HELLO!!
SOOOO 2 Sundays ago ( lol quite long ah i know) I decided to finally dig deep into Melbourne's local brunch places. Started going to places where not all them international students crowd at! And what i found, was a gem.
Let me bring you to Grace.
Cafe : Grace
Location : 76 Rose St, Fitzroy
Price : average $15
Portion : decent portion that fills you up just right
Cuisine : Breakfast/Brunch
It's very easily missed but once you're walking along Rose Street you wouldn't miss this. Walking along Rose Street I couldn't help but feel like I was on a vacation. It was really chill and there weren't many people. Something that I really like honestly. I could remember the tall buildings shading the street from the sun, hipster vehicles and grafitis everywhere. Yes, somewhere I'd wanna hang.
The photo doesn't exactly show but thats the exterior of the cafe. Super humble but super cool. It's a drawing of a face if you can't tell. With seats and benches outside just separating the outside walkway and the interior.
It felt like it would be nice to just sit there with a warm cup of coffee, having just enough sun to kiss the skin, and my best friend as we talk till the sun sets.
Welcome to Grace.
Outdoor seating. This is inside an open container.
array of cakes and sweets by the cashier
Love the decor.
As we went to the outdoor seating I was completely drawn to these little ornaments on the table. I questioned whether were these put as planned or it just happened to blend well. All i knew was it's so pretty.
We proceeded to ordering and here's the review!
Latte ( $4 )
My usual. Cup of latte that warm the soul. Nope it definitely wasn't as heavenly as Dukes. But i remembered it leaning to the acidic side. It wasn't the BESTcup of latte with the BEST art. It was considerably okay I would say. All i know is Kenya beans aren't my kind of thing.
Rating : 3/5
Cold Drip Coffee ($4.5)
Basically an Americano if you're familiar to the Starbucks way of calling it. If not, iced long black would be it.
Super little in calories, gives you a good caffeine punch as the cool drink quench your thirst. Sadly that day i wasn't into this taste so I didn't like it that much.
Rating : 2.5/5
Loose leaf Chai Latte ($4? or $4.50)
I remembered I wasn't much of a chai drinker but found myself lately to have been secretly enjoying the cinnamony sweetness it brings. It was a good cup of chai but it could've been slightly warmer.
It's presentation totally won tho! Who would've ever thought of using a photo frame as a tray?!
Rating : 4/5
Still fascinated by this.
Pear, lime and ginger toddy. ( $5)
This cup completely blew my mind.
No, I had no idea what it would taste like. But for sure when i sipped this cup of tea-like drink, I thought I was by the beach in Bali getting an aromatic massage, hearing the ocean waves rushing, and having the smell of the sea water lingering across my nose, every little breath - bliss.
It was something I'd never expected from a cup.
Rating : 4.5/5
~~~~~
Field Mushrooms with Feta ($14 + $3)
Juicy sweet mushrooms with peppery rocket flavour, match-made on a plate. This plate had sooo many flavours going on. With the rich, slightly pungent feta, sourdough toast and toasted sunflower seeds that added a crunch to the whole dish, so enjoyable. Many flavours but all in the most humble ratio.
If I could describe this dish I would say Red Riding Hood's Brunch. It didn't feel like it was done in the city. It felt like a dish made for the laid back, hill-side friends as they come back with their freshly picked veges, cooking up an easy, classic, fuss-free Saturday brunch, having friends over.
The only downside was the toast. It was hard as a bark.
Rating : 7.5/10
Quark filled crepe w/ Berry Coulis ($14)
You can also choose lemon curd over berry coulis btw. :)
It was my first time having quark and I honestly don't have much thoughts on it. It felt like a lighter version of whipped cream. It gave the moisture yet doesn't make you feel like puking afterwards unlike whipped cream. And I guess it didn't have the artificial whipped cream taste as well. But for it's taste, I would say quark doesn't taste like much.
However this dish was TO.DIE.FOR.
The quark although not sure what by itself tasted like, built up this dish. Crepes were thin, light and had a slight chewy texture that I adore. It reminded me of the pancakes I used to have when I was little. The slightly sweet and sour berry coulis left every bite interesting. The slight saltiness of the crepes, pairing with the sweet coulis = amazing.
Every time when you think it might get too sweet, the slight slight slight sourness blends the whole thing together.
To describe this I would say it felt like the sweetest shades of pink and purple. Warm, fuzzy, girly, love.
It felt like a love story. With every flavour jumbled, it still created a beautiful ending and memory. With every bite, it felt like a fairy-tale.
Rating : 9/10
Baked Eggs + Chorizo ($ 15 + $ 3)
The only thing that came to my mind when I ate this was home. It felt incredibly homely and warm. It felt like a cold fall day where a mother would bake eggs for lunch for her little children as dad reads his newspaper by the fireplace. The smell that fills the entire room. Brick walled, little sunlight shining through, vintage rugs. Yes, it felt like a vintage home.
I would think i felt this way because of the spices they used in it.They used a slight slight touch of cumin. Cumin to me, tastes rustic.
But anywayyyy in real context, this dish has chickpeas adding texture, eggplant for a moisture burst. Really, this dish has every flavour ratio done perfectly as well. It would've been a really amazing dish if the eggs took slightly 2 mins off cooking time. Nevertheless, yums.
Rating 8/10
Overall I would say that my experience at Grace was very pleasant. Laughter, joy and memories filled the place.
Not many people, cozy. It felt like a place having just enough of EVERYTHING. To put to simple words, I LOVED it.
Food : home-style, self-learnt chefs
Ambience : hipster and chill
Value for Money : definitely
Possibilities of Return : it would be a go to when i can't think of anything!
p/s : all photos were taken and edited on my Samsung Galaxy Note II
till then,
dilys
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