What can you do to amuse yourself on a rare day off work on a Monday (in this case the day between the weekend and the Melbourne Cup horses running in circles thing? Go somewhere nice for lunch of course, and with limited options for enticing places that open on Mondays, the bistro at the newly refurbished Builders Arms seemed the place to be.…
Archive for the category: Coffee
lunch at Mina No Ie in Collingwood
Mina No Ie is a newish Japanese cafe from the owners of Cibi, which has been open for four years now and is also in Collingwood. I had lunch there with the girlfriend on a recent weekend and we liked it a lot.…
breakfast at the Breakfast Club in Northcote
I’m aware that I’m well behind the times in reviewing the Breakfast Club on St George’s Rd in Northcote, but I ate there for the first time only a couple of weeks ago. The coffee is great and the baked eggs are really very good, with some nice additions like a small salad on the side.…
breakfast at Ziegote cafe on Johnston St
In one of the previously cursed locations on Johnston St, a new cafe opened a few months ago. Called Ziegote,the menu is an Indian / English breakfast fusion. On my first visit I had a fried egg roti wrap. On my second, I had a spiced omelette.…
empanadas for lunch at La Dulcita on Brunswick St
After the closure of Juanita’s two years ago I was bereft, as I was deprived of south American treats. Sonido is great but doesn’t have the cakes that Juanita’s had. Now it seems there is a successor. La Dulcita opened a couple of weeks ago in the front bit of what was Retro cafe, as part of the same development that has Brother Burger along the Westgarth St side and The Playroom upstairs (which is currently hosting an amazing popup wine bar called the Barrel Room by the Vinsurgents).…
southside lunchings 12
A new Thai restaurant, The Thai on Chapel, opened on Chapel St in Windsor (next door to Fat Helen’s secondhand shop) last week. They make a dish I’ve never had before, fried bread with pandan custard, which is an entree but it could just as well be a dessert.…
dinner at Marmalade and Soul, Queens Parade North Fitzroy
Marmalade and Soul opened at the start of the year in a former scruffy pub in a bit of a backwater location in between but apart from the busy Brunswick St and Queens Parade strips. The food is a mixture of the modern and the retro, and the current offer of 3 courses for $60 is a tempting offer.…
southside lunchings 9
The southern end of Chapel St in Windsor (south of Union and James streets) is not known for food. It is however op shop central for vintage lovers. The northern end of Windsor is much busier in terms of food. I don’t rate Ghin Kopi for flavour of Dino’s for service (see below).…
southside lunchings 8
I’m sitting at a window table in a Chapel St cafe looking out onto the street. Two male hipsters, engrossed with their phones, walk towards each other. They collide, but not head on; it’s more like a lethargic hip and shoulder.…