Melbourne's Best New Cafes of 2017
Honouring the best new additions to Melbourne's cafe scene this year.
Melbourne's Best New Cafes of 2017
Honouring the best new additions to Melbourne's cafe scene this year.
There were short-lived rumours that Melbourne's art and hospitality scene had reached peak saturation, but the city quickly put those to bed when its cultural ecosystem grew and flourished once again. It was a year of innovative new restaurants and bars — bigger and taller than ever before — forward-thinking events and bold spaces, pubs and cafes. And they're not all from the big players — independent ventures are flourishing.
The cafe culture is stronger than ever, too, with new cafes not only guaranteeing a stellar cup of Joe, but also innovative lunch snacks and sleek interiors that'll really make you reconsider that desk sandwich.
At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented whippersnappers pushing Melbourne to be a better, braver city. And so, these six new cafes, opened in 2017, were nominated for Best New Cafe in Concrete Playground's Best of 2017 Awards.
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6
Just like chocolate and peanut butter and croissants and coffee, cakes and cocktails seem like a match made in sweet-tooth heaven. Boozy bakery Bad Love Club certainly thinks so. The bakery has a pretty simple concept. During the day the focus is on coffee, bagels and oozy jaffles. When the sun goes down, the sugar levels go up with alcohol-infused desserts and dessert-inspired cocktails. The desserts include a family-recipe pecan pie and a vodka fairy bread cheesecake. The team use local produce with suppliers such as Zeally Bay Sourdough, Cobb Lane Bakery and Saint David Dairy on the roster. They also make the majority of the syrups and spirit infusions. Conveniently located a short walk from Footscray Station, Bad Love Club is a good spot to earmark for those “treat yourself” days — which is almost every day, right?
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5
The team at Everyday Coffee is getting into the pastry game, with the opening of a brand new bakery cafe on High Street in Northcote. Carbs and caffeine? Sounds damn good to us. Just don’t expect anything half-arsed or run-of-the-mill. The menu is packed to the brim with lesser-known baked-goods, including medovnik (Czech honey cakes), ensaïmada (Spanish spiral pastries) and khachapuri (a savoury cheesy bread from the Republic of Georgia). This is in addition to a number of tarts and tartines, and sourdough, rye and heritage grain breads. The pastries are paired with Everday’s menu of espresso and batch brewed coffees. Located directly opposite Northcote Town Hall, All Are Welcome is housed in what was once a Christian Science Reading room.
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4
Coffee is often the entry point to a café experience and Jethro is (thankfully) a rainbow latte-free zone. It’s back to excellent basics here with the Shady Lane house blend and rotating single origin options provided by Wide Open Road. There’s also a batch brew, cold drip, a range of specialty teas, and Prana Chai. Also on the menu is the option of camel’s milk in your latte. There might be a super green salad, a purple kale tossed with pearl barley and roasted pumpkin and cauliflower on hummus toast, but you can also wrap your chops around dishes like the Louisiana plate with its bacon steak, chilli prawns, guacamole, poached eggs and corn remoulade on toast, and the waffles with burnt cream, roasted pear and the Honey Joy crumble and cereal milk panna cotta. Whether you’re feeling experimental or just want some damn fine food, Jethro Canteen will bring it.
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3
On a sunny Chapel Street corner, Abacus has managed to nail that all-day eatery vibe that often proves so elusive; its lofty, leafy space is bright and charming by the light of day, and manages to be cosy enough to make the dinnertime crowd feel right at home. What’s on offer is a farm-to-fork experience that’s steeped in seasonality, locality and isn’t afraid to test out a little technique. The kitchen mills its own flour and even keeps its own bees. By day, that all translates to a menu of bright and innovative brunch fare that pushes the envelope way beyond the usual smashed avo and corn fritters, into a place of olive dust-topped scrambled eggs and croquettes teamed with smoked almond butter. There’s Padre coffee and breakfast cocktails. Nab some real estate by the sliding floor-to-ceiling windows, and you’ve got a front-row seat to some of the best people-watching South Yarra has to offer.
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2
Napier Quarter is a pleasant sanctuary for those not quite in the mood for the loud crowds that fill many of Johnston Street’s eateries. It’s a morning-to-night operation — waking up as an espresso bar and morphing into a wine bar as the day proceeds. The menu is ever-changing, but breakfast usually involves an eggs-on-toast dish, maybe paired with anchovies or some form of cheese. Just know the menu is quite succinct, so come prepared to go along with the limited options and push your culinary boundaries. A chalkboard hosting the wine list hovers over diners, which is made up of wines strictly deriving from Italy, Spain, France and Australia. Allpress Coffee is available too, made with a La Marzocco. And just to top things off, the space is stunning.
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1
Au79 is the symbol (and atomic number) for gold on the periodic table, and it’s the name of Abbotsford’s new cafe. When you name your cafe after such a covetable metal, you’re making quite the statement — and the team behind this ambitious eatery have certainly gone for gold in every aspect of its production. Au79 is bigger than Ben Hur. You walk in the door and it just goes back and back, and then it goes back some more. Previously an auto mechanic’s garage, the 200-seat space now feels more like a large-scale conservatory or botanical garden fern house — it’s loft and bright and filled with greenery. Neighbourhood cafes — and, more pertinently, good neighbourhood cafes — require an essential gold ingredient to survive, and that is damn good hospitality. From a true welcome as you walk in, through to the setting, the produce and the food, Au79 has that substance in spades.
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