Now it’s safe to say that we’ve been to our fair share of cafes in Melbourne, some good, some average, and now The Guilty Moose Cafe… How there wasn’t a line out the door of people waiting to be seated is beyond me. Located in the quiet corner of Albert Park, the team behind this cafe have gotten every element perfect.
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
Walking in, I expected the space to be quite small, which it did look like from the front coffee bar area. All the tables were full, so thought we were going to have to wait. The waiter mentioned there was more seating behind the stunning exposed brick wall, which led to a second dining space with both a large communal table and smaller intimate tables.
The brick follows through both spaces, with exposed light fixtures, a beautiful old fireplace and simple cafe style chairs.
A cosy outdoor courtyard, which was about the same size as the indoor space, was full of potted plants, large dark timber tables and covered with both brick and faux grass. The space is also enclosed and fully heated, which made for a wonderful morning breakfast in the sun.
The service was friendly and inviting from the moment we walk through the front door. Our waitress was attentive and made sure we were well looked after.
FOOD
The mastermind behind the food is Head Chef Jason Chong (ex-Attica) and his amazing team who create not only delicious dishes, but also visually appealing. Both front of house and the kitchen source as many local ingredients as possible including milk from Fitzroy’s Saint David Dairy and coffee from Brunswick roaster Padre Coffee. Chef Jason has brought his fine-dining experience to this cafe style setting, but doesn’t take any shortcuts in creating a sensational dish.
I wanted something different from my usual smashed avo or muesli, and knew this would be the perfect place to find something wonderful. I was drawn to the ‘Parliament-Figadelic’ with fresh figs, truffled honey labne, oat crumble Walnut flatbread & gorgonzola. It is definitely not something I would normally order for breakfast, but wanted to try something different from this amazing chef. The presentation of the dish was just stunning. Everything was well put together, fresh ingredients and all worked so well with each other. When brought to the table, it looked quite small, but surprisingly I couldn’t finish it.
MC made his own breakfast, with two poached eggs, bacon, smashed avocado and a delicious potato rosti. Again, for something so simple, they did such a good job to make it look presentable.
I was so pleased with our morning here. The food was exceptional, the service friendly and the atmosphere was cosy and inviting. There are few cafe’s that I go back to regularly, however I think this one may need to get added to the list.
