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.