THIRTEEN: PARKERS CAFE.

I was happy here.

Parkers Cafe has a lovely vibe, with lively and friendly staff, a beautiful Spanish-inspired menu and a great Summery feel with it’s huge open front.

On a Sunday, late morning-early afternoon, the place was packed, so service was not fast. Good things are worth waiting for, though.

The food is delicious. The menu, extensive and creative, with quirky titles for each meal (e.g.: “Starvin’ Marvin” and “The Hangover Part 3”).

Being a 10 minute stroll from the beach aids in bringing about a laid-back, casual atmosphere that is comfortable for you to sit around in, while knee deep in conversation or lost in thought.

Parkers is family friendly, without having any of the negative connotations that being “Family Friendly” can sometimes carry.

The coffee is average. Perhaps an off-day, but it was highly bitter and had much too much foam. I would not, however, let this deter anyone from experiencing a lovely afternoon with friends at this charming little suburban gem.

TWELVE: WOODSTOCK ESPRESSO.

On a freezing, rainy Wednesday afternoon, after walking half the length of High street in Armadale, I arrived at Woodstock feeling damp, a little disgruntled and with the sniffles.
What greeted me was an inviting, light and airy, stylish establishment.

The interior is lovely and modern, and the whole front of the store is French folding doors. Whilst sat at a huge communal-style table, I started day dreaming about the breakfasts eaten amongst friends on a lazy warm Sunday morning. I really got the impression that Woodstock is the kind of place that really comes alive during the warmer months. There were only about 3 other people there during my visit, so the atmosphere was a bit lacking. Definitely required a push of the volume button and a few casual drinks to liven up the mood.

The coffee is of sound quality and most people could probably drink a lot of it and not be overwhelmed by anything out of the ordinary in its flavour and aroma.

I would highly recommend Woodstock on a late morning or afternoon when the sun is bright and the breeze is sultry.

ELEVEN: Jasper Coffee

The Jasper Coffee brand is expanding at a nicely steady pace- three stores around Melbourne (Fitzroy, Prahran Market and Chadstone) and their roastery in Collingwood. Locally roasted coffee is all abuzz amongst the industry now. The appreciation of where each bean has come from, the process of smelling, tasting and grading each bean is totally meticulous. Roasterys will generally knock back so much more than what is offered to them, in order to produce only the very best on a commercial scale.

The end result is something that will warm the cockles of your heart and leave you savouring the flavour experience you’ve been lucky enough to find.

The Jasper Coffee stores sell their fresh roasted coffee that has been imported from all over the world. You can purchase beans at 250g for $10-15, which is fairly standard pricing, and well worth going out of your way for. All products are Australian Certified Organic, Fairtrade and Carbon Neutral (as are all their stores).

It’s such an exciting thing to adventure through so many different flavours!
If you’ve ever thought all coffee tastes the same, think again. 

TEN: AUCTION ROOMS.

A friend of mine told me about 15 months ago that Auction Rooms is probably her favourite cafe in all of Melbourne. I always took note of that but never went up until yesterday. Better late than never, though! What a beautiful spot.

Housed in the WB Ellis Auction Rooms on Errol street, this establishment is especially stylish with its exposed brick walls, lovely wooden tables, PVC pipes for lighting fixtures and the entire front of the cafe being one big, beautiful window for you to stare out of and into the heart of North Melbourne.

Auction Rooms is a coffee roastery as well, with a ‘coffee of the day’ on offer available upon request (I didn’t find that out until after I left =[ ). I loved sitting in the middle of the loft-like building, watching their special coffee brewing process (using equipment that looked like science lab beakers and bottles) in amazement with how meticulous the guy was being about it.

“Liquid gold” is how my aforementioned friend had described the coffee from Auction Rooms. I would tend to agree with her, but I wouldn’t just stop at describing the coffee as golden, the staff, ambient music and gorgeous setting are all equally “golden”.

NINE: ABBOTSFORD CONVENT BAKERY.

Single origin, fair trade Ethiopian coffee. Century-old wood fire ovens, still in operation for bread baking. Staff from all over the world, charming us with their broken English. All the while, being overcome by the smell of chocolate, buttery pastry and (of course) amazing coffee. Anyone who has ever been to the convent complex will tell you the place is [appropriately] heavenly.

Whether you’re sat out under the sun enjoying boutique beer or cider out of gigantic pint glasses or inside admiring the beautiful historic interior cradling a perfectly crafted latte you wouldn’t be disappointed to spend an entire day here.

Also highly recommended (not just at the Convent but anywhere you can find one) is Lentil As Anything. Amazing vegetarian!!

www.lentilasanything.com
www.abbotsfordconvent.com.au 

EIGHT: ST. ALI

Hidden down Yarra Place in South Melbourne - the kind of tiny alley you walk past and take no notice of… people! TAKE NOTICE OF THIS ALLEY!
St. Ali is a hidden paradise.
Roasting their own coffee beans, serving beer you may never have heard of and service you’d go to the edge of the Earth to find- this cafe is really sensory overload. As soon as you arrive, the place just screams good coffee.

Sat in a little nook, having deep and meaningful conversations in good company, I had the perfect view of Melbourne’s skyline. Inside, the decor is rustic and vintage and has an intensely welcoming vibe. When I asked the friendly staff what they were serving their reply was their ‘Champion Blend’. Champion is right! The coffee was that of champions.

Since being there I have heard from many a friend that St. Ali is a favourite of theirs and I have no doubt why. As I mentioned before, it is a hidden paradise. Not just for coffee lovers, but food, wine and beer lovers alike.

Such a find.

SEVEN: SWITCH BOARD CAFE.

A little bit under the weather and uninspired today, I wasn’t feeling up to being adventurous. As Melbourne struggled to reach a maximum of 12 degrees, it wasn’t really the weather to be hotfooting around the city either. Anyway, Switch Board is one of the few cafes on the Top 100 that I was aware existed prior to reading about it.

Good ol’ hole in the wall cafe never fails to disappoint.
I like the dingy alley it sits in front of, their novelty spoons and the fact that their ‘til’ is an antique plate, trustingly set on the counter. I like the fact that the coffee tastes (and looks) fancy, but you’re probably going to enjoy it next to a dumpster and a garbage eating rat.

And then you walk out through the amazing Art Deco Manchester Unity building and forget about the rat attack. You’re going to have had a good time, so don’t bitch too much about it.

SIX: JOURNAL CAFE.

Attached to the City Library on Flinders Lane, one would expect this cafe to be overrun with bookworms and smart, trendy types, talking about whatever new foreign film is all the rage at the moment. And it is. But no matter how pretentious that may seem, every time I come here, I always feel relaxed and never in a rush to leave.

I was here for about 45 minutes reading Bossypants today, all the while becoming slightly intoxicated by the combined smell of honey on toast, sticky date pudding, chai and various small goods being toasted on continental rolls. If you’re wondering if that’s as good as it sounds - it’s better.

I love being surrounded by the kind of people I mentioned at the beginning of this entry. I love the smell of food being lovingly made and I love coffee that has a bite to it. I love being surrounded by books and I love this place. It’s as simple as that.

When I left today, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Journal has such a soothing vibe; you just can’t help feeling great while you’re there and after you leave.