All posts tagged: Brunswick East

Padre | East Brunswick

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We’ve been living in Brunswick for two and a half years, a part of the world where the entry requirements include knowledge of specialty coffee (the border patrol stop everyone at Brunswick Road – we take your coffee credentials real serious around here). We have a number of favourite coffee roasters that we visit on a regular basis, and they all offer incredible brews, obviously. The first coffee roaster we would like to highlight is Padre. Practically a Brunswick coffee institution, originally named The East Brunswick Project, this project soon became the fully formed entity that has spread its wings across a number of Melbourne’s cafes. From East Elevation just down the road to newer places like Heresy in the CBD, their beans are readily available, and thank god too! There’s clearly something in the beans, because everyone who ever visits Padre comes away with a smile. Even the staff are fantastic, and we often visit at 7am on the dot; right when they open. Their shop is hard to miss on Lygon Street, with a strong black …

Le Bakehouse / Brunswick East 

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Le Bakehouse is the newest opening in hipster Brunswick East. It’s in our hood AND there’s coffee and baked goods? We’re in! We loved the contemporary and edgy fit out. The space is bold, modern and very spacious. The branding is on point, a twisted croissant smile, a little French inspiration and bright pinks to catch the eye. There’s an impressive array of sweet delights made in store. They’re pricey, with a chocolate brioche costing over $7, but fresh, delicious and oh so instagrammable. It was a difficult decision but we decided to try the brioche and a donut. When dining with @thedoughnutter (check out Instagram) one always has a donut. Both were utterly delicious. The Creme patisserie and the crispy, light donut were perfect, but it was the rich extravagance of the brioche that really stole the show. I mean there’s even gold leaf. But that chocolate was truly heavenly! Le Bakehouse is a wonderful addition to the East Brunswick scene and sits well amongst local favourites 400 Gradi and Woodstock. Be sure to …

377 on Lygon / Brunswick East

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We always hesitate to order risotto, but couldn’t resist a three cheese with pancetta and split pea. It was absolutely divine, certainly the best we’ve had dining out. It was creamy and rich, the rice was tender but held its shape, neither sloppy or chalky. The flavours were perfection itself, the salty pancetta was perfect with the rich and creamy cheeses and the little bursts of pea.

Pope Joan / Brunswick East

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   When you think of Brunswick and Brunswick East often Sydney Road and Lygon Street are the first dining areas that come to mind. Nicholson Road may be quieter and more residential but it still has some great spots for brunch, like our new favourite Pope Joan.   Pope Joan has a really lovely feel about it. It’s light and airy with beautiful decor that really welcomes you and draws you inside. There’s a feeling of space, a great use of texture and natural tones throughout.   We started our meal with coffees. The first, creamy, rich and delicious with a good consistency and mouthfeel. We promptly ordered a second, equally delicious brew. The constant stream of people ducking in and out for takeaway demonstrating that we were not the only ones who enjoyed their coffee.Our first choice from the menu was a Green Omelette, served with chilli salt and a slice of toast. It was absolutely loaded with broccoli and veggies, a huge serving with creamy eggs. The baked ricotta inside was a delightful surprise, added to the creaminess …

Bar Idda / Brunswick East

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On a sunny, daylight savings evening we visited Bar Idda in Brunswick East. It’s a lovely little spot, a small and pleasant place to share a meal. Inside, the decor is simple and quite homely, right down to the plastic wrapped tables. Somewhere else they might have been tacky, here they invoked  childhood memories of sticky hands and messes made on grandmothers table. The staff at Bar Idda were native Italian speakers, with an efficient and polite approach to service. The menu is divided into a range of sections, antipasti, primi, secondi, contronini and dolce. Between the two of us we went for a selection to share.  To start, something a bit lighter, green olives with pickled veggies. A tang to go with the richness of the thinly sliced salami with just a hint of the good olive oil. Predictably for us we felt compelled to order the Caciocavello All’argenteria, fried caciocavello cheese, served with honey and a red pepper conserve. The light and melted cheese, stringy to the point of ridiculousness and the sweetness of the …

Lady Carolina / Brunswick East

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Behind the green door on Lygon street, you’ll find one of the newest eateries in Brunswick East. It’s a Mexican, tapas style affair, but more fine dining than most. If you’re looking for tex -mex or loaded plates you won’t find it here. This is a truly stunning venue, your eyes are immediately drawn to the pretty lights, the textured teal walls and the contrast tiling on the bar. We didn’t book, just wandered over, but unfortunately half of Brunswick seemed to have done the same, even relatively early on a Sunday night. We were lucky to get a seat at the bar but it was comfortable enough and a great location to people watch.   The best service we had was from the bartender working directly in front of us. He was attentive, and it was great to watch the care taken and he made our drinks. Their signature inca punch, served in a coconut shell was a standout. Besides our attentive bartender we didn’t have much luck with the service at Lady Carolina, being …

El Mirage / Brunswick East

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It’s hard not to be intrigued driving past El Mirage, a popular little spot towards the North end of the Brunswick East, Lygon street retail district. There’s always a few people sitting out the front, but you can never quite see inside. El Mirage sits quite far back from the road and next to another local favourite, East Elevation.    As you walk inside you can simply seat yourself where you choose. The service was rather lacking, with staff not noticing us arrive and taking a very long time to get their attention for a menu. When we finally got to place our order the special listed wasn’t avaiable. This was surprising given it was just after 9am on a Saturday morning and no attempt was made to remove until after we ordered. We found the crowd inside to be more young families out early to enjoy a coffee and breakfast, while the crowd outside was almost exclusively dog owners dining with their fur-family. It made for great viewing, lots of happy animals and people out enjoying …