John Montagu

Address: 144 Cathedral St, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
Trading Hours: Monday to Friday 7am — 4pm; Weekends 8am — 4pm
Website: www.facebook.com/johnmontagusandwiches

(The real website will be up soon!)
Email: hello@johnmontagu.com.au

I haven't lived in Sydney for awhile, however was invited by a friend for a get-together at his new cafe. It was all so mysterious I didn't even get the name of the cafe, just a street address and assurance good coffee and street parking was available (these are 2 very important things for me!).

Honestly had no idea who or what a 'John Montagu' was and in preparation for this blog post had to google to see if the cafe had put anything up to make my life easier. Fortunately, for us modern folk Wikipedia quickly comes to the rescue as the top google hit to explain that "John Montagu was the 4th Earl of Sandwich..."

I was d-ungry (dangerously/deliriously hungry) and was told that the beef cheeks would slow me down, so that was my choice: 

Pictured above: Beef Cheeks (closed) sandwich: 12 hour beef cheeks, cheddar, sauerkraut, spanish onion, house glaze on white bread. 

Most of the meals/sandwiches at this cafe are served open style I am told however the beef cheeks is served closed. I recommend to eat it with cutlery as the sauce and buttered bread makes it slightly difficult to pick up, and eat it quick before the juices soak through. That being said, it is both a delicate and substantial meal - there is some evil saucery happening in that kitchen! Upon quizzing, the chef is actually trained in French cuisine - and this is definitely apparent in the depth and texture of his sauces. My hats off, also to the chef who is slicing beef cheek to be placed in a sandwich - this is no mean feat to try to make look palatable! 

Pictured below: Maffra Cheese & Sage Toastie with ham - The sage gives it a fresh, yet slightly salty hit - a moorish yet satisfying taste in the mouth. 

Also of note is the 'daily pastries'. I had the banana bread (not pictured) - it is baked with no butter and simply devine. It is not the size of your head, food-coma inducing, nor too sweet, which suits me just fine after a beef cheek sandwich!

There is a selection of drinks available - I do appreciate the iced teas with non-pedestrian flavours and less sugar. I'll be back for the Elderflower and Mint Soda next time :) 

If I sat there any longer, I literally could have tried the whole menu. The portion sizes are just right and prices reasonable. While the skeptics may think this is just a plug for someone I know - let me just say you probably wouldn't want me at your restaurant because I am an extremely discerning customer and it takes a lot to actually impress me. 

 
John Montagu has only been open for 4 weeks at the point of this post, however I can see it quickly catching on and with the limited seating, recommend you try it for yourself before it becomes the next queue-into-the-next-suburb brunch destination.

Peppermill Brasserie

Address: Shop 2, Centennial Plaza, Sharp St, Cooma NSW 2630
Tel: (02) 6452 7222

I don't have any photos of this cafe, but I kept their business card because I do recall the superb service I received, the well-executed coffee and meals.

I was randomly driving to/through Jindabyne which is near the NSW Skifields and stopped here for a break from the monotonous driving.

If you are in the vicinity, stop by Peppermill for a good coffee & cafe-style lunch. It sure beats the obligatory Maccas drivethrough or dodgy servo coffee which comes out of a drip tray.

Ricaro's Cafe

Address: Jamison Plaza, Macquarie, ACT

Tel: (02) 6251 2666

Opening Hours: 7 days, for Breakfast - Afternoon Tea, close 5:30pm. 

Website: www.ricardoscafe.com

This place is definitely a little gem in Canberra's suburbs. Located inside a busy shopping plaza, I totally had no idea it existed - for 3 years! It is just bustling with atmosphere and all the staff were super patient & nice. That dessert cabinet is a bit Willy-Wonka-meets-the-Mad-Hatter! Absolutely love it - very Adriano Zumbo, or maybe better! I was there for salty treats (i.e. lunch) so didn't get to sample the desserts but honestly I'd had a very hard time choosing between the thing that looked like a bomb and that pineapple-looking meringue thing.

Below: Wagyu Sliders with Truffle Fries. Saw this on the menu and I knew I was a sucker. The fries are drizzled in truffle oil and shaved parmesan is added to give it more aroma & bite.  Also pictured is the 'Tony Montana' Foccacia with Turkey, Swiss Cheese, Lettuce, Avocado & Cranberry sauce - it works!

Brasserie Bread Co.

Address: 1737 Botany Road, Banksmeadow NSW 2019

Highly rated: Banana Pancakes, Olive cob loaf (from takeaway bakery). To be honest I've never been a pancake fan - but I was assured I'd like this rendition. And boy was I proved wrong! The pancakes at Brasserie are light, fluffy (might I suspect they are fried to obtain the slightly crispy, airy texture) and taste fantastic with the maple syrup, shaved coconut & banana pieces.

 Pictured below: Croque Monsieur - appears to be their signature dish because they kept featuring how to make it in instruction pamphlets across the cafe.

I also purchased some sweet pastries as a gift, namely the blood orange chocolate eclair which intrigued me. The cream was a bittersweet blood orange filling to the eclair which was classically topped with a chocolate stripe.

A handy (and dare I say trendy) breakfast place that does not disappoint.

Tanja's Cafe Restaurant

Address: 372-374 Main Rd, Wellington Point QLD 4160
Tel: (07) 3207 3120

Website: www.tanjas.com.au

I can't remember what I had here which was notable but I think it was a pastry/pie of sorts where I ate everything on the plate. This is your standard strip shopping mall cafe but does a nice breakfast or light lunch well and if it's anywhere near where you live or a friend lives in Brisbane then you should give it a go!

Coyote Cafe

Address: 220 Northbourne Ave, Braddon ACT 2612
Tel: (02) 6257 7777
Trading Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am - 4pm

This is a random best-kept secret located within a business building in the middle of Northbourne Ave, the main arterial road in Canberra. Since they only trade during the weekdays I would recommend it as a suitable stopover if you are driving through Canberra and want inexpensive, casual modern Australian cafe food.

I can't go past the French Fries with ranch dipping sauce - they use this special cajun seasoning (which seems to contain both sugar & cinnamon, but strangely works) which is to die for...

The Bourke Armoury Bar/Cafe/Restaurant

Address: 655 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9614 2622

Does a really lovely Soy Mocha with a coco-nutty flavour... yum!

Cafe Portofino (Brisbane)

Address: 650 Brunswick St, New Farm QLD 4005
Tel: (07) 3358 4002'
Email: fabio@morganti.com.au

A best-kept secret in the trendy part of Brisbane - authentic Italian sweet delights and with a strong coffee if you are so inclined.

The overall vibe is quite boutique, flavours are not overly sweet (more a bitter, dark chocolate is used) so definitely caters to the more traditional European tastebud.

Balha's Pastry (Lebanese Sweets)

Address: 761-763 Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC 3056
Tel: (03) 9383 3944
Website: www.balhaspastry.com.au

How do I describe Balha's? Find the bling-est marble stone building on Sydney Rd equipped with fancy columns and set on 2 levels, and you have arrived at your destination.

My favourite Baklava place - a long way drive to from NSW, but the serving sizes and balance of flavour is just perfect. The composition of sweet, nutty flavour encased in a sticky & flaky pastry is just superb. A must-do each time I drive through Melbourne and brilliant gift to share with those you love with a sweet tooth!

Campbell Restaurant (formerly known as Cafe de Campbell)

Address: 1st Floor, 102-108 Hay St, Haymarket (Chinatown) NSW
Tel: (02) 9281 0743

I was delighted when I found out Cafe de Campbell reopened after a 5+ year hiatus (well to be fair their building did get knocked down) - finally I can revisit my high school days when I was cool and hung out at budget HK cafes like this! (Excuse my extremely sense of humour).

Most dishes you will find here are under or ~$10 which is a great price point if you work in the Sydney CBD or passing through wanting a satisfying & tasty meal.

A loving memory I will never forget is eating the Club Sandwich here - it has formed the benchmark of Club Sandwiches for me and when the cafe initially closed down it left a hole in my heart no other club sandwich or BLT could replace.

Below: Club Sandwich - 3 slices of toasted white bread, mayo, lettuce, soft cheese, chicken fillet, sliced ham, and egg - carefully held together with toothpicks. The crunch of the lettuce, acidity of the mayonnaise and saltiness from the ham makes it a light, subtle and most delightful meal.


Above: Your experience would not be complete without trying the French Toast with peanut butter. Forget clumsy bits of ciabatta/sourdough dipped in egg and fried in oil that tastes like BO (yes, that was my last experience of RaNdOM cafe French Toast, never again!) - this is the real deal. Flash fried in a light batter, peanut butter and fluffy white bread ready to melt into a heavenly composition.

With over 120 items on the menu including an exotic mix of hot/cold drinks, you could challenge yourself to try all the items! I recommend the coffee & tea mix drink (you can have it either hot or cold) or just a HK style milk tea (basically a white tea, but much sweeter and stronger). I also love the Baked Pork Chop rice...

Please give them lots of business so they don't go on hiatus again and French Toast with Peanut Butter can continue to be enjoyed by all!

Shenkin Cafe (Israeli Cuisine)

Address: 53 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville NSW
Tel: (02) 9550 551

I really love it when you randomly find a great coffee & breakfast place - I stumbled across Shenkin purely by accident whilst being too impatient to wait for the normal breakfast place I go to in Erskineville.

Shenkin boasts a 'unique fusion of Australian and Israeli cuisine' - so you will find great coffee (that come with smiles from the people who serve you, for a change), breakfast staples like bacon & eggs and some traditional Israeli dishes which I found utterly delectable!

Below: I actually can't remember the name of this dish, but from memory it was a puff pastry type of bread covered in fresh parsley with a creamy mushroom sauce - wow so savoury and tasty. Simple, yet unconventional.



Above: The usual 'fry-up' with bacon & eggs, sausages, grilled tomato, spinach, mushrooms and toast.

No complaints from me at all - great price points, great food and even more unexpectedly great service.

Crumpet (Perth)

Address: 8/885 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park WA 6101
Tel: (08) 9355 0901

Ok brace yourselves - I am a self-confessed crumpet hater. I hate the flavourless, cardboard-like texture that doesn't seem to absorb the 0.5kg of honey you just poured on it. Oh whoops - then you discover they get soggy - like a failed pikelet.

That is - until I tried the homemade crumpets @ Crumpet here in Perth.

I stumbled upon this little treasure from one of my friends directing me to another food blogger called The Food Pornographer's website for Perth food ideas. Kudos to you - you have good taste!!!

Below: are the most scrumptious crumpets you will ever taste... on the top 5 list of things I'd like to eat before death row. Simple homemade crumpets served with butter & honey - they were fluffy, melt-in-your mouth yet slightly crispy around the edges to give that extra savoury texture.

That was just the entree - for mains: Beef & Bacon burger with caramelised onion, cheddar and house pickles, served with chips & aioli.


Above: It was about 30+ degrees and I just craved something lighter & more refreshing so opted for the Vietnamese noodle salad with poached chicken, chilli, peanuts & herbs tossed through sesame ginger dressing. This was a really lovely recreation of a classic Vietnamese dish - I loved the crunch of those carrots and the coriander & mint herbiness!

Give me an unlimited ticket around Australia and Crumpet is my Perth institution!

Cafe Bellissimo (Coffs Harbour)

Address: Shop 2, 28 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Tel: (02) 6650 9937

I don't know what it is about regional townships but the people are always in a better mood than city folk. Maybe its the weather. Maybe its the lack of population density and less people to annoy. Not sure but I received ridiculously good service here.

Pictured above: Jamaican ginger beer - a blend of pineapple & ginger pieces to give a foamy, fluffy, zingy, coconut-y flavour. To have thought I nearly foregoed the opportunity to try this refreshing beverage! It was a breath of fresh air on a clammy day... (luckily the chatty waiter encouraged me to try it).

I also tried the Chicken Schnitzel which was a winner - served with a mayo which almost resembled a hollandaise sauce - a very Germanic-style serving suggestion (and fitting to accompany the word 'schnitzel').

If you are driving through Coffs Habour and consider yourself a ginger beer obsessive like me, give Cafe Bellissimo a go!

Ilios (Greek Cafe)

Address: 144 Bridge Rd, Richmond VIC
Tel: (03) 9428 6144


Come on Bridge St... it is a shopping haven but the food options are next to nothing! I finally stumbled across this cafe, as it looked like a place I could hear my conversation and not get food poisoning.

Below: Chicken Souvlaki - chef did suprisingly well considering it was breast meat on a skewer - cooked through without being tough, succulent but lacked flavour in the basting. I also wasn't too impressed with their self-imposed deviation from the menu - it plainly read 'served with mash' and I got chips instead. All in all, palatable but they should stick to their guns and not try to westernise the traditional souvlaki recipe.

Via Volare

Address: 326 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Tel: (03) 9416 3530


Pictured above: Soy Mocha - a full bodied, bitter coffee flavour, milk is almost undetected in the texture (smooth like a long black) - a signature of good coffee.

Below: Volare big breakfast - scrambled eggs with a choice of 3 extras (perfect for customisation fanatics) so I chose mushrooms, spinach & hashbrowns. The scrambled eggs were fresh, tasty and cooked to perfection - not runny, and not tough. The highlight for me was the bread - Viennese, perfectly swirled, textured and fragrant.

Chimmys Cafe/Bakery/Restaurant

Address: 342-344 Bridge Rd, Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9427 1391
Website: www.chimmys.com.au

You can tell by the array of pastry/bakery awards plastered on the walls of Chimmy's that this establishment means business. Staff are always friendly and there is a vital buzzing energy about the place.

Bard’s Tempest Tea – similar to English Breakfast, with a slight reminder of Russian Caravan. Unique and fragrant but not too ethnic/overpowering with milk.

Breakfast (pictured below) – Field mushrooms, thyme, truffle oil, crumbled fetta & avocado on toast : a really good flavour, thyme maskes the potential conflicting flavours of fetta & mushroom


Note: Upon 2^nd visit I was bitterly disappointed with the mushroom breakfast – the mushrooms were served individually and not marinated well enough leaving a dirty, bitter aftertaste, fetta cheese was left in cubes giving the whole dish a slimy texture.

Big fry up (below):


Old School Omelette – Ham, cheddar cheese, tomato, spinach & relish on toast


Seasonal Fruit Salad – one does not often feel motivated to have fruit for breakfast, nor does it usually constitute a meal - but the presentation and mix of flavours you see below makes it suddenly very enticing.


Crumbed prawns with spinach, avocado, chilli & lime aoli - pictured below:


Almond Croissant – warm, floaty layers of puff pastry sprinkled with icing sugar and slivered almonds - bliss!

Huff Bagelry

Address: 112 Koornang Rd, Carnegie VIC 3163
Tel: (03) 9568 3866
Website: www.huffbagelry.com


Cauliflower frittata, cheese, tomato, rockets, mayo on a poppy seed bagel delightfully toasted to a crisp – there is something orgasmic about a crispy, dense bagel filled with ingredients that work and flavours that melt in your mouth!

They also render a more-than-acceptable coffee and some homemade treats for the sweet tooth.

A highly desirable Sunday brunch destination!

Cafe Andiamo

Address: 36-38 Degraves St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9650 8060


Pictured below: Arancini – rice ball with mozerella cheese & ham battered in chicken schnitzel breadcrumbs & fried. Dressed in a tangy napolitana sauce; almost pasta like. Rice/ham/cheese filling was not too rich, but certainly very filling.


Pictured above: Chicken Parmagiana – crispy, yet light enough to leave you wanting more, best parma I’ve had!

Coffee lovers and the like: you cannot leave Cafe Andiamo without trying the Kahuna coffee – a pure foodgasm in coffee form: perfect compliment of bitter & sweetness, strong but balanced mix of walnut & coconut. Sounds seductive doesn't it?

Bird Cow Fish

Address: 500 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9380 4090
Web: www.birdcowfish.com.au

I really love this cafe/restaurant but I do highly recommend booking for a table in advance (although who books for breakfast) to avoid having the catty waiters turn their nose up at the door.

Pictured below is the 'Poached eggs with grilled Bangalow ham, Montpellier butter & Sonoma
sourdough toast'.

Bacon – free range, not as salty, lean, not too dry, stringier in texture – a lot to do with cooking style, suspect it might have been baked.

Bread – buttery, oily, with a pesto/drier herb spread and cheesy flavour , perfect density for that brunch meal!

Croque Monsieur (Baked ham & cheese sandwich) – ham, lightly smoked flavour with the addition of mustard which is a nice twist.

Food takes a little while to come out, however the chefs' use choice ingredients and you can be sure the food is cooked with love.

Garage Cafe

Address: 221 Berkeley St, Carlton VIC 3053
Tel: (03) 9349 5000
Fax: (03) 9349 1553
Website: www.garagecafe.com.au

Trading Hours:
Mon- Fri 12pm to 10pm
Sat 5pm-10pm
Sunday Closed

Walking or driving by this quiet street you would never have guessed hidden inside this old warehouse is a cafe/restaurant where car enthusiasts hang out.

It has a really warm, welcoming feel to it - the staff are courteous and the owner a cheery, happy fella.

They serve Robert Timms coffee - which I have honestly not seen since about 1997 nor knew they served in a non-instant form. It probably explains why I am up at this hour typing this blog now.

On to the food - their speciality is "true taste of Indonesian Cuisine". I believe them because the dishes are simple, pungent & prepared quite quickly like a homestyle meal.

I had the Garage cafe "Full Penyet" (pictured below): "Steamed rice served with fried chicken, meatballs, soybean, tofu & boiled egg with cabbage, tomato & cucumber served on a cold stone".



Above: On closer inspection - as you can see most of it is battered & deep fried. Chicken is great, meatballs a bit sinew-y, I ate something with curry in it which was nice - but the secret is the sambal sauce - do not be afraid to dip your fry-up in there! It is quite spicy (will cause nose to dribble), and good complimented with a squeeze of a thicker oyster sauce-consistency Indonesian version of Soy Sauce (provided as condiment). Mix the Indo soy & Sambal chilli & viola!

Below: Pecel Komplit - "steamed rice served with fried chicken, soybean, tofu, steamed vegetables, cucumber topped with spicy peanut sauce & prawn crackers". Another mixed plate variation, but this probably doesn't require any additional condiments because the sauce served with it is ample flavour.


I really enjoyed the relaxed vibe of this place, always longed to mix engines with food so this might be it! Thursday nights are the day to be seen, but there is always something happening, whereby some car club will make it their weekly/monthly/annual meet spot.