So I figured that it’s been a while since I’ve done a post about exploring Melbourne, and it was high time that I get my butt in to gear and write! As much as I love cooking and baking, I also really love eating, and so writing about this side of my food passion really makes sense. Plus, for all of you who live in Melbourne or who want to travel to Melbourne, I’ve already done the foodie ground work for you! It was a hard task, but something I was willing to take on for you.

The problem with writing these posts is that there is so much to write about. Whenever I get started, I just can’t stop! There are so many delicious places to share with you, I could really keep going all day! But I guess this isn’t the worst problem to have, it just means that I need to be selective about what I write about, rather than bombarding you with food experiences and not filtering out which ones are the actual best!

If you don’t know this about me already, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and always has been, perhaps because I am an early riser. I always seem to leap out of bed in the morning, and so it makes sense that my stomach starts to eat itself shortly afterwards, meaning that I have to get out of the house and get on the hunt for something delicious stat! If I’m going to pay for food, I tend to want to pay for breakfast. I don’t know exactly what it is about it, perhaps it’s that you can go sweet or savoury, light or heavy, there are really endless options (which gives me anxiety as to what I feel like when I want everything on the menu). I love the feeling of going out to breakfast, whether you share it with friends, or just take a book and have some time to yourself. There is something so wholesome about treating yourself to a delicious meal to start your day.

So since I’ve moved to South Yarra in Melbourne, I have been treating myself to breakfast a lot on the weekends, as there are so many places to try, it’s hard to know where to begin! So I’ve had a long hard think about what some of the most memorable places I’ve tried have been, and decided to collate them for you, so you can go exploring yourself if you find yourself in my hood. I have limited it to my Top 5, because otherwise we will be here all day! This was a difficult task, as the breakfasts in my hood truly are top notch!

I do have a great tip for you if you decide to try out one of my Top 5 so far. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but there is a distinct difference between the breakfast habits of the people of Melbourne in comparison to my hometown, Brisbane. The people of Melbourne don’t like to go outside early, especially on the weekends, whereas in Brisbane everyone was out an about at sunrise. People in Melbourne tend to stay in bed as a general rule, and will leave the house at a leisurely Brunch appropriate time. I didn’t really think Brunch was a thing until I moved here, I always thought it was a horrible exercise that no one partook in because it puts two meals into one, which isn’t how I want to live my life. So as a result of this ‘Brunch’ habit, there is a time in the morning that I like to call the magical unicorn time, where all the Melbourians are still in bed, and you can get to any cafe between when they open around 8am, and before 10-10.30 when the crowds show up, and can be guaranteed a table. Seriously, try it. Even the busiest and most popular breakfast place will have a table for you at the magical unicorn time, so it is worth getting out of bed for. Plus, then you’ll be hungry again by lunch time, giving you more room in your stomach to try other delicious food.

So with that in mind, here are my Top 5 Breakfast places in my hood:

Tall Timber

Where you’ll Find it: 60 Commercial Road, Prahran

This is one of my fondest places for breakfast, and coffee, mainly because it is literally down the end of my street. This is a classic example of why I go to breakfast early, because come 10am there will be a line waiting to get in, and even at magical unicorn time you will sometimes have to wait 10 minutes for a table. But it is such a cosy little cafe, with all the chairs stacked on the walls, exposed brick finishes and wooden floors. The sun filters through the front window which is beautiful on a cold winter morning, and the atmosphere is bustling, as this place is always busy.

The breakfast menu here really has something for everyone, and has plenty of options for your gluten, dairy, nut intolerant friends. The only problem I have here is trying to decide on one breakfast item, because everything on the menu sounds absolutely delicious. They put together really interesting flavours, and so although you can get your typical breakfast items, you can also try something new, which I highly recommend. Although it can seem like a lot of strange ingredients when you read the menu item descriptions (pumpkin loaf, burrata, beetroot relish), you get the food, put it all together and get a taste sensation. Everything I’ve had from this place has been absolutely amazing, and so perfectly balanced with delicious flavours. You really can’t go wrong – savoury or sweet, it’s all good!

The other thing I’d say about Tall Timber is that it has great coffee. Now, I’ve had a lot of coffee around my area, it is a staple of my diet. But the coffee at Tall Timber is absolutely amazing, and I would say some of the best in my area. Don’t hate me for that if you have your favourite, I just love the flavour of their beans, and sometimes I’ll go down there just for a coffee if I don’t feel like a full meal.

Bonus item: If you can save some room for a sweet at the end. Their array of cakes and cookies in the cabinet at the front are absolutely amazing and super tasty.

 

Entrecote

Where you’ll find it: 131-133 Domain Road, South Yarra

I decided to go to this place because it was on my Saturday morning run route, and it looked so nice from the outside. Entrecote is a bit of a South Yarra institution renowned for it’s french dinners, so I was surprised that they did breakfast. But it always seemed busy, and so one morning I went for a walk through Fawkner Park and up to try it out.

The vibe of the place is so French, it almost hurts. The restaurant has all of these cute little rooms, and little round tables scattered throughout. I got to sit near the fireplace which was so nice and cosy, and they really looked after me given I was a table of one. It’s worth going just to check out the decor, it has an amazing atmosphere about it and when I think about going out for a meal in the upper end of South Yarra towards Toorak, this is what I would expect to find.

This breakfast really stuck with me, and I’ve told a lot of people about it since, which is why I felt it should make the list. Firstly because of the decor, but then also the menu. The menu items are exactly what you would expect from a french restaurant with delicious sounding egg dishes such as Golden Eggs, and freshly baked croissants. But then there are also some great quirky items that you wouldn’t expect, like ‘The Hangover Burger’ and even Berocca. I love the way the menu reads, it’s actually really cute that they’ve added a bit of playfulness, which you don’t usually see, especially from a French restaurant.

The real stand out for me though was what I ended up ordering. For $19.90, you can get a combo breakfast which was exactly what I felt like that morning. You get a fresh orange juice, a coffee or tea of your choice, a fresh croissant, some baguette, jam and butter, and a poached egg with a bacon and brioche crumb over the top. It was absolutely delicious, and fun to eat. Rather than just having something sweet or savoury, you got to try a bit of everything, and I can tell you now, the croissants are to die for!

Bonus Item: This place is perfect for dog watching. It truly is dog central on this street, so if you love dogs as much as I do, get a table outside and watch the cuteness go by.

Zumbo’s

Where you’ll find it: 14 Claremont Street, South Yarra

I had to put this in because it has been my staple place since moving to Melbourne. Zumbo is a bit dangerous for me, as it is on my walk to work, and it takes all my will power not to step in the doors on a cold winter morning. The problem is that there coffee happens to be some of the cheapest in the area, and so it is tempting to stop in and get one on the way to work. But I know if I walk in those doors, and get a whiff of the fresh pastries, I won’t be able to stop myself from buying something.

The appeal of Zumbo’s cafe is two fold. It is a perfect place for a breakfast on the go, something small, or if you just want a sweet after breakfast to tie you over until lunch (something I’m always up for). You can walk in and get a coffee and a pastry and either sit down to enjoy it, or take it to go. The pastries are some of the best that I’ve ever had, and the only issue is choosing. They are so delicious and fresh, and actually really well priced. My favourites so far have been the pretzel croissant, which is a delicious salty twist on the classic, and any of the Zonuts, which are Zumbos take on the croissant donut craze. There are always different flavours, so you really can keep going back and trying different things. My only tip is that if you choose a Zonut, eat in because you’ll need two hands for that deliciousness.

The second part of what makes this place so great is that recently they have started doing breakfast next door. Now, if you didn’t know, Zumbo owns this whole laneway, which means that the cafe on the Chapel Street side of the laneway is also Zumbo. There are technically two cafes owning the same space: Little Frankies and Fancy Nance. Little Frankies is more casual but is where you can get the glorious donut ice cream cones that are all over Instagram, and Fancy Nance is more fine dining high tea, which is absolutely amazing by the way! So recently this cafe space has started serving breakfast, which everyone is going nuts about. Literally, every morning on the walk to work it has been packed, and so when I went to go on a weekend I thought I would for sure not be able to get a table. But again, magical unicorn time worked in my favour and I was able to secure a seat easily (works every time).

This cafe is so cosy and really feels separated from the world. It is almost below the walkway so you can still see everyone walking past in the laneway but also feel removed from it. And the staff were really lovely, and very attentive. It was the perfect place to read a book with a coffee on a cold winter day.

The breakfast menu has plenty of options for both the savoury and sweet person in your life, which is surprising given Zumbo is known for his desserts. All the menu items are really decently priced too, which is a real bonus. I was immediately drawn to the wide variety of pancakes and crumpets at the bottom of the menu, where I got a little anxious about choosing one. They all sounded absolutely amazing, and I wanted to try them all! You can also add toppings like 100s and 1000s, which I thought was really cute and really wanted to hand over all my money to try. But each menu item was like a work of art, and so delicious. The flavours worked together perfectly and after trying the ricotta pancake I now want to go back and try all the different combinations. I guess I am a sweet tooth at heart, so the savoury never had a chance.

Bonus Item: In between Fancy Nance and the Zumbo cafe is the kitchen, which has a big window in the alleyway. You can actually watch the chefs making all of the amazing creations you are about to eat, which is really awesome. I don’t know how they do it without wanting to eat all the chocolate.

SOS

Where you’ll find it: 5/177 Toorak Road, South Yarra

My sister loved this place so much that she went here twice when she was down last, and I can truly see why. Normally I’m not really in to the whole healthy, all gluten free cafe, it’s just not usually my thing. But at SOS, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, and I think it rivals some of the other cafes in the area that don’t promote this holistic lifestyle approach.

This place was the perfect cafe to go with my sister who is gluten and dairy intolerant, and so often has to be careful where she goes out to breakfast. But at this cafe, there was so much choice she didn’t know where to start. Actually, that’s a lie. She wouldn’t have known where to start if she hadn’t already known what she was going to order off instagram, which was their pancakes. She was so excited that she could actually order Pancakes, that she went back again to try them a second time. I can see why, the tiramisu pancakes are absolutely amazing here, and really worth getting if you are into sweet food. Plus, you don’t have to feel the least bit guilty about having them, because they are gluten free right? That makes them healthy right? I’m sure that’s how it works.

If you are more into savoury food, never fear, this cafe has amazing savoury options that all sound delicious. You will have trouble deciding between all the menu items, but that’s ok, because no matter what you pick, it will be delicious. Every dish looked like a work of art, and was full of perfectly balanced flavours. Plus, any breakfast place that has a menu item with crispy prosciutto is perfect in my books, as prosciutto is gods gift to man (along with haloumi).

Although there isn’t a whole heap of inside seating, you don’t need to worry about sitting outside in winter thanks to their huge heaters spanning their seating area. I love that they have set up on the steps of the centre that they are located it, it almost feels like you are in Italy somewhere with the fountain out the front. Very South Yarra indeed.

Bonus Item: They do an amazing Golden Latte, which I didn’t realise was a thing until my sister came down. Turns out almost every cafe does them and I’ve never noticed, but this one tasted the best out of all the ones my sister was drinking.

Journeyman

Where you’ll find it: 169 Chapel Street, Windsor

This cafe has a fond spot in my heart, because it was breakfast place that we went to after our first night in our apartment. We didn’t have a fridge yet, and so we had to eat out (what a shame). So in the morning we ventured out to explore our new neighbourhood and stumbled upon this bustling cafe. Luckily we managed to get a seat on the bench in the window, as shortly after we sat down there was an influx of hungry people desperate for a table. I’ve since learned that this place is really popular, so is often quite a tough one to have breakfast at if you sleep in! But if you are an early riser like me, or willing to wait, this place is the perfect spot for an amazing breakfast.

The fit out is modern and the cafe has a great bustling vibe. The food comes out quickly, and you are spoilt for choice. I couldn’t decide between all the menu options, they all sounded too good! The portion sizes are also really generous, which I love at a breakfast place. I mean, if you’re going to go out to breakfast, you don’t want to end up with some pitiful serving of food that leaves you feeling hungry in half an hour. There are also plenty of delicious options for those with food intolerances, which seems to be a standard in South Yarra/Prahran/Windsor now I think of it.

Bonus item: They do great iced lattes with a bit of chocolate mixed through them, and they are super delicious!

So there you have it! That’s my wrap up so far. There really are too many places that I’ve been to that I’ve loved, I haven’t even scratched the surface with this list! There are also so many that I have left to try, so I’ll need to update this list I’m sure really soon!

Where’s your favourite place to eat in South Yarra/Prahran/Windsor for breakfast? Let me know what else I need to try!

Until next time, happy eating!

Ella xx