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.
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.
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