Three Bags Full

Three Bags Full is nestled in the charming streets of Abbotsford in Melbourne.  Vibrant, sleek and sharp is the vibe of this café ready and waiting with your daily grind of breakfast or lunch, coffee or cake.

A converted warehouse, Three Bags Full has retained exposed brick walls, polished concrete floors and decorated cleverly with quirky lighting and bright artwork.  The multi coloured upside down cup and saucer light shades suspended from the ceiling are fun and novel.   The communal and single tables fitted with an industrial metal and road works signage print on the chairs and stools give an edgy look and feel.

First up I order a cappuccino.  It’s obvious that coffee is an important part of the philosophy here with a massive espresso machine and the barista happily joined to it.  They respect that espresso is not everyone’s thing and offer brewed filtered coffee also.

My cappuccino blew my head off!  It was super strong.  But the temperature, texture and flavor were bang on, making it still enjoyable despite my opinion on its intensity.  If it’s a strong coffee that you love then Three Bags Full have got you covered.

I was in for breakfast on a Wednesday morning. The breakfast menu is impressive.  It’s diverse, thoughtful and covers all bases.  In spite of this I opt for a dish from the specials board – ‘Crispy potato rosti with smoked salmon, salsa verde, two poached eggs and goats cheese cream’ ($17).

The flavours on this dish were very complimentary to each other.  The textures balanced out and removed any concern I may have had initially about the richness that some of these ingredients can normally attract.  It was fresh and light enough to leave me feeling content.

Staff were casual but friendly, neither overshadowing nor inattentive.  It wasn’t wall to wall busy but the service provided was just the right amount. 

Three Bags Full has also opened a duplicated space next door that offers the same menu with the addition of some quicker options including salads, toasties and soups.

This café on the corner has certainly cornered the café market in this area.  It ticks all the right boxes.

Food – 8/10

Service – 8/10

Ambience – 8/10

Three Bags Full

Corner Nicholson and Mollison Streets, Abbotsford, Victoria.

Phone – (03) 9421 2732

www.threebagsfullcafe.com.au

Open –

Monday – Friday 7am to 5pm

Weekends and Public Holidays 8am to 5pm

Bendigo Corner Store Cafe

It’s great when you find a daytime dining venue that ticks all of the boxes that the large and varied daytime dining audience may require.  It's even better when you discover this in a regional location.

The Bendigo Corner Store Cafe certainly leaves nothing unticked.  Previously a corner store in the upper residential part of the well-known View Street it is now a cafe that has not forgotten its humble beginnings.  You can still buy your daily newspaper, along with a loaf of bread from the local bakery ‘The Good Loaf’ and even post a letter in the post box out the front.

Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, the menu is tantalising and beautifully supplemented with a daily specials board.  I’m a sucker for a good breakfast and the Corner Store Cafe does not disappoint.  Breakfast ranges from sour dough toast to porridge with fried banana and stewed rhubarb, to ricotta pancakes to a big breaky with free-range eggs.  Lunch is also enticing offering delicious gourmet sandwiches to a roast vegetable salad with quinoa to the open steak sandwich.  The kids’ menu is also very thoughtful with the usual favourites and some fun healthy options.  I’d go as far to say that it’s one of the best kids menus I have seen.

The wonderful thing about their menus is that there are various vegetarian, gluten and dairy free options.  As there is with the milk choices for coffee – organic, full fat, low fat, soy, lactose free and oat milk.  Now that is truly thinking of everyone!  The passion for coffee is evident here.  The barista is attached to his machine and makes every cup with precision and expertise.  On offer is the house blend, a single origin barista special of the day and organic decaf.  All beans are roasted from a boutique roaster in Melbourne and are 100% organic fair trade.

There is a small but well thought out beverage list with the usual non alcoholic suspects and fresh juices or you can enjoy a glass of bubbles, a beer or a cider with your eggs and bacon or house made veggie burger.  Sit out the front and watch the world go by, chill out in the lounge or sit out the back under an umbrella and watch the kids play in the sandpit.  Finish all this off with one of the amazing cakes or cookies on display at the front counter.  Who said you can’t have cake for breakfast?

Food – 8/10

Service – 7/10

Ambiance – 8/10

Bendigo Corner Store Cafe

305 View Street, Bendigo Victoria.

Open Monday – Friday 7.30am – 6pm/Saturday – Sunday 8.30 – 4pm

Phone – (03) 5442 2008

Proud Mary

This place is like a revolution.  There are people everywhere.  Congregating out the front and standing inside up to an hour for a seat for breakfast.  It’s crazy!  It’s even crazier that no one seems to mind.  The calm crowd is one of all sorts - an eclectic range of cultures and fashion sense.

Proud Mary’s, located in Collingwood Melbourne, has a warehouse feel with a combination of exposed brick and wallpapered walls with polished concrete floors. There is this groovy little area holding the record decks surrounded with vinyl’s and Elvis’ ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ is playing.

With the staff dress sense depicting that as if they are on stage for a musical theatre production, they are genuinely friendly, incredibly attentive and gracefully swift.

As I enjoy a soy flat white, I observe the hive of activity: one of the girls is casually arranging massive bunches of different flora, fresh from the market, into various large jugs and jars posing as vases then putting them in place.  The boys, all with Grizzly Adams beards, are rocking it around eight or nine coffee grinders all with various blends of beans that have been roasted in house, pumping out lattes and cappuccinos as if their life depends on it.  In a way I guess it does.

Fifteen minutes pass by and so many patrons continue to stand inside and outside reading newspapers, talking and watching the staff execute their performances all the time happily waiting.  People share small tables in a communal style and no one cares that they are sitting so close to total strangers.  I guess after waiting for an hour on a cold winter’s morning why would you? The vibe – it’s warm, friendly, diverse and accepting.  It’s totally controlled mayhem.  I love that everyone on staff knows what their job is with very few spoken words.

I decide to order from the breakfast menu and choose the ‘Avocado’ with heirloom tomato, goat’s cheese, rocket pesto, toasted farmhouse loaf ($14) without the pesto but with two poached eggs ($3 each).  It seems to arrive so quickly I feel like they read my mind as I walked in the door.  It was exactly as I had asked for and the flavors were fresh and fantastic.  Maybe a little too generous with the tomatoes but the eggs were cooked perfectly oozing rich golden yolk over the plate.  I felt it was cooked and presented with love just for me.

Avocado

The breakfast menu has a great range from toast and fruit to ricotta hotcakes and a variety of egg dishes and ingeniously omits the classic eggs benedict.  They also offer fresh juices, have a lunch menu that speaks stylish, fresh and tasty and they display a very tempting cabinet of daily baked goods.  The prices are right on.

To conclude my breakfast experience I have a peppermint tea.  For a place that is clearly so serious about perfecting coffee I’m in for a pleasantly spectacular tea service.  Presented to me is a magnificent clear glass teapot with tea leaves swimming inside. It reminds me of a lamp that a genie pops out of.  This is accompanied with a vintage glass to sip from just slightly bigger than a shot glass which is placed on a sky blue saucer.  It almost looks like I have been given all the equipment for a peace pipe.

Peppermint Tea

As I’m leaving thinking to myself I must come here for lunch next time, the matre de girl in the gold jacket says ‘thanks babe’ and I just smile back at her, so pleased that I have been there to watch the magnificent theatre that is Proud Mary.

Food – 9/10

Service – 9/10
Ambiance – 9/10

172 Oxford Street, Collingwood.

Phone – (03) 94175930

www.proudmarycoffee.com.au

Monday – Friday 7am to 4pm

Weekends – 8am to 4pm
Public Holidays – 7am to 4pm

Jack & Daisy's

It’s not often that I walk in to a cafe for the first time and be greeted like I’m a regular.  I love feeling so welcomed and valued as a customer, confirming I have made the right choice in trying something new.

I experienced this at Jack and Daisy’s cafe in Cumberland Road, Pascoe Vale last weekend. 

The staff at Jack and Daisy’s seemed thrilled when six friends walked through the door. Even though we did not have a booking, and tables were full, we were somehow accommodated in the rear courtyard with a promise of a table inside when one became available. The inside decor was a combination of polished concrete and wooden floors, exposed red brick and plaster walls accompanied by groovy music that created a relaxed atmosphere.

The rear courtyard was delightful with tables and chairs scattered elegantly over the faux green grass, a white cane lounge with generously sized cushions, all of which was overshadowed by an old oak tree losing its autumn leaves.

For those accompanied by the toughest of all food critics, a cubby house full of toys is available for the children to play with.

About ten minutes after we had sat down in the courtyard we were offered a table inside and as attractive as the vibe inside was we chose to stay out in this little garden of treasures with the winter sun beaming down on us.

The menu was small and simple offering only five lunch items.  They cater for the breakfast, brunch, and lunch market.  I got the sense that breakfast may be one of their unspoken specialities.  The price point was fantastic and they have a great menu for the little folk.

Appealing to me initially was the sound of the ‘spicy beef and cheese quesadilla with guacamole and herbed yoghurt’ ($14) or the ‘zucchini and mint fritters with sour cream dressing’ ($13) but for some reason I was humoured by the name of the dish ‘schnitzwala – panko crumbed chicken breast schnitzel, tasty cheese and coleslaw on turkish’ ($10) add bacon ($11) add chips ($11.5).

Schnizwala

The schnizwala was nice but I wondered if I should have got the bacon for some extra flavor and depth. I also felt some avocado would have been a welcomed compliment.  All in all served with chips I think this dish is a great tummy filler and would be quite good as hangover food!

Pancakes

The children ordered ‘pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream’ ($6.5).  I quote “these are the best pancakes ever except for yours mum”.  Nothing else needs to be said about that – they were a major hit.  One thing I didn’t try but liked the look of was their cakes and sweet treats from the front cabinet.  They looked delicious and were smartly served up on a mini wooden board – very cool!

Upon leaving the Jack and Daisy’s team, who were all very personable and stylish in their urban chic, I sparked a conversation with the owner Eugene.   A very friendly young man who opened Jack and Daisy’s 18 months ago.  He informs me that they have already extended next door into the old post office and are putting the finishing touches on for parties and functions.  I would have loved to have quizzed Eugene a little more about how Jack and Daisy’s came about and see if there is any truth in the story I heard that Eugene and a mate own the cafe in partnership and named it after one of each of their grandparents.

There will definitely be another visit to Jack and Daisy’s for me, I loved it – next time for breakfast, coffee, cake and some more of the story from Eugene.  Stay tuned or go visit them and let me know!

Jack and Daisy’s

152B Cumberland Road, Pascoe Vale, Victoria.
(03) 9350 4106

Open – Weekdays 7am – 5pm.  Weekends 8am – 4pm.

Food – 7/10

Service – 9/10
Ambiance – 9.5/10