103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne Victoria
Since Mr Price wasn’t opened, we walked around the corner to Auction Room.
Did some earlier research of my own on this place and immediately recognised the worn blue building.
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It was very busy as we stepped in but the rather warm and chirpy door person in charge of table reservation (let's call him Mr Chirpy) put us quicky at easy assuring that we'll be seated soon, in about 20 min time or so!
It was cold and drizzly outside so we hung around the small waiting area patiently for our table. It was a good thing as we were able to observe and basically enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings. It’s a combination the energy, the crowd
(should probably qualify that when I went it was full but not bursting mad so service was acceptable), the friendly staff, the vibe mixed with the modest yet rustic and modern surroundings that makes this an awesome place to hang out. Oh, the food and coffee is not bad too. We were informed by Mr Chirpy that it usually gets much busier than this and the waiting line into this place could crawl out around the building! So be warned.
The tiny waiting area is located just next to the kitchen so we got a pretty good view of everything!
Got down busy to studying the menu and asked for ideas on what maybe good, not to mention openly eaves dropping on what others thought sounded good too. But P looked at me and said
"Why read when you can see what you want!" Stunned for a micro second, hey that was pure solid advice and so we passed our remaining time commenting and drooling over what potentially looked and smelt good from the kitchen.
Must be being in a foreign place that makes me a little bolder
thick skinned cos the next thing I did was started food porning! *much to the shocking amusement of my friend – what can I say, I tend to forget myself when I’m around food???* Haha….the rest of you food
porners appreciators no need to thank me, just enjoy the pictures ~
think I was pushing my limit as I was all ready be screamed at by the head kitchen chef for snapping pictures because as surely as a dish hit the serving counter, out comes my camera!! *
click, click* Hahahaha – thinking about it now, I must have seemed rather silly but oh what a blast I had! :)
chai poached pear, quince, apple & rhubarb with hazelnut praline and vanilla labna.
coconut-stuffed French toast with tamarind caramel, vanilla crème fraiche, coriander and lime.
daily soup special served with toasted sour dough bread.
banana bread with espresso butter & maple syrup.
poached free range eggs on sour dough toast with vegetarian baked beans and spinach.
honey-toasted macadamia muesli with poached pear & cinnamon yogurt.
shady deal – Moroccan tomato & chorizo stew with olives, poached eggs, Meredith goat’s feta & dukkah served with grilled flat bread.
coriander falafel and poached eggs on grilled flat bread with cumin and mint yogurt, tabbouleh, dukkah & tahini dressing.
Being up close to the food snapping away, knew I just had to order this dish as the sauteed wild mushroom just smelt fantastic!!
poached free range eggs on sour dough toast.
poached free range eggs with toasted sour dough bread, bashed avocado and vegetarian baked beans.Being giddy silly from the food porn I almost gave Mr Chirpy a hug when he finally announced that our table was ready!
As usual the coffees came first. Actually I'd much rather it come together served with the food but guess it kills the waiting time.
P had the
knuckle sandwich – braised pork knuckle with piccalilli, rocket & montgomery’s cheddar in a warm ciabatta roll with a pickled chilli.It sounded and looked interesting but......tasted so-so.
counter bid – sautéed wild mushrooms & baby spinach on rosemary and parmesan polenta, served with mascarpone & salsa verde.This was what I order and it was every bit as G-O-O-D as it smelt! The smokey fragrance of the sautéed wild mushrooms paired well with the parmesan polenta soaking up the juices. Y.U.M!! Though next time will skip the eggs as it was all just a tad too much for me.
Just to wanted to make mention that I really like the working dynamics of the staff who were really relaxed, warm and friendly
~ though I'm not sure whether this will last in the face of extreme crowd pressure & stress when the cafe is bursting full with a super mad long queue waiting to get in. At my visit, even though the cafe was pretty busy, they were fabulous and didn’t lose their friendly composure. This is a BIG plus for me. You know what I mean right, there are places where the atmosphere and food is really good but the service and attitude just sucks, ruining the entire dinning experience.
I’ll definitely be back – so please stay good and don’t change
for the worse OK!
Their own coffee grinder.
cute matching food picks.
assorted bread cutters.
