Cuccina Cafe, Launceston

57 Frederick Street

Launceston
Tasmania 7250

We were looking out for somewhere for a post parkrun brunch and our route fortuitously took us past on the corner of Frederick and Margaret streets where we spotted the Cuccina Cafe. It was busy with all the inside tables occupied, but we found  a spot outside with a view across the leafy Brickfields reserve.

I ordered the vegetarian breakfast with poached eggs. The fried halluomi , mushrooms, spinach and cherry tomatoes were all good quality, well prepared and worked together nicely.

The Scrambled eggs were plentiful and came with tomato relish and the requisite slice of toast.

The meal with a couple of good coffees was $32. The meal took a while to arrive, but it was busy and the staff were friendly and Cuccina Cafe is certainly worth a try.

The Bridport Cafe

97 Main Street
Bridport
Tasmania 7262

As a foodblogger I probably shouldn't admit that I hadn't known that the Bridport Cafe had won the Australian Cafe of the Year Award in 2014, or maybe we should just be happy that we sniffed it out anyway!

It is set up in an old cottage on the top end of the main street, with a tree emerging from the decking outside. It was pretty busy outside so we ended up inside on one of the eclectic mix of tables. The breakfast menu covered the standard offerings...

I went for the poached eggs on toasted sourdough which came topped with rocket. I was very happy with the eggs which had lovely runny yolks.

The scrambled eggs also turned out well along with a side of mushrooms.

The long black hit the spot and set us up for a stroll around town before hitting the road again!

From the deck the view extends to the beach through the trees.

The staff were friendly and efficient, with ours meals coming quickly enough to stave off our hunger. The bill came in at $37.40 with a couple of coffees, which seemed fair giving the quality of the meals. We could certainly see why it had won its award!

Barkers Cafe at the Whitten Oval

417 Barkly Street
Footscray
Victoria
3011

Barkers Cafe occupies most of the foyer at the main entrance to the Whitten Oval's and looks out across the ground. We'd never really thought of visiting, but I won a voucher so took the opportunity to give it a try. Although the street address is Barkley St, the actual entrance is opposite Sutton Way, behind the statue of Ted Whitten.

The cafe counter has a modern look and stands out from the rest of the space. We found a seat near the window, but it turned out to be a bit warm, so moved further back.

My Allpress coffee long black was great, smooth with no bitterness.

We shared the "Scrambled Special", the eggs being augmented with dill, chilli marinated feta, grilled pepper, rocket and avocado served on toasted ciabatta. I wasn't sure the combo would work but it turned out to be a winner, and satisfied both our breakfast needs.

The eggs were $15 and coffees around $4 each. We got there soon after it opened at 9 on a Saturday morning and were the only customers when we ordered and got our freshly prepared meal pretty quickly. We were impressed by the set up and have another good local cafe option...

George Jones Eatery, Pascoe Vale

15 Pascoe Street
Pascoe Vale
VIC 3044

We were invited to visit the Gearge Jones Eatery in Pascoe Vale, and ended up picking a perfect Autumn morning to ride up there. It is situated in a new building on Pascoe Vale Street with plenty of tables spilling out the front onto the wide pavement terrace.

Inside the fit out is modern and stylish with a clean, spacious feeling, yet still plenty of atmosphere. The name refers to the areas first shop keeper.

We perused the breakfast menu which  featured some interesting dishes alongside some breaky favourites. We kicked off with coffee, which is roasted on site. The long black was rich and smooth with little bitterness.

The flat white also went down well. 

The other half chose the scrambled egg on multigrain toast with a side of smashed avo. All the components were well executed with fluffy but slightly moist eggs and creamy avocado. 

I went for the citrus cured salmon served with poached egg, croquette, celeriac and dill remoulade and a rye crumb. The fish was lovely, firm and full of flavour, without being quite so intense as the smoked variety. The yolk of the egg was gooey, just how I like it. The remoulade and croquettes added more textures and flavours to complete a different and winning breakfast dish.

Through our visit the service was friendly and efficient. There was only a short wait for our meals, despite the busy venue. We didn't have to pay for our food or coffees, I think the bill would have been around $50, which seemed fair given the quality. We'd certainly be happy to head back next time we are in the area.

Beachcomber Café, St Kilda

10/18 Jacka Boulevard
St Kilda
Vic 3182


Bruce fancied a trip to St Kilda towards the end of his visit, so we trundled across by train and tram on a cool and overcast winter Saturday. To be fair when the sun broke through it was a pleasant day to be by the beach, hence the choice to eat at the Beachcomber Café at the St Kilda sea-baths a stones through from the bay.

We chose to grab a table in the covered outdoor section, which with it's wind protection was a pleasant spot to watch the world go by.

There a few spaces inside including a few nattily decorated booths.

Initially we were offered the main menu, however we noticed other tables were still eating brunch just after midday, and after enquiring we were given the breakfast menu which both suited us better and was more reasonably priced.

Bruce went for the bacon and poached eggs which disappeared rapidly.

The better half 's breakfast bruschetta (without the egg) didn't live up to expectations. The Turkish was lukewarm the avocado watery.

I had the home-made baked beans which were flavoursome, familiar and wholesome.

My long black was fine, apparently the flat white was weak. The $9 fresh OJ was served in a jar with a bendy straw, which promptly got blocked with pulp.

The location makes the most of the great views, unfortunately the food and service didn't quite live up to them. The bill came to just over $60.

Vue de monde

Level 55
525 Rialto Towers,
Collins Street,
Melbourne
Victoria 3000

This entry will be a bit different in a few ways, I rarely eat at anywhere as famous or high end as Vue de monde, it was a freebie (not to do with the blog but due to an invite from my day job and I visited for breakfast at 8am, well before the normal opening time.

On arrival I was offered a coffee and a selection of juices, I went for the orange and passion fruit which was fresh and brought back memories of one of my favourite smoothies I regularly indulged in when working for innocent drinks in the UK. The yoghurt was creamy and was well complimented by the muesli and compote. The pineapple from the fruit board was so flavoursome and sweet. I had a small apple pastry which was pleasant but didn't blow me away.

Later I tried the beetroot, apple and ginger juice which plenty of zing and was very refreshing.

I prefer to stay veggie focused at breakfast these days and my first impression of the main plate was positive. It was my first go at asparagus this early in the day and the seasonal white and green spears went down well. The toasted sour dough was the usual challenge to cut with a knife, the mushroom perfectly cooked, the spinach a bit too salty for me the scrambled eggs nice and light.

The decor and ambiance inside were dark and fairly understated, perhaps best appreciated later in the day, the views across Melbourne are stunning however. It was certainly an enjoyable breakfast, and I would like to head back for the full experience, I'm just waiting for another generous host with to extend an invite...