Mr Tulk

328 Swanston St, Melbourne
Ph: 8660 5700
Open: Mon-Thurs, 7am-5pm; Fri, 7am-9pm; Sat, 9am-4pm

Shhhh. I’ve found a great place for a city lunch but I’m not sure if I can tell you about it. I mean, of course I can tell you about it but I just need to do it quietly. Because the joint in question - Mr Tulk - is in the ever-so-studious State Library of Victoria.

Admittedly, there are no librarians running around the place telling patrons to “shhhh” but it was kind of a nice thought as I sat at the communal table in what used to be the one of the library’s locker rooms but is now a bustling café.

Named after the bloke who was the library’s first chief librarian way back in the mid 1870s, Mr Tulk is clearly the hippest thing the State Library, and any other library for that matter, is likely to have seen.

On a recent Wednesday lunchtime, it was packed. But luckily the space was bigger than I was expecting it to be so between the take-away counter, the inside café and the outside tables there was plenty of room for all.

And not only was there plenty of room, there was plenty of value and variety in the menu. Baguettes with various fillings were $8, toasted flatbreads were between $8-$9 and other dishes – such as the smoked salmon bruschetta with capers, onions and crème fraiche – were priced between $5 to $16.

As well as the regular offerings, Mr Tulk also has an extensive specials menu. And I’ve got to say, as good as the standard options are, the specials are definitely worth a second look. For me, it was the special of farfalle pasta with red wine porcini and rosemary braised lamb ($15).

The pasta was a decent-sized serve and came with a slice of crusty bread and had a hefty, earthy flavour with plenty of tender lamb. I loved it but I was also impressed with some of the other specials, especially the rabbit, prune and pancetta terrine with grilled bread and pear and date chutney ($13.50) and the steamed mussels with moghrabieh (a Middle Eastern cous-cous), white wine, tomato, garlic, basil and chilli with grilled sourdough ($14.50). (I've since been back for both and the two dishes met my expectations.)

Although we were there for lunch my buddy opted for the baked eggs with chorizo and spinach ($13) and it looked amazing and it made me instantly decide to go back for breakfast sometime soon. Other brecky dishes included the scrambled parmesan and basil eggs with sweet tomatoes on sourdough ($13) and the omelette with prosciutto, tomato and rocket ($13).

Thankfully, my uni days are long gone so my use of the State Library is minimal. My use of Mr Tulk however…now that’s another story.

8.5/10

- zoe

Porgie & Mr Jones

291 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn
Ph: 9882 2955
Open: every day, 8am-4.30pm-ish

STOP press: the search for Melbourne’s best café is over.

At least in my world the search is over and, in an extreme stroke of luck, the café in question is within a hop, step and jump of my pad.

Porgie and Mr Jones is discretely tucked away in Hawthorn’s Auburn Rd shopping strip and has captured perfectly that illusive café vibe where everything is stripped back to basics yet still manages to ooze style. Many have tried to achieve this but I’m yet to dine in one that’s hit the mark as much as P&MJ.

Exposed brick, road signs hanging on the wall and terracotta pot plants mounted on steel holders start it off, a shelf of cookbooks behind the counter add to it and a cane basket of Noisette bread for sale near the door finishes the look off nicely.

It’s the kind of joint I’d love to be at the helm of but until my dreams turn to reality I’ll have to be content with being a regular customer.

And regular I certainly am. I visited three times last week and with each visit I fell more in love with the menu. P&MJ is open for lunch but I’m yet to tear myself away from the breakfast offerings.

I think my favourite so far is the signature dish of smashed avocado with thyme-buttered mushrooms and house-marinated fetta on toasted wholegrain bread ($13.90 or $15.90 with a poached egg on top, below). There’s plenty of avocado on the plate and the creaminess of the fetta almost rivals Meredith goat’s fetta, which is no mean feat.

The full breakfast with eggs, bacon, pork and fennel chipolatas, slow-roasted tomatoes and thyme-buttered mushrooms ($16.90, below) is a winner and while I’m yet to try it my sticky-beaking skills tell me the bircher muesli with cinnamon poached pears and cleo’s honeyed yoghurt ($9.90) is another gem.

But perhaps the most spectacular dish is the toasted banana bread with rosewater poached fruits, maple syrup mascarpone and crushed pistachios ($11.90). It is divine to look at, delicious to devour and, dare I say it, but it could well be Melbourne’s best brecky dish.

P&MJ even caters for the hung over with a glass of Berocca for $3 and the environmentally-aware and diet-conscious are looked after with organic, free-range eggs and – where possible – local ingredients.

I could rave about P&MJ forever. Instead (as much as it pains me to share this neighbourhood secret) I’m going to leave this review here and recommend as strongly as possible to check it out for yourself. It only opened in November and something tells me it’s well on the way to legendary status.

(Just in case you’re wondering the funky name comes from two of the three café’s owners: Georgina (Georgie) Smith and Jason Jones.)

10/10

- zoe

Birdman Eating

238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: (03) 9416 4747
Opening Hours: Tues-Sat 8am-10.30pm; Sun and Mon 8am-6pm

DID you know men drop into the barber for a hair cut without an appointment? Simple as that. No waiting three months to get in with Pierre of South Yarra. Blokes walk in and plop down in a chair for a quick lop.

This profound observation was made when sitting at Birdman Eating in Fitzroy's Gertrude St. The funky tapas bar with the unusual name sits next to Dr Follicles - an old school barber shop that offers a free Coopers stubby to its male customers as the barbers clip and crop.

Truck drivers, students, business men and pensioners all popped in for a trim while yours truly wiled away the time enjoying the tasty tapas morsels, quality coffee and friendly service at the unusually named Birdman Eating.

On the former Organic Gertrude site, Birdman Eating is another gem in Gertrude St's very cool crown. And apparently it boasts some of the most expensive cafe chairs in Melbourne. (Two-tone polypropylene Catifa 46s from Stylecraft according to another report.) So comfortable you can sit and observe the blokes in the barber shop for hours.

A simple dish of calamari, rocket, kipfler potato and chorizo salad was delish, as was a grilled haloumi. But the baked eggs ($12) enjoyed on a subsequent visit as part of the stellar all day brekky menu are the stars. Presented in a hot cast iron pan, the eggs come in all sorts of flavours changing daily including smoked trout and fennel, chorizo and mushrooms and fontina cheese.

Old school brekkies include homemade crumpets with leatherwood honey, hot cinnamon donuts with chocolate sauce, and grilled kippers with fried potato and horseradish butter.

Bacon doesn't feature and interestingly when asked, the waitress said a no bacon policy applied unless it was sourced free range.

Definitely recommended for a funky group lunch as sharing tapas is fun. And it's fairly easy on the hip pocket with prices starting at $6 to $26 for shared plates.

8.5/10

Carousel Café

22 Aughtie Dve
Albert Park Lake
(03) 8646 6008
Open: 8am – 4pm daily

THE Carousel café is a top spot to perv at celebrity weddings going on next door in the posh Carousel restaurant. I know because I did it recently.

Aussie swimmer Grant Hackett was getting hitched to pop starlet Candice Alley amid a media circus at Carousel. As a member of that circus I got comfortable in the adjoining café to watch the fun and what a good move that was.

While the celebrity couple chose to hide behind curtains to avoid prying cameras, the glorious view of the lake and city skyline was mine to enjoy from the café’s timber balcony.

Subsequent visits have shown the revamped Carousel delivers more than B-grade celeb nuptials and doses of cheeky charm from the café’s spunky waiters make the experience super fun for those of us not members of the celebrity world.

The modern, chic setting is completed with splashes of colour from divine French (Basque) linen cushions. In my mind, attention to detail is what makes this place tick. A bit of research reveals John Van Haandel, responsible for Stokehouse, Circa and Comme, is behind the operation, along with catering company Food&Desire.

In charge of food is executive chef Owen O’Neil and sous chef Frenchman Yvan Meunier, formerly of the Boathouse in Sydney.

The menu is seriously good with standouts like home-made spicy lamb sausage rolls w/ quince chutney & leafy salad ($12) and the carousel mezze plate which changes daily, featuring the chef’s selection of tapas-style morsels w/ grilled olive ciabatta ($16). Daily specials and a quality but wine list top it off.

We went back for all day breakfast last week and were not disappointed with the new winter menu. The Carousel brekky – toasted pide with scrambled eggs, tomato pesto, sautéed mushrooms & crispy bacon ($14) – garnered praise from a hungry brother-in-law.

I was excited by the Bircher muesli ($5). With a perfect creamy texture, this Bircher is not overpowering or glutinous. I can’t put my finger on why it’s so good, but it’s ranking high on my list of Melbourne’s best.

Poached eggs on toasted muffins, smoked salmon, baby spinach, tarragon aioli, and slow roasted tomatoes ($15.0) and the croque monsieur toasted high tin sourdough with smoked leg ham, gruyere and Dijon mustard ($10.5) got the thumbs up from other dining companions.

Prams are welcome as are dogs, trendy types, families and fitness fanatics who have earned themselves a feast after a run around the lake. So be warned, Sunday brunch can get manic.

This place is a winner. Get to the lake. Now.

8/10

- Kate