All posts tagged: Sydney Rd

Maddox / Brunswick

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Among the litany of cafes on Sydney Road you’ll find Maddox. It’s a charming little cafe with some older and more modern touches.  The front room opens out into a larger back room with a wonderful staircase wrapping around its edges. There’s some art and furnishing with just a bit of character. We loved the roughed up feel, it’s old school charm that makes us feel right at home. It would once have been a delightful house.We started with lattes. We’ve had nice coffees here previously but this one was too hot and borderline over extracted. A shame really! We also tried the more unusual peanut butter hot chocolate. It was rich, creamy and full of flavour. Not to mention being served with peanut m&ms you could dunk or simply eat. If you’re keen for a unique hot chocolate this may be exactly what you’re looking for! We started our meal with a light granola. It was served with a mix of fruits, including strawberry, apricots and fig. The granola itself didn’t have much flavour but it was …

Foxtrot Charlie / Brunswick

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   After some time exploring further afield we stayed closer to home to check out Foxtrot Charlie on Sydney road in Brunswick. In an urban area which is traditionally space-poor the huge space available at Foxtrot Charlie is quite a surprise when you walk in the door. Everything in the cafe is slick and polished, it’s modern with the quirky touches you’d expect from a Brunswick locale.  We started with lattes. The beans are roasted in house and the brew has a rich and full bodied flavour. It flits to the edge of extraction but remains perfectly balanced. Starting the day with a coffee like this will definitely put you in a good mood.Our first choice from the menu was a toastie, cheesy with thick cut ham hock and coated in a beschemel sauce. This toastie is just cheesy, creamy and all round delicious. There’s no better way to describe it than heaven on a plate. If you’re a fan of a good hunk of meat and cheese for breakfast than you’ll enjoy this dish! Finally …

Tom Phat / Brunswick

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  Tom Phat is a restaurant we’d been planning to visit for some time before finally visiting for breakfast. The decor is Asian but the food served is definitely fusion, a mix of East and West cuisines that culminated in a breakfast menu we absolutely had to sample! A traditional coffee isn’t the best choice here though. It was over extracted and the micro-foam wasn’t quite right. A better choice next time will be a different beverage or an Asian coffee option.    One of the main reasons we visited was an infatuation with black sticky rice that meant we absolutely had to have it for breakfast. Of the meals that have been called dessert for breakfast as the trend grew over the last five years, Black Sticky Rice is certainly one of the more unusual.  It’s sticky, hot and sweet, nicely spiced without being overly spicy or sweet and with a pleasant coconut cream. There was a light, slightly tangy lychee too. Our only criticism would for there to be a bit more cream to balance …

Albert Street Food and Wine / Brunswick

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 Wandering along Sydney Road uncovers many gems and Albert Street Food and Wine is one of them. Unsurprisingly located on the corner of Albert Street and Sydney road, the restaurant is large and open wi high ceilings and an inviting warmth which draws you in from the the street.   We got a table for six without a reservation on a weeknight but found the service incredibly slow. It was obviously designed to be a precisely timed process, leisurely enough to enjoy each step of the meal. With six indecisive people we were quite able to slow the process down all on our own. We ended up choosing a mix of small and large dishes to share.   First up was the octopus with olive. Unfortunately the olive overpowered the subtly of the octopus. It just didn’t balance out – black olives were wonderful but that was all we could taste. We also tried the pork belly. The crackling was great but we were missing the tender, melt in your mouth meat that we wanted. Pork belly can be …

Brunswick Burger Buzz / Brunswick

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Some days you don’t want anything fancy, just a good burger and some fries and a quiet evening where no one has to do the dishes. There’s so much around Brunswick that often little gems are only discovered when ones ventures without a clear direction in mind and our wanderings lead us to Brunswick Burger Buzz on Sydney road.   For those who know the area the decor won’t surprise, it a but hipster, a bit eclectic. There’s doors on the walls and chairs that look like they once belonged to many different sets, while the restaurant itself is split into two halves that don’t quite line up. The service is relaxed and casual, everything takes a little other than you would expect it too, but it also creates that chilled vibe perfect for those wanting a quiet meal and a drink away from the noise and rush of Sydney road. Our first burger was the Buzz, with Australian inspired  fillings of beetroot and bacon as well as the usual suspects. I’m a huge fan of beetroot in …

The Cornish Arms / Brunswick

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     Ah the local pub, everyone’s favourite old reliable for satisfying food, questionable quality music and a good drink. The Cornish Arms pays homage to the old fashioned English pub with an older style building and facade with some modern improvements. There’s plenty of pubs and eateries around Brunswick, but we were drawn to the Cornish Arms for their weekly specials. There’s something different every day, but the prospect of a kransky was too tempting so we headed over on a Monday night for a feed!  The Cornish Arms is comfortable, with plenty of seating, table service, a beer garden and pool table if you fancy a game. Monday nights are also open mic so if you’re there past 8 you’ll be treated to the local talent.  We started our meal with wu-tang fries, chips served with cheese and gravy, much like the Canadian Poutine. We’re not sure what makes it like the American rap group, but melted cheese, gravy and hot chips is always a winner in our books.  Now what you’ve all been waiting …

Two Little Piggies and Many Delicious Meals / Brunswick

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Two Little Pigs is a bright yellow presence on Sydney road in Brunswick, they are both a coffee shop and a charcuterie. Isn’t Melbourne a wonderful place? This is another local cafe for us and we’ve found the staff to be welcoming and friendly on our coffee runs so we decided to make a visit especially for breakfast. There’s table service so you can sit down and settle in, we found they took our coffee orders immediately while giving us time to peruse the menu. The coffee at Two Little Pigs was strong but smooth and creamy. Served with lovely latte art, it was obvious the baristas put a lot of care into making our coffee, the same experience we’ve had with their take aways. When at a charcuterie one makes the most of their breakfast! This is not a dish for the feint hearted, it’s a rich, meaty way to start the day. A selection of cured meats, Spanish blood sausages, duck liver pate, tomato and pickle. The pickle was perfect to cut the …

Mr and Mrs Howell / Brunswick

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There’s something wonderful about your first night in a new city, that excitement of exploring and finding your new ‘local’. It’s almost overhwleming coming from Perth to Brunswick and seeing just how much there is in our new little corner of the world! To say we were excited was an understatement, so we decided to start closest and work our way out, beginning at the hipster cool eatery, Mr and Mrs Howells on Sydney rd. The interior was narrow but pleasant, with sunlight streaming in from the big front windows. The feel was casual with a vintage cool fitting with the hipster brunswick area. We were served promptly and given a menu full of delicious things to choose from and selected a rose to enjoy while we perused. We’re a little obsessed with goats curd right now and couldn’t help but order the almond crusted goats curd with honey for an entree. It was oozing, sweet and sticky with a light warmth. The curd was easy to spread onto the bread crisps and felt like …