Goldilocks

(27/02/12)

If the 3 Bears ate here they probably would not order the Egg, bacon, tomato, fresh baby spinach & mayo pide! Pides on a breakfast/brunch menu probably should have been toasted or at least the offer of toasting it. They are sitting already made up in refrigerated counter, not toasted particularly the pide in question was doughy & cold egg/bacon! Enough said it wasn't a hit :-(  Despite that we were welcomed by smiley staff, seated, water  & menus in hand, coffees/juice ordered. Coffees were nice but a little sloppy on construction, apple juice hit the spot. 

Goldilocks would have however loved the Bircher muesli it was very tasty & with the addition of the berries & toasted organic granola it was a big winner. :-)  The poached eggs (sous-vide at 62.5 degrees) with the house made baked beans & chargrilled bacon was also very enjoyable.

  

Bircher Muesli prepared w fine oats,
apple, fresh orange juice & almonds.
Sides: Fresh berries & toasted organic granola
($9.5 + 4 + 3)

 As for the rest of the menu, not a very extensive one a few dishes on offer with many sides, some of which I doubt would have worked well. Some of the sides were a little on the pricey side eg. the extra berries in photo with Bircher muesli was $4 (they are expensive berries!) Also the Chargrilled bacon $4.50!  Maybe a few more complete dishes that included these items might work better.

Free range poached eggs on sourdough toast.
Sides: Chargrilled bacon & house made baked beans
($8.5 + 4.5 + 4.5)

 If you order a basic & add sides it does add to what an inclusive dish would cost in most places we have been, so I guess it depends which way you prefer to go, add sides or have choice of more complete meal?

Egg, bacon, tomato, fresh baby spinach & mayonnaise pide.
($9.5)

Goldilocks Cafe is a lovely light, roomy space, comfy chairs & quirky embellishments, bowling pins attached to the wall, which we imagine was for hanging coats in winter. The staff were all very friendly & attentive.

8 Days

(20/2/12)

 This was our third visit to this cafe in Armadale, so we must like it? Generally the answer to that is yes :-) The service is always friendly, wait staff, & I m guessing the manager behind the counter who always manages to say hello when you enter. 

Water to the table upon being seated, &  sensibly large water glasses that dont require filling every second mouthful, unlike the foodstore in Auburn rd that have some of the smallest glasses possible (but we will save that for another time). Quite an extensive menu, with the usual suspects & a few other different items.  With out going on again about knives I must make mention of the photo of the wonderful knives 8 days use that actually cut lovely sourdough toast - Bravo!

Eggs Benedict on English muffins
with Ham and hollandaise sauce.
($16)

Porridge with candied pistachios, raisins and banana
($11)

Ricotta hotcakes topped with vanilla ice cream,
blueberries and maple syrup
($14)

The food was delivered very quickly given the cafe was the busiest of the three visits we have made. Thumbs up for the eggs benedict, they went down a treat. The blueberry hotcakes could have done with some additional fruit on the side to counter act the sweetness of the syrup!, it was quite a small serving so it may not last you until dinner time. The porridge was a touch on the bland side, nice but nothing spectacular.

The coffees we had on arrival were very nice,  in generous cups, using 5 senses beans.  The only other negative (its small but important) was on clearing our plates you would expect to be asked if you would like another coffee or such, but no such question! We sat for a while longer with the intention of ordering another coffee, but we weren't approached, and as a large table of ladies had arrived we felt we may be waiting a while so we decided to leave it at that.

  Overall 8 days is very inviting, open & spacious with great windows that can open up the whole cafe, & nice fittings.

birdie num nums

(17/2/12)

birdie yum yum, :-) what a lovely cafe up the more industrial end of nicholson street, spacious interior or outside tables. Greeted by very polite/friendly guy at door, sat at the window bench & observed the rather average parking skills of locals!!!

Quite an extensive menu & specials board, breakfast served until 4, possibly there at a good time just after 12 just before the lunch time rush so not too busy, service very prompt. On our issue with knives!  birdie's knives had  some serration so easy to cut thru the yummy sourdough toast. Would definately go back to try other menu items. There are also so additional sweet treats on display, tasty looking cupcakes & the like. 

Garlic and herb mushroom with marinated feta, spinach and olive
 oil on warm bread topped with a poached egg.
($13.5)

Coffee - Cappuccino/Latte  (beans Campos) a very smooth coffee,
 cups on the smallish side, but would happily have a couple of them,  

 Two of the above dishes and coffee each $34, very good value I would say & all service with a smile :-). Parking could be an issue in this area when really busy, but having said that we managed to get a park almost out the front of the cafe on street.  

Snow Pony

(14/02/12)

Today back to a local favourite! the pony always busy, always bustling! Having been to this cafe many times, it was good to check in & see if all still as remembered.  

  

Bircher muesli w/ pear + cinnamon compote, honeyed yoghurt    
  ($10.9)

Friendly welcome at the yellow door, lot more female staff, usually predominately male, not that makes a scrap of difference. Seated straight away, coffee ordered, menus in hand ...... mmmm the old favourites  or something different?

Toasted banana bread w/ maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana,
 berry compote + crushed pistachio      
 ($14.9)

Cant go past the banana bread, it always hits the spot.  

Our other reviewer had the giddy up (variation of a "big breakfast", also a favourite), great sourdough toast - BUT, need to provide knives that can do more than shake the table - not bread/butter knives! A common complaint at many cafes we have eaten at with the exception of the knives at 8 Days in high street Armadale, they are perfect for cutting crunchy sourdough. The coffee is always spot on, but took a little longer than necessary today.

All up though a pleasant brunch experience had, the Cash only policy at Snowpony, Porgie & Mr Jones, Friends of Mine, may catch a few newcomers out.

the bell jar.

(13/02/12)

Okay guys this little cafe off the beaten track, but worth finding!really nothing fancy from the street, next door to "Comfortable Relaxing Massage"!!!

Friendly, cute guys, very nice coffee, a few different items on the menu from standard menu fare, corn cakes well worth ordering, or the scrambled with pesto! Don't be deceived by the menu prices as the serves are quite generous (bring your appetite!). Street parking a breeze unlike so many other cafes - bonus :-)

Corn Cakes topped with rocket, poached eggs, with a side of

bacon with creme fraiche and chipotle sauce. (extra mushrooms)

($17 + 3)

Scrambled eggs with pesto on sourdough (extra mushrooms)

($11 + 3)

Welcome

Hi there, and welcome to Brunch On!

Since the start of the year I have found myself visiting a number of Cafes around Melbourne with my brunch team (my two sons). After hearing a number of requests and with a bit of persuasion I have decided to document our experiences as well as provide a small write up on the places that we have visited. I aim to post on a weekly basis and with that said I hope you enjoy the read! I would love to hear what you have to say about the places I have discovered!