Kissaten Alphington

When opening Kissaten, owner Adam Wright sought to create a venue that reflected his partner's Japanese heritage while simultaneously acknowledging his own Australian background. This fusion of food cultures has created this gem of a cafe in Alphington. The space itself is light and airy, with simple furnishings and an ambient Japanese garden out the back for those sunny Melbourne days. Kissaten is dog-friendly, too, so don't be afraid to bring the pooch down for a puppycino. 

The menu here is long, so give yourself plenty of time to peruse before you order. If you're after pastry or a simple muffin, everything here is made in-house and is out-of-this-world tasty. There is, of course, the humble croissant, banana bread and chocolate brownie (all delicious), but it's hard to overlook the more indulgent cake options — think coconut and passionfruit polenta cake, matcha and white chocolate brownies and raspberry and pear teacakes.

When it comes to its breakfast menu, treat yourself to anything from eggs on rice, porridge with cinnamon and coconut yoghurt, panco-crumbed milk toast or avocado and edamame on toast. For something richer, Kissaten offers up golden curries with carrot, peas and potato with your choice of protein, as well as breakfast ramens, bento bowls, karaage chicken burgers and a big breakfast with pork sausage, bacon, roast mushrooms, sautéed kale, roast tomato, croquettes and two eggs.

There's a range of toasties and rolls, too, so literally everyone is covered. The katsu chicken toastie comes with tasty cheese, spinach and pickled onion, while the roast pumpkin toastie is packed full of pumpkin, shredded cabbage, pickled cucumber and red onion. Options abound at Kissaten as the team seamlessly blends Japanese flavours with contemporary Australian cafe culture.