Replete Providore

302 Barkers Rd, Hawthorn
(03) 9818 4448
Open: Mon-Fri: 7.30am-4pm; Weekends: 8am-5pm

LET me state from the outset, I’ve got a soft spot for Replete Providore.

During my university days I earnt my crust firstly as the cafe’s dishwasher, then at front of house and finally in the kitchen.

Sure, that was when the Hawthorn eatery was owned by Chris and Anna Wilding and known as Wildings but my partiality remains. Wildings became Replete a few years back when Chris and Anna went bush. Now Chris can be found in the kitchen at Woodend’s Holgate Brewhouse in Keatings Hotel and I’m still a paid up member of the Barkers Rd café’s fan club.

Fans of the Age Cheap Eats guide may remember the café got the gong for best breakfast in 2005. That was for the ricotta hotcakes with lemon curd and strawberries ($13). I’m usually a sucker for bacon and eggs in the mornings but this dish is fine enough to convert anyone to being a breakfast sweet tooth. In my world the hotcakes are perfect when washed down with a freshly squeezed blood orange juice ($5).

Other morning standouts are the Bagna cauda eggs ($14.50) which is two poached eggs on Turkish pide topped with a roasted capsicum and olive stew and a cream and anchovy sauce.

The Asian-style fresh corn fritters ($15) come with hand-cut honey soy marinated bacon, a pineapple and avocado salsa, Replete’s chutney and sour cream. The thick slabs of bacon were a bit strong even for this bacon-lover but the corn fritters provided a good balance.

If you want something a bit more traditional, the Replete breakfast ($16.80) is pricey but a solid breakfast-with-the-lot offering. Just make sure you order it on an empty stomach because it includes a Spanish sausage, two eggs, hash cakes, slow-roasted tomatoes, Istras bacon and field mushrooms on toasted Irrewarra breads with Replete relish.

In my world, Replete is the perfect way to start the day.

9/10

- Zoe

Cafe Segovia

Block Place, Melbourne
(03) 9650 2373
Open: Mon-Sat 7am - late, Sunday 9-5.

IN its heyday it was the place to be. Well we thought it was anyway. For uni students with plenty of free time to lunch, Cafe Segovia in Block Place was classy, cultured... and affordable.


Things have changed since the '90s. A suggestion from a friend to meet in the Block Arcade was a welcome opportunity to revisit an old favourite.

The look is the same: mosaic glass shards, mirrored walls and packed booths, with sought after French cafe style tables in the arcade.

Quality Euro fare beckoned. But the extensive menu was plastic and grotty and no specials were offered. Specials based on seasonal produce is a good thing. Then things really started to fall apart. The $20 calamari salad came with a hair atop undercooked calamari. And it was small - the calamari, not the hair. Cake from the dessert cabinet was necessary.

The best looking was a berry cheesecake. A big chunk arrived for $8.50 with faux-tasting vanilla ice-cream. It was slightly stale. More disappointment.

The lunch meeting was absorbing enough to avoid wallowing in food disappointment.
A few coffees later and a startling $80 bill was presented. Luckily work was paying for this one.

The positives: The buzzy vibe in the arcade. The Block Arcade is truly one of Melbourne's best.

Outside tables are prized, so you feel like a winner being there, despite the lacklustre food. Service is young, eager and friendly.

Go for coffee until things improve. With its former formidable reputation, Cafe Segovia deserves another try down the track.

4.5/10

- Kate