The Left-Handed Chef

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of The Left-Handed Chef.

With a name that pays homage to the man behind it all, The Left-Handed Chef is a café that pleases patrons with life’s simple pleasures done well. 

With a relaxed, unpretentious and uncomplicated approach, the food features a variety of brunch options that will suit everyone, coupled with a friendly ambience.

Led by owner and Chef Ehud Malka, the kitchen is in capable hands. Ehud’s passion for food is clear and it is this unwavering passion and love for the small pleasures in life that imbues his creations with an air of fun and joy.

Pulled pork tacos 

The tacos were filled with an addictive medley of crackling, hot apple chutney, coleslaw and slowly roasted pork. The pulled pork was both tender and delicious, with caramel undertones. This brunch dish had it all - crackling, tender meat and vibrant fresh flavours.

Haloumi salad

The haloumi salad was delicious. This seemingly simple dish boasted balanced layers of flavour. The deep fried, salty haloumi was crisp on the exterior and matched beautifully with the rocket, pistachio, roasted pumpkin and asparagus. The balsamic reduction provided sweetness and acid, as did the pomegranate which also added a wonderful textural element. 

Serving good food at affordable prices, the Left-Handed Chef has unsurprisingly become a favourite choice for locals. A lovely and versatile meeting place, the cafe caters for lunching families to passer-by’s looking for a quick bite.

Location: 219 Park Street, South Melbourne

Phone: 03 9645 5800

Link: Facebook

Cuisine: Coffee, Sandwiches, Salad, Brunch

‪#‎from5fridays @ Royal Saxon

To celebrate the start of Melbourne's beautiful autum, Royal Saxon are spicing up your Fridays with ‪#‎from5fridays. And you guessed it... it all starts from 5.

The Saxon have also recently launched a delicious new autumn menu which has kept us coming back more.

If you've never had the Saxon's charming Italian pizzas before, you'll get to experience their magic during ‪#‎from5fridays‬ where the Saxon shout everyone complimentary pizzas from 5-6! So keep a look out for those delicious pizzas when you're there.

And please... please stay back for dessert. If you do, we recommend the Poached pear tart with spiced red wine reduction and cinnamon ice cream. A beautifully decadent dessert, the soft centre of caramelised pears combines with the buttery crumbly pastry, the rich red wine reduction and moreish cinnamon ice cream in perfect harmony - absolutely sublime!

Think good tunes, cocktails & delicious aperitivo - All available from 5 PM every Friday.

What: #‪‎from5fridays 

When: From 5 PM every Friday

Location: 545 Church Street, Richmond

Phone: 03 9429 5277

Link: http://www.royalsaxon.com/

Cuisine: Italian, Pub/Bar Food, Coffee

Read our review of their new autumn menu here.

Next of Kin

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of Next of Kin.

Next of Kin exceeds expectations with superior brunch offerings at more than reasonable prices.

Melbourne has an ever growing brunch culture, making the café industry a particularly competitive and vibrant one. Next of Kin stands out by successfully crafting a convivial atmosphere in which to enjoy a lazy weekend brunch. 

Although the food menu is somewhat limited in size, you will find unique items that a carefully prepared with skill, precision and technique. 

Next of Kin is also particularly notable for the excellence of their coffee.  The profound respect for the humble beverage is palpable.  The Café serves speciality coffee from Proud poured by adept baristas.

Our espressos were, well made with luscious, dense crema sitting atop concentrated coffee.  The espresso blend was very easy to drink – it produced a coffee with light caramel notes and a hint of acidity.  

Their lattes and cappuccinos are similarly well made, with the slight sweetness of the frothed milk cutting through the residual brightness from the foundation espresso.  As expected, each arrived with an intricate rosetta in the milk foam.

Sheep Milk Yoghurt Panna cotta - Summer fruits - caramelised buckini granola - bee pollen

The Sheep Milk Yoghurt Panna cotta was as pleasing to eat as it was to behold. Barely holding its shape, the panna cotta was quivering on the plate. Smooth and well made, the panna cotta went well with the beautiful summer fruits and textural buckini granola. The scattered treasures of bee pollen were a playful and delicious addition. 

Cured ocean trout 

Sweet potato croquettes - avocado - pickled beetroot - fennel & dill

The fillet of trout had been cooked to perfection. It boasted a beautifully crisp and seared exterior and revealed a pink and delicate interior. The pickled beetroot added a desirable acidity which cut through the luxuriousness of the trout while the avocado, fennel and dill introduced a complex infusion of flavours. The sweet potato croquettes had a crunchy exterior and the mashed sweet potato inside was richly seasoned - it was a wonderful inclusion. In all, a truly remarkable dish.

Next of Kin is a delightful little café exuding modern chic charm with its cosy interior. The creativity and execution of the dishes at Next ok Kin are commendable – you will be hard-pressed to find similar quality dishes at comparable prices in Melbourne. 

Location: 546 Glen Huntly Rd  Elsternwick

Phone: 03 9041 8876

Link: http://nextofkincafe.com.au/

Cuisine: Breakfast, Coffee, Modern

Bossy Boots

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of Bossy Boots.

Drawing on the talent of two top Melbourne chefs Bossy Boots delivers generous hospitality and home cooked gourmet food in a contemporary café setting.

Under the guidance of chefs Ben Forehan and Rachael Browne, Bossy Boots are in capable hands. The pair have worked at notable Melbourne kitchens such as Stokehouse, Circa and Dench Bakers and are classically trained having both studied Vienoisserie at E’cole Le Notre, in Paris.

Bossy Boots has a large local following and is known for its relaxed ambience with chic courtyard and large windows  - the result is an inviting bright space. 

The menu is about fresh, honest food, with a mix of brunch and lunch staples and a nod to Italian fare.

Coffee is from Supreme and served expertly from a La Marzocco espresso machine.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers

The stuffed peppers were a brilliant start to our lunch at Bossy Boots. The peppers were bursting with flavour. The dish was uncomplicated but well executed.

Corn fritters with crispy bacon, avocado salsa, sour cream and chives.

The corn fritters had a crunchy golden brown exterior and were succulently sweet making for a great start to the day.

Carrot and macadamia cake

The carrot cake was a sweet end to our visit. The cake was moreish, moist, perfectly balanced and beautifully textured as a result of the luscious macadamia nuts that had been scattered generously throughout the cake and the citrus element in the icing added interest.

Bossy Boots café also offers some delicious take home food options. We took home a delicious chicken pie which we absolutely loved. The pastry was crisp and flaky – a testament to being worked carefully by masters of pastries Ben and Rachael. Rich and hearty with generous morsels of beautifully slow cooked chicken, it was an excellent pie.

Bossy Boots is an iconic café with its own relaxed style, creating a hub that is unique to Brighton and presents a wonderful counterpoint to the inner city, lane way cafes springing up around Melbourne.

Location: 106 Bay Street,  Brighton 

Phone: 03 9596 6825 

Link: http://www.bossyboots.com.au/ 

Cuisine: Breakfast, Salad, Bakery

Autumn @ Royal Saxon

As Melbourne turns golden and the leaves begin to fall, the Royal Saxon in Melbourne’s inner east is serving up a whole new array of deliciously rustic dishes that fuse simple classic flavours with an elegant modern twist. 

The all new Autumn 2015 provides a fresh, enticing experience that make this local haunt a serious dining contender. The Royal Saxon is a Richmond institution that’s best known for its edgy beer garden and excellent nightlife. But this two storey venue on Church Street in the heart of East Richmond also boasts a seriously delicious menu that rivals some of the best restaurants in Melbourne. 

Whether eating in the beautifully intimate restaurant, the upbeat bar or the leafy courtyard, the entire menu is available across the whole venue until late every single day.

The kitchen is in safe hands, being led by Italian-born Head Chef Simone Righetto and his first class kitchen crew. The warm and inviting selection of meals fuse traditional Italian cuisine with the best of fresh and seasonable Australian produce. 

As expected of any great Italian eatery, Royal Saxon is particularly good at producing quality pasta dishes of exceptional quality. The mushroom and ricotta parpadelle special that we had recently was no exception. The parpadelle was exquisitely al dente and when combined with the earthy mushrooms and rich, truffle infused ricotta, this dish was pure nirvana. Seemingly simple but with a great complexity of flavour, this pasta course undoubtedly belongs on the permanent menu. 

Royal Saxon serves some of the best pizzas in Melbourne. The delicately thin crusts have the perfect balance between crispiness and chewiness and the expertly judged toppings are always impeccable. 

Righetto has bought his hearty Italian feel to the new main dishes and constructs them with an air of delicious purity. From the whole snapper fillet that is baked in paper to seal in the succulent aromas, to the premium O’Conner grass fed steak, grilled to perfection and served with a drizzle of balsamic, each dish is prepared to accentuate and preserve their natural flavours – a skill of artistic simplicity which Righetto and his team have truly mastered. 

The menu now features an extensive range of sides and salads from which diners can select and share from. As summer fades and new, fresh options become available, the sides menu is constructed to take full advantage of this by including a vast array of fresh Autumn produce. From cannellini beans and peas to shitake mushrooms and broccolini, with a menu like this there promises to be a little something to suit all tastes.

Our favourite dessert from the new autumn menu, and a definite MUST-HAVE is the Poached pear tart with spiced red wine reduction and cinnamon ice cream. A beautifully decadent dessert, the soft centre of caramelised pears combines with the buttery crumbly pastry, the rich red wine reduction and moreish cinnamon ice cream in perfect harmony - absolutely sublime!

Make the most of Autumn’s cooler months and come sample these new flavours at the Royal Saxon. From something casual in the courtyard to something cosy in the restaurant, Royal Saxon is sure to delight. 

Location: 545 Church Street, Richmond

Phone: 03 9429 5277

Link: http://www.royalsaxon.com/

Cuisine: Italian, Pub/Bar Food, Coffee