Truman Cafe, Albert Park

My Melbourne office has just moved from South Melbourne to Albert Park and I quickly made it my business to discover the local food & coffee delights. I reckon I hit the jackpot on day 1. Truman Cafe seems to have only opened a few months ago, but in true Melbourne fashion, already has a loyal local following.

The first reason for that must be the coffee - perfect every time, smooth, strong and delivered in cute retro style.

The second reason is the atmosphere - a little bit retro, a little bit warehouse, a little bit bayside and with funky, chilled music all day long.

The third reason doesn't have a photo - it's the staff. Every single person I met over 3 days was super-friendly, helpful, efficient but laid-back at the same time and just all-round charming.

The menu doesn't have any outstanding choices for vegans, but it's not too bad for this part of the bay. On the first morning I ordered the sauteed mushrooms on toast. I think they came with feta, so I asked the waitress if that could be left out. She immediately asked if I was vegan, which I loved - it gives me confidence when 'vegan' isn't a foreign word. It turned out that the mushrooms were pre-cooked in butter, but as it wasn't busy the chef was happy to make up some fresh without the butter for me - what outstanding service!

The second meal I at was the now standard cafe fare of avocado & tomato on sourdough. A simple dish, but the freshest ingredients plus loads of avocado made it something special.

And then, once I spotted the pepper grinder I kept finding reasons to add more... and more. Just look how cute it is!

My final meal didn't get a photo - it was just a quick serve of toast on my way to the airport. I can't wait to get back to Melbourne now - Truman is the kind of place that becomes your home away from home. Vegans, don't go there expecting a feast, but I still recommend it based on the coffee, service & overall vibe.

Truman Cafe
381 Montague St, Albert Park
Mon-Fri 7am-5pm; Sat-Sun 8am-5pm

Wee Jeanie, Yarraville

I know I've been AWOL for quite some time. I won't go into details, suffice to say life has been chaotic and difficult.

However, this is worth coming out of hiding for. The long awaited new addition to the Yarraville cafe scene has finally opened - and it's called Wee Jeanie - how cute!

Rumours about Wee Jeanie began a long time ago. The building work went on for months. Then they took the covering away from the windows so we could all peek in & get excited about what was forming behind the glass - here's a photo from that time. Then, one cold day, I walked past & realised it was finally open. I went in straight away to sample the coffee. I was expecting good things - after all, it's the same people that are behind Corner Shop, and the same lovely Coffee Supreme.


I wasn't disappointed - my soy latte was perfect - strong but not bitter, smooth, creamy, hot but not scalding, delivered with a smile.


The space is lovely - small but cosy, natural materials, clean and simple. The music choice has been great every time I've been in and the staff are always friendly.


There's also a lovely courtyard with a beautiful glass-topped table.

After a few more coffees, I finally got around to visiting for lunch a week or so later. There isn't an extensive menu - the idea behind this cafe is to pop in for a takeaway or a quick bite. There are a range of sweet things & salads in the cabinet, plus a short menu - the food is simple, but good. Vegetarians will have no trouble eating here, and vegans aren't left out either. I have noticed a couple of different vegan salads - a lentil one plus the one I sampled below. I'm not sure if there will be a vegan salad option on offer every day, but you can always go with the avocado on toast option if pressed.

So, the food. This is a Chickpea, Roast Zucchini & Sumac salad, with a side of Rosemary Bread (complimentary). It was truly awesome. Perfectly spiced, with nutty chickpeas, soft zucchini, rocket and spring onions. So simple, yet so so delicious. The bread was AMAZING too - fresh & crusty & perfectly flavoured with rosemary & salt.

Wee Jeanie
50 Anderson St, Yarraville
Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30am-4.30pm

Freestyle Espresso

I discovered a new cafe on Saturday. It was about 2.30 & I was heading from the Altona job to the South Melbourne job & needed to squeeze in a late lunch somewhere. The office is very close to the market but I've already sampled most of the cafes in the immediate area & was feeling like something a bit different. Then I remembered that my boss had told me about a new cafe that had just opened up in a laneway street opposite us. That cafe is Freestyle Espresso & it is brand new - only open 1 month.I knew as soon as I walked in that I was onto a winner. The cafe is light & airy yet funky at the same time. There was great music playing, a mouth-watering display of sandwiches & cakes on display & an all-round good vibe. I approached the counter & was greeted by a super-friendly waiter. Then for the scariest part for any vegan trying a new cafe for the first time - the menu. It isn't extensive & there isn't a whole lot of vegan options on there, but my eye was drawn to the Crushed Avocado & Roast Cherry Tomato on Toast with Lemon Zest. It happened to be just what I felt like so I didn't even ask about the possibility of veganising the other dishes. The staff are really friendly though & I'm sure they would be happy to adjust.I sat down & looked around - I noticed in the corner some shelves with sauces/chutneys/jams etc for sale. I didn't have much time to soak up the atmosphere because my soy latte appeared quickly & it was perfect - creamy & smooth - it disappeared in no time. My meal came out before I'd finished my coffee & looked so cute with the tomatoes still on their stem!I know this is a pretty standard dish in most cafes these days but Freestyle have made a couple of changes to make their version something special. Hidden in all that fresh avocado is tiny pieces of spanish onion, lemon zest & fresh parsley - just enough to add little bursts of flavour that perfectly complemented each other. The tomatoes were perfectly cooked & were super-fresh - very sweet & very delicious.

Freestyle reminds me of the laneway cafes in the CBD - with a bit more space. I really wish it could be kept a secret so that I can keep enjoying it, but know that it will be over-run in no time, which is also good I guess - it's nice to see people trying so hard succeed.

Freestyle Espresso
6 Union St, South Melbourne
7 days, 8am-4pm
www.freestyle-espresso.com.au

Coffee Trial Day 4 - Exprezzo

This was the last cafe I tried for my trial & it probably has the worst name. It looks pretty new (& I couldn't find any information about them online so I think they must be). They have done a nice job on the decorating - the inside is very inviting with warm colours, chandelier lighting & colourful prints on the walls. They also play real music which is a huge plus.It's the smallest of the cafes I visited but there is still plenty of space inside plus a few sunny seats outside. On a side-note - as much as I love the feeling of discovering a new 'hole-in-the-wall' cafe in Melbourne's laneways, sometimes I prefer to know that I'll be able to get a seat. None of the truly great cafes in the CBD stay secret for very long which means that unless you can get there at dawn to stake out your place, you'll be moving on to find somewhere bigger. So I have really enjoyed trialling all these cafes where I know I'll always be able to find a quiet corner to hide away.
The coffee? Unfortunately not good. It's very hot, but also very bitter. A soy latte in a mug is $3.80 ($3.50 normal size).Same old story with the menu - a few choices for vegetarians but nothing for vegans. I'm sure they would be happy to whip up some toast or a sandwich if you asked - the staff are very friendly. The few times I have been to Exprezzo they have been very quiet - even when I went at lunch time. The location probably isn't ideal - opposite the station, but possibly a little too far from the main shopping strip to attract passing pedestrian traffic. I hope they survive because they are doing so much right.
Exprezzo
92 Railway St South, Altona

Coffee Trial Day 3 - Melissa Cakes

This cafe is the closest to my new place of work, so I have been there quite a few times now, even though I prefer the coffee elsewhere. Melissa Cakes definitely has the least atmosphere of all the cafes I visited. It's a big space - with heaps of indoor & outdoor seating. There isn't much in the way of decorating & they have the radio blaring all day (not sure which station - something commercial with a poorer music selection than Triple M).The staff are pretty friendly, but service can be pretty hit & miss. On the mornings I have been there they tend to have long chats with the locals (and each other), rather than worry about the queue of people - which can get quite long. I've been there around mid-afternoon a couple of times & it was much faster - different staff, I guess.
My regular order is a soy latte in a mug which is $3.80 - this is a photo of a normal size which was $3.50. The coffee is average - very hot & very strong but not too bitter. It's better than Artichoke, but not as good as Creme. It suffers from the too-much-froth syndrome like all the others.
The menu is deli-style - OK for vegetarians but vegan options would be the ol' toast with sides for breakfast or a salad sandwich for lunch. I got excited when I saw some gluten & dairy free cakes for sale - unfortunately they still have eggs in them though - so not vegan :-(

Melissa Cakes
34 Pier St, Altona
7 days, 6am-11.30pm

Coffee Trial Day 2 - Artichoke Deli

I went to write up the rest of my reviews on Wednesday morning only to discover I had somehow deleted all the notes I had made on my phone - so frustrating! So I've had to go back & start again... but that's what I'm like, always happy to suffer for the cause :-)

The name of this cafe is really appealing (who doesn't love artichokes?) & the logo - which you can just about make out in this photo - is pretty too - it's a very versatile vegetable! It's also repeated on the wallpaper inside - so I'm thinking they probably got the wallpaper first & adapted the logo from there.The interior is inviting - really bright with lots of seating options. One downfall is the music (or lack of). The Artichoke Deli, like many other cafes in Altona, chooses to play the (commercial) radio rather than music, which kind of destroys the atmosphere. Yesterday morning it was Triple M & it was loud. I don't know about you but I just can't deal with Eddie McGuire at 8am.

It's a pretty big cafe, but it gets busy, so you might find it difficult to find a seat at times - particularly on Tuesday, which is market day. There's just the one table outside & it's a nice sunny spot, so I think it will get nabbed pretty quickly as the weather continues to warm up.The service is friendly & efficient but the menu is similar to the others - OK for vegetarians but not much for vegans. As the name implies it's a deli-style cafe so you can get the normal things like quiche & pasties & sandwiches. Breakfast would definitely be limited to toast with sides & for lunch the best option would be a salad sandwich.

The coffee isn't great - I've had a couple of passable ones, but yesterday it was so strong & bitter I almost couldn't finish it. My soy latte in a mug was $3.80 - the one in the photo is a normal-sized soy latte I had last week which was $3.50 I think.Artichoke Deli
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-4pm
71 Pier St, Altona

Coffee Trial Day 1 - Creme Lounge

OK, it's time to stop putting off these reviews. I recently started a new job in Altona. Before I even took the job I scoped out the local coffee options because it's VERY important to me to have somewhere nice for my morning coffee :-)

But I needed a more structured approach (I am a librarian after all - research & structure are my lifeblood). So, over the last couple of weeks I have been working my through the cafes of Altona trying to find the best coffee. I'll say this straight up - Altona is not the most vegan friendly town. I haven't had a meal in any of these cafes, though I have checked the menus in each & come to the conclusion that the only way to eat in any of them would be to stick with the basic sides (boring!) or make significant alterations to the dishes - something I hate doing.

Day 1 was Creme Lounge. (Apologies in advance for the photos in all these reviews - it's the curse of the phone camera again)This is definitely the 'trendiest' of all the cafes I visited. It has a nice atmosphere inside (quite dark), with lots of timber furniture & soft music playing. It's huge so no worries about not getting a table & there's also plenty of outdoor seating. At the back of the cafe is a bakery - Holy Bread - which I haven't tried, but would no doubt be a good place to get a baguette or sourdough loaf. The breakfast & lunch menus are both long with quite a few vegetarian options, but nothing vegan (you could always do the toast with sides for breakfast or chips with a salad for lunch).

Creme has had a number of bad reviews, but I haven't experienced anything like what has been described (though my experience is quite limited considering I haven't eaten there). The staff are friendly enough & service is quick. The outdoor seating also provides a nice a sunny spot in the morning.Now - the important part - the coffee. My soy latte in a mug was $4.30 (the most expensive of the cafes I tried). It was creamy, slightly bitter & warm but not hot, so you can't sit on it for a long time unless you enjoy cold coffee. What you can't tell from the photo is the amount of froth on top - at last 2cm worth - which was a common problem everywhere I went. I'm starting to think I should order a cappuccino instead - at least I'll get some cocoa to enjoy with my froth :-)

Creme Lounge
60 Pier St, Altona
7 days, 7am-10pm