breakfasts and came here to try out their Bubble and Squeak (which disappointingly turned out to be just okay). The service here was average, but what made this place stand out for me was the actual building and its decor. This cafe used to be an old warehouse and still has an industrial feel to it with its exposed brick walls, super high ceilings, wooden beams and concrete floors. This all just added to the charm of this place and made for a really funky dining atmosphere.