Overview
From the team behind A Minor Place, Wide Open Road on Brunswick's Barkly Street offers much more than the unassuming shop front suggests. With the subtle signage and brick finish, the place comes to life as soon as you enter the door.
Wide Open Road certainly has space on its side. With a large bar area, white-painted brick walls, big communal tables and spacious thoroughfares, you won't feel like your neighbour is staring down at your breakfast. Designed by Nicky Adams, it keeps the minimalist vibe inside.
On top of the cafe space, Wide Open Road has its own roastery, cupping room and green bean storage. While it focuses on creating beautiful roasts for its own cafe, it also sells retail to the general public and a handful of wholesale customers. It uses its Bathysphere blend as the everyday pour with single origin, drip, filter and iced varieties on offer. Coffee is a serious business, and it does it incredibly well.
When it comes to the food menu, the venue puts its own stamp on popular brunch fare. Sugar seekers should go for the croissant french toast with cinnamon butter, stewed rhubarb, vanilla mascarpone, pecan crumble and cardamom maple, or perhaps the house banana bread.
For something on the heartier side, go for the portobello mushrooms with garlic and herb butter, pine nuts, parmigiano reggiano and chargrilled sourdough, or the fried haloumi toastie with beetroot relish, avocado and pickled sumac onions.
With coffee, breakfast and lunch sorted, Wide Open Road is a caffeinated oasis in suburban Brunswick.
Appears in:
Where to Find the Best Coffee in Melbourne
