East Elevation – A Definite Favourite!

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My sister and I headed over to East Elevation for brunch on a Sunday after playing a round of tennis. We got there around 12ish and were told it would be about a 10-15minute wait. We were told we could put our number down and they would give us a call. We wondered around looking at the funky shops around the area – and ended up only having to wait only about 5 minutes!

The moment you step into East Elevation from its large unmarked red doors, you are wowed by the space and lightness of the area, as well as the scent of chocolate. There are still a lot of tables and seating available yet it feels so roomy and not squashed at all. The coffee counter which also houses more of the important things such as the muffins and cakes is situated at the back of the venue, with the centre piece of the venue being the second hand machinery which sits behind a glass wall. If you are seated in this area you can watch as the machine does it work. It also doubles as a workshop to allow you to peer into going ons. There is also a shop area near the counter where you buy a variety of chocolates, which are also made on the premises.

East Elevation is the second venture of Jade Bentley of Monsieur Truffe. Here there still is a focus on the amazing chocolate produced – after all there are not many brands in Australia where the chocolate is made completely on site from the bean. Even if you aren’t a chocolate lover, you simply must try their hot chocolate. There are several varieties available with a special offered daily. Here there is no powder involved – solid pieces of rich chocolate is melted down and mixed with steaming milk for the perfect creation. The percentages range from 69-85% cocoa and they can be identified by country of origin. They come in cute little Japanese style cups – and are a warm, rich, gooey, heaven filled liquid. It really is a must-try!

There are also chocolate appreciation classes that you can sign up for if you want to learn more about the world of chocolate.

The tables are untreated wood and complement the concrete floors and exposed brickwork – to create a relaxed and laid back feel. The exposed brick and concrete floors add the warehouse feel – but the bright colourful yellow sunflowers at the main counter and other plants around together with the sunlight streaming in creates an alluring and welcoming space.

The menu is created by Brian Edwards and covers such a vast variety that there is definitely something for everyone. There are lots of Gluten Free, Vegan and Vegetarian options available as well. Double win! There are your usual dishes like a Veggie Breakfast, The Full Breakfast, Fruit and Sourdough Toast as well as Organic Granola. Dishes with a difference include the Fresh Mango & Coconut Tapioca and Ricotta and Rose Stuffed Crepes – for the sweet dishes – and Black Pudding with egg, Corned beef hash with a fried egg or Heirloom Tomatoes with Grilled Olive Bread – for the savoury dishes just to name a few. At their lunch type of menu there are dishes that include Slat Beef Brisket Toasted Bagel, A savoury Crepe with Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraiche. There is also Smoked Ocean Trout, Chicken, Smoke Sardine Fillets and of course Croque Monsieur. As you can see the menu utilises interesting elements put together to create a dish that sounds delicious – the problem is that you will take quite a while to decide what you want to eat. I absolutely love the variety of choice available and would love to be able to try a little bit of each dish. There is also a Kid’s menu as well as a whole array of extras to choose from.

What is also great to note – especially for the chocolate lovers – is that there is a Monsieur Truffe Chocolate fondue for two people that comes with dark or milk chocolate together with fruit, brioche and a brownie to share – all for just $16.

After looking at the many mouth watering dishes on the menu I settled on the King & Swiss Brown Mushrooms with Baby Spinach, Goats Cheese on Grilled Rye AND the Fresh Mango & Coconut Tapioca with Lime, Strawberries, Pistachio & Passionfruit. What did I tell you about wanting to try a bit of everything =p I ordered a coffee which came with a piece of their signature chocolate on the side. The coffee was delicious – strong, creamy and nutty all at the same time. The coffee comes from Padre and there is also a Cold Drip available.  My sister ordered Freshly squeezed OJ.

My sister ordered the Organic Granola with hazelnuts, Dried Fruit, Honey, Dark Chocolate, Cocoa Nibs, Fresh Nectarine and Natural Yoghurt. I love how this dish was presented. The granola mix was in one large sized bowl, with the nectarine and natural yoghurt in a separate ramekin – and the best part of the presentation – the milk came in a cow shaped pourer (!!) – and all the components sat on a wooden tray/board. Loved it! My sister did enjoy the dish and usually isn’t a fan of yoghurt but really liked the flavouring and the taste of this one.

The King & Swiss Brown Mushrooms with Baby Spinach, Goats Cheese on Grilled Rye – came on a rectangular plate with the rye bread at the base and the mushroom, baby spinach, goat’s cheese all placed on top and around. I added a poached egg which was at the very top of the dish. The poached egg was perfectly cooked and the runny yolk worked well with the flavouring of the mushrooms and the tangy saltiness of the cheese. Overall a really tasty and filling dish!

The Fresh Mango & Coconut Tapioca with Lime, Strawberries, Pistachio & Passionfruit came served in a glass and was a mighty colourful dish. The glass allowed you to view the layers of coconut, mango and then coconut again topped with strawberries, pistachio and peach. The dish was refreshing and delicious – the flavours worked well together as well. The milkiness of the tapioca with the burst of lime and strawberries completed with the crunch of the nuts. My only negative comment would be that the tapioca in some places were a bit “hard” and not as smooth in certain areas. It also came with an extra serving of coconut milk in a little jug on the side if you wanted extra moistness.

I really enjoyed my time at East Elevation – from the food, to the vibe to the friendliness of the staff – it is a fantastic place to just chill out and enjoy the weekends. There is also a cute wheelbarrow out the front where herbs are planted as well as in a planter box at the entrance. East Elevation is on the list of my highly recommended brunch / breakkie places to go – check it out! I will definitely be back to sample some of their other dishes.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Refer to http://eastelevation.com.au/menu/
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Light, Airy, Welcoming and Casual
Standout Dish: Hot Chocolate and King & Swiss Brown Mushrooms with Baby Spinach, Goats Cheese on Grilled Rye
Service: Fantastic and Friendly.
Online Booking: No. They accept bookings Mon-Fri 8am-3pm. Strictly no bookings on weekends.
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://eastelevation.com.au/
351 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Tel No: 9381 5575

Opening Hours:
Breakfast & Lunch
Monday tpFriday: 8am-4pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8.30am-5pm

Dinner 
Thursday & Friday: 7pm -10pm

Space is also available for Event Hire

Stables of Como – Historical Country Style Cafe

The ICKE and IGBY group – who are behind the popular Friends of Mine (Richmond), the great Snow Pony (Balwyn) and one of my favourites Porgie and Mr Jones (Hawthorn) – have opened up a café in the former stables building in the heritage listed and historic Como House – called Stables of Como, located in Toorak.

The Stables of Como café is located at the rear of the main Como House building and is situated in a secluded courtyard area and reminds you of visiting a farmhouse. The aim was a country house style chic with a rustic charm and from the moment you step foot inside you realise this brief has definitely been met. Stables is very popular and usually there is a wait for a table, the atmosphere inside is lively and fun – you can tell people just genuinely enjoy being here.

The theme is white, green and wooden – from the 6 metre long rustic counter which houses sweets, cakes and slices of almost every type and variety – to the tables, lights and coffee machine! Back to the counter of sweetness – there are things such as Raspberry and Pistachio Tea Cakes, Christmas Mince Pies, Honey Joys, Lamingtons, Giant Freckles, Choco Crackles and soooo much more!! They provide not only a colourful but enticing look complete with flowers and greenery, that you are almost tempted to skip eating a proper meal and just ask for one of each. There is also an option of high tea available as well as picnic baskets to take out into the gardens and enjoys. There are even rugs and Frisbees included! How awesome is that!

There is a homely feel attached to the Stables, it looks like a cross between a country kitchen and an olden day tearoom, with modern accents along the way.

The menu is from Jason Flygenring and covers the basics such as Toasted English Muffins, Bircher Muesli, Granola, Toast and Egg anyway you like it. There are also Crumpets available however they aren’t made in house and seem to be store bought. Most of the produce comes from the venues very own garden – there are chickens that lay the eggs that are used in the egg dishes! There are Stables Staples such as Smashed avocado, Toasted banana bread, Three egg omelette and Gardeners Breakfast which their take on the Big Breakfast.

The Lunch menu consists of Toasted Piadini – Honey roasted pumpkin and Prroscuitto, Baguettes – Ham as well as roasted veggies and Sourdough Sandwiches – Poached chicken and rare porterhouse beef are options. There are also smaller dishes such as Bruschetta, Soup, Smoked Salmon and Quiches as well as Main plates which include Lamb Loin, Tuna Nicoise and a CapeGrim fillet minute steak.

As mentioned before there is High tea (Devonshire Tea) available and the cost is $15 per person – and you get the famous Aggie’s lemonade scones, tea or coffee and you get to select one Jill Cross chocolate truffles to finish.

To start off with I order a vanilla bean milkshake and A orders an OJ. The milk shake comes out in a metal cup with extra milk on the side if you want to dilute the milkshake. The syrups are made in house and the milkshake was delicious and you could taste the freshness of the vanilla bean. Just what was needed on this warm morning. A’s OJ came served in a brown glass bottle with a straw and was fresj;u squeezed.

For food I decided to go with the Smashed Avocado with thyme buttered mushrooms, marinated feta and torn basil on wholegrain toast.  The dish came out with the toast acting as the base, with the avocado placed on top, followed by the thyme buttered mushrooms and topped with a poached egg (this was an addition I made) and finished with the feta and basil sprinkled around. The combination of all these ingredients was really good – the flavours were perfectly balanced and the mushrooms were fresh. My only gripe was that the toast was a tad bit hard. The feta was creamy and tangy and worked well with the basil and avocado.

A had the eggs from happy chickens folded with herbs and served on toasted, buttered ciabatta.  I loved who the omelette looked when it came out – the way in which it was cooked it resembled a rose or flower, with the herbs sprinkled on top. A dish that not only looked great but tasted the same.

The staff are generally friendly and knowledgeable, although the first waitress we had seemed kind of lost and had to take our order twice as she didn’t get it the first time.

I do have one gripe though – the very first time I went to eat at Stables was with my family for my sister’s birthday, and we arrived on a Sunday at 9:30am only to find that it was opened at 10am. My sister had to go to work by 1pm, so we would need to have left by 12pm at the latest. We were located at the main entrance which required us to walk thru the gardens to get to to the cafe, and this entrance was opened at 10:10am and by the time we got to putting our names down for a table of 4, the list was quite long, as the side entrance to where the cafe is situated had been opened at 10am. I do understand that there is a list that people put their names down for, and I explained to the girl at the front that we would need to be out by 12pm at the latest and she said she would wait and see the best that they could do. I also explained that we were here at 9:30am and we were at the main entrance which was clearly opened much later than the side entrance, but she really wasn’t listening. There were many tables of 2 going at a rapid pace, but after an hour of waiting and seeing lots of sets of 2’s we had to leave. It was really disappointing and I guess that is why it has taken me so long to actually come back and give this place a try. I get that busy café’s have a process that they follow, but I have seen other café’s be accommodating in circumstances like this, and Stables just wasn’t.

So just to note my rating that I have given is to do with the food, venue and atmosphere of the place, and not really for service.

Overall, Stables is a great addition to the historic Como House Building and I do love that they allowed people to have access to this beautiful site. The Picnic Basket idea is a wonderful idea and I think I will come back to try it out – along with more of the sweets!

Rating : 3.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – There is a Breakfast menu served all day, a Lunch Menu and an Afternoon Tea Menu as well as a High Tea Menu which can be found at http://www.thestablesofcomo.com.au/#!menu/ckiy
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Homely, Cosy and makes you feel at home. Great for a summery day to sit outside.
Standout Dish: Any of the sweets that are located on the 6 metre long rustic counter!
Service: Friendly and Knowledgeable in general, but had a pretty bad experience the first time I went there.
Online Booking: No. There are generally queues on most days. 
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.thestablesofcomo.com.au/#!home/mainPage
Corner Williams Road & Lechlade Avenue, South Yarra
Tel No: 9827 6886

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm