Melbourne

Had a little sneaky visit to Melboure in February for a conference and got around to a few places I wanted to share. I know it is now May, but I'm a busy lady alright? Besides everyone has their own favourites when they get down to Melbourne; those hidden gems they proudly dsiscuss when anyone asks where they should go when they visit Melbourne. Here are a few of my choices:

Mamsita: The hip place to be at present in Melbourne. Queues down the stairs, waiting an hour plus for a table, minimal seating but some amazing Mexican food washed down with excellent margaritas. If you get in early you can grab a spot at the window and do some good old people watching. Recommend: the pork loin with almonds and pomegranate.

http://mamasita.com.au/

St Ali: Great little coffee joint on Southbank. I had the pork terrine sandwich. A little cumbersome and dry to eat, but tasty. I spent a good couple of hours reading a book in the corner sipping coffee and just watching the comings and goings of people. Recommend: the coffee!

http://stali.com.au/

Cumulus Inc: A licensed breakfast and lunch joint in the Melbourne CBD that is super sleek all over. The menu is classics done exceedingly well. The full English comes with smoked tomato, blood sausage bacon and fried eggs. Each individual component is perfection; the heirloom tomato is strong enough to cut through all the other rich components. The bloody mary here kicks arse and so do the freshly baked lemon curd filled madelines. Recommend: madelines.

http://cumulusinc.com.au/

Gigi Baba: Turkish styled share plates in one of the best fit-outs I have ever seen. Wall to wall rugs, long filament light bulbs and a large central marble bar make this place cosy and cool. The eggplant dip is green and, while still smoky, has a vibrant flavour you don’t get in most babaganoush. The lamb cutlet was beautifully cooked in another dish we had. There was a chocolate and prune cake for desert. I think it was a special, but if they have it on the menu for the love of god get it! The prunes add a complexity to the chocolate that take this thing to the next level. Recommend: that chocolate-pruney-cakey thingo.

http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/gigibaba_melbourne.htm

Reuben Hills

Reuben Hills is one of those places I assumed was always insanely packed (thanks TimeOut) and thus best avoided. However one morning after yoga and not much sleep the night before I decided I needed to reward myself with a coffee. A really good, really strong coffee. To the Hills!

The unassuming street frontage features a large window with a high bar and stools, with a few wooden boxes scattered out front for good measure. It looks small and cosy, but then you walk in and whoa! This place stretches all the way back to the rear alleyway where there is further outdoor seating. Polished concrete and slightly beat-up (but probably expensive), functional furniture fill the space and a large communal table up the back. The waist height kitchen and sideboard style service areas keep the whole space feeling generous. A mezzanine level holds a variety of coffee bean roasting paraphernalia, and shoves divine smells your way.

I decide coffee just ain't going to cut it this morning I want breakfast too! Thankfully when one needs a breakfast buddy The Socialite will answer the call. We settle in to pick something to eat. The menu here has a Spanish/South American influence to it featuring lots of tomato, spice and pork products. We are tempted by such items as the rice pudding with Pedro Ximenez soaked sultanas and Baleada with pimenton pulled pork and chimol (a radish salsa). In the end The Socialite goes for the Tradesmans Brioche with eggs, jamon, avo and relish. It arrives as a morish breakfast burger with skooshy eggs and the right bun to filling ratio. I go for the soft-baked eggs. The perfectly cooked eggs and ranchero (a tomato salsa which is just out of this world) are baked in a terracotta dish and topped with the jamon and spinach. You smash the lot together and pile it up on your toast and get ready to taste the most refreshing, utterly satisfying breakfast I have had in a long time. I don’t remember much of what happened between that dish arriving at the table and the last mouthful, I was on some kind of astral plane.

There are so many lunch dishes I’ll have to come back here to try. There aren’t many places that could entice me to believe they have ‘really fucking great fried chicken’, but after that breakfast I don’t doubt their claim. Ditto for the ‘that shit cray’ affogato.

The coffee is strong and delicious, the staff are great at what they do, the queues on the weekend can seem daunting, but the turnover is pretty sharp. This place deserves to be as busy as they are.

Update: I went back and tried the ‘really fucking great fried chicken’. It’s pretty up there.

61 Albion St

Surry Hills

Sydney 2010

Monday-Saturday           7am-4pm

Sunday                            8am-4pm

http://reubenhills.com.au/about