I absolutely love coming to Melbourne for their cafes and coffee.
Which is why I couldn’t make a trip without making a video on my favourite brunch spots. Click the video above or read on for the details of each place!
Operator 25
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25 Wills St, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
Here, you will find a menu with Aussie classics along with some Asian inspired dishes.
I got the Grilled Miso Salmon with sushi rice.
The salmon was cooked perfectly. The meat flakes off the fork, but not dry at all. The flavours worked very well together and the soft boiled egg was a great addition to the miso flavours. It reminded me a bit of ramen.
The rice at the bottom was a little unusual, it wasn’t exactly sushi rice. Stickier and slightly wetter, making a rice patty you sort of cut into instead of spoon up. It was also cold instead of hot. I think it worked well with the dish, but I have such an ingrained idea of what sushi rice is, it caught me off guard a bit.
Grain Store
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517 Flinders Ln, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
I got the Cider Glazed Oyster Blade here, where they serve Australian cafe style cuisine.
The dish came with a bunch of veg and veg chips that were nicely seasoned. However the highlight of the dish must be the steak.
The steak was so well marinated that the steak soaked up all of the flavours. Every bite was bursting with flavour. And the best part is the meat was so SO tender.
The entire dish came together to make a delicious meal. Creamy mash, tart beet jam and meaty tender beef.
Try it if you get the chance, you won’t regret it.
The Kettle Black
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50 Albert Rd, South Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
A cute cafe serving speciality coffee and locally sourced produce for their lunch menu.
I got myself the grilled mortadella with poached eggs, pickled onions and spiced tomato relish.
Essentially a very fancy version of ham & egg on toast.
Normal ham & egg on toast is already great, so fancy ham with pickled onions and spiced tomato relish was even better!
Ima Project Cafe
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169 Elgin St, Carlton Victoria 3053 Australia
This cafe is a bit out of the way compared to the rest on this list, so if you want to catch their lunch specials, time your trip right!
I didn’t time mine right and missed the lunch specials, so I got the next best thing…
Soba salad.
Ima Project Cafe’s menu takes Japanese flavours and inspirations to make a modern lunch menu you won’t be disappointed in. The soba salad I tried was delicious.
The flavours worked so well together. I can’t really describe how surprised I was when I took my first bite. All I can say is.
Delicious.
The Hardware Societe Melbourne
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10 Katherine Place &, 123 Hardware St, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
Known for their baked eggs, I just had to get them. So I got their scallop, leek and cauliflower baked eggs.
Again, it sounds unremarkable like soba salad but that first bite took me by surprise. It was SO SO SO good, and I wish I could go and eat it again as I type this.