The Grain Store, Melbourne.

Less than a five minute commute on foot from Southern Cross station is the Grain Store; a classy and refreshing café and dining experience. Upon entrance, visitors are greeted by an interior design reminiscent of the idea of an exploded kitchen. Various counter islands decked with cakes, tarts and sweets scattered across the floor give a very light home-esque vibe and proved to be incredulously inviting.

We ordered a latte each from the welcoming staff, featuring St. Ali's Champion blend; exploding with Russian caramels and orange, with a syrupy sweet spice taste that lingers. The micro foam on both coffees was velvety smooth and we undoubtedly thoroughly enjoyed our caffeine dose for the day.

 Upon inspection, we found that the menu holds an abundance of tasty and rather exotic sounding dishes. Between us, we had the French toast (complete with egg nog curd, pink lady compote, marscapone and oreo crumble) as well as a bacon steak (served with a sunny side up egg, jalapeno cheese croquettes, pea salsa and a potato rosti we ordered on the side).
The food, although at first appeared a bit sparse on the plate, turned out to be [surprisingly] satisfying. The flavours were decadent and thoughtfully amalgamated to render a unique taste. Or maybe that was just us crossing our breakfasts over - bacon French toast!

After breakfast, Tam ordered and enjoyed a cold drip coffee. All in all, we both agreed that the Grain Store was worth a second  visit in order to continue to taste test the menu. The décor is inherently calming and in coalition with the friendly staff, awesome coffee and interesting food, made for an unforgettable experience.
We agree on 3.8 out of 5 coffee cups!

www.grainstore.com.au
517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Vic 3000.
(03) 9972 6993

Silo by Joost, Melbourne.

Tucked into a sweet little laneway in the heart of the CBD, Silo by Joost is a reasonably small café with huge aspirations.
It is completely self sustainable. The menu itself is waste free and all produce is bought directly from farmers. Everything purchased arrives in eco friendly reusable or recyclable containers and while your local café may be throwing out limitless amounts of rubbish, Silo has none! 

Though the space is small, not an inch goes to waste. With plants dangling from the roof, strawberry crates decorating the higher parts of the walls and the kitchen literally about a metre away from the indoor dining area, the food is prepared in front of your eyes. The interior is a harmonious blend of recyclable materials and cleverly used recycled goods. What else is noticeable  is that there is not a rubbish bin in sight. Instead, the food scraps and napkins are sent straight out back into the on site food dehydrator and turned into fertiliser to be sent straight back to the farmers.

The sustainable, socially conscious café not only looks tempting, it also doesn't skimp on quality of coffee or food. Our lattes (served in terracotta flowerpot looking sort of things) were practically flawless. Topped with beautiful microfoam that near mirrored the texture of glass and infused with a rich, robust flavour, one would not assume that they were both made on an energy efficient sustainable machine. We also tried the fresh lemonade; a refreshing combination of a honey-like sweetness and subtle sourness, the syrupy, ice cold drink was perfect for the warm weather.

Our food was a single order of the Silo Breakfast - two boiled eggs, a salad of salami, fetta cheese, avocado and tomato served with freshly churned butter and bread baked on ground. (Apparently, if you look into the kitchen, you can see the chef milling whole wheat grain). It did not disappoint. Once again, served in hand painted terracotta crockery, the meal was nothing short of satisfying, delicious and inventive.

All up, we would definitely recommend Silo. The atmosphere it holds is peaceful, serene and perfect for a morning off, to have coffee with the in-laws, friends or even by yourself. Not only will you be enjoying an amazing coffee, you'll be contributing your small part towards a greener world.
We both rate Silo a 4.2 out of 5 coffee cups!

http://byjoost.com/silo/
123 Hardware Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000.
(03) 9600 0588.

Auction Rooms, North Melbourne.

A ten minute tram ride north of the CBD landed us on a road that made us feel like we were looking through the rosy pink lenses of nostalgia at memories of the good old days. Auction Rooms is a lively café situated on a not so lively looking street. The juxtaposition between the building and its surroundings is a little quirky, if not slightly strange, but upon entrance, the quiet street is long forgotten and the interior ambience takes over.

Fast paced, friendly and unique, Auction Rooms is a lovely place to spend a Saturday morning.
With an open front (like, completely open), verandah out back and a service island smack bang in the middle, the donut seating arrangement offers the perfect view of the pour over counter. (a little more about that later).

Again, we enjoyed (very much so) a latte each and some breakfast. Between us, we had one serving of poached eggs, chorizos and toasted sourdough as well as one serving of the otway pork terrine, with honey mustard potatoes, pickled heirloom carrots and soft boiled egg. We thought the pork was a bit exotic for our taste, but Tam thought the potatoes were delicious!

After our food, we decided to stay and get some house special coffees. After poring over the beverage menu, we decided on a flat white in the daily special blend (known as Rowanda and described as fruity) and a Syphon pour over (a single origin Ethiopian bean with traces of fruits and chocolate). Watching the Syphon extract and pressurise was like watching medieval alchemy! Red flames, funny coloured liquids and glass beakers taking over the pour over bench rewarded us with a 'black' coffee in a tea like consistency.
The Rowanda was incredibly rich and beautifully bitter with a hint of fruitiness while the Syphon was a beautifully harmonious blend of cacao and summer fruits with a dark smoky taste. Both were exquisite and we will be trying more exotic coffees in the future!

In summary, Auction Rooms is a light, calming place to indulge in a caffeine addiction and we recommend it to anyone looking for something a little unique and a lot adventurous.
We collectively rate it a 4.2 out of 5 coffee cups! :)

http://www.auctionroomscafe.com.au/
103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne, Vic 3051.
(03) 9326 7749.

Seven Seeds, Carlton.

 

Some people will say the best things evolve from humble beginnings. Well, between us, we agreed such things can be said about warehouse turned café, Seven Seeds. Located on a dingy looking scaffolded street just a little north of the CBD, Seven Seeds is a refreshing, unique experience. Staffed with friendly waiters, creative chefs and baristas who are nothing short of amazing, it is a hot spot we would definitely recommend.

The set ambience is relaxing, laced with a slightly exotic feel (with interesting and eye-catching plants dotted around the floor and a few bits and pieces of wall décor reminiscent of being stranded on a tropical island) while somehow also reminding faintly of nan upon noticing the crochet lamp covers and yarn wall art.

Our order consisted of one serving of the Pancake Stack (a stack of three, with baked peaches, citrus labne, vanilla bean honey and pistachio praline) as well as Potato latkes (pan sizzled potato and parsnip latkes, with house-cured salmon, sweet pea purée and a poached egg). Tam swears a bit of pancake dipped in the sweet pea purée tasted like pistachios.

The coffee did not cease to excite us (we've been here more than once, unregrettably) and as we expected, the microfoam was consistently silken and the blend was beautifully rich and full in taste. Seven seeds coffee blend is roasted in store; with a few rooms branching off in the back, furnished with rotating round tables, an espresso machine and various posters explaining the science behind brilliant coffee. We thought they appeared a little like coffee labs; mixing, steeping, brewing, compressing and filtering. They also offer some of their intriguing filtering methods (pour over, aeropress, cold brew - you know they sound mysterious, try them out), as well as single origin blends.

Ultimately, trekking through the heat and humidity, we decided Seven Seeds is well worth a visit the next time we're around Carlton. Good food, friendly service and a top coffee, we definitely recommend.
Tam rates it 4 out of 5 coffee cups, while Tien rates it 4.5. :)

http://www.sevenseeds.com.au
114 Berkeley St, Carlton, VIC 3053
(03) 9347 8664

Proud Mary, Collingwood.

Just off a main road in Collingwood, lies Proud Mary. Although the road it perches on looks bland and industrial, the cafe itself is nothing but. Bustling with customers, finding a table is only just short of impossible! Cleverly (and no doubt the result of day after day of tsunami waves of customers), the waitress and waiter staff had a table system, and after a few minutes we were able to secure some communal seating inside the building.
The decor inside is a complimentary combination of modern meets vintage. Our table centrepiece was a cold drip coffee machine partnered with a few bags of their signature grind and a vase of fresh flowers.

After marvelling at the ridiculously long coffee machine, and the extensive variety of cold drips, we had a latte each. The coffee was a lovely rich blend, with smooth, creamy microfoam (even though the picture of Tam's coffee looks a little dishevelled, we promise it was great).
Between us, we had one serving of the Potato Hash (pan fried stringy potato, grilled bacon, buttery spinach, a poached egg and some fancy Italian sauce called bagna cauda) and a serving of the Ricotta Hotcakes (obviously, some ricotta hotcakes, caramelised peach,  roasted nuts and a dollop of marscapone).
The food took a little time to come out, though we blamed that on the overwhelming stream of customers that did not seem to stop coming. Though after digging into our meals, we decided the wait was well worth the food that we had so thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, we both agreed that Proud Mary was a lovely place to keep in the back of our minds for the next time we feel like a friendly, enlightening breakfast out. We recommend it to any of you coffee lovers looking for a quaint, hearty food experience.
We rate it 4 coffee cups out of 5! :)

http://www.proudmarycoffee.com.au/
172 Oxford Street, Collingwood, Vic 3066.
(03) 9417 5930.