GROCERY BAR (East Melbourne – Tribeca complex)

This sleek looking café/eatery can be seen from Victoria Parade, with its bright red ‘italcaffe’ umbrellas out the front. This cleanly designed space has a steady hum and flow about it, with a mass of apartments just an elevator’s ride away. With outdoor and indoor seating including bar stool seating, table seating and a large amount of general space, this café caters for all ages from bubbas to nannas. You might even catch the owner’s and/or the head chef’s kiddies running around. It has been in operation now for around 12 months and stays true to its landmark ancestral café on Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda also trading as Grocery Bar. The all-important coffee looks good to start with. The milk texturing is good and at a good temperature, the espresso is poured at a good rate and if they have time, the baristas will even perform some type of ‘latte art’, generally with a skewer. After all this, the bean can’t live up to the expectations. The coffee used is roasted in Italy, and then shipped to Australia. It doesn’t matter how the coffee is stored, it’s not going to be the same after this mammoth journey across the seas. Funnily enough it has a lack of flavour and complexity on the palate. I would suggest a double ristretto base (i.e. 30ml from a double dose of coffee) for anyone who actually wants a caffeine hit. Grocery Bar has a no frills menu which is reasonably priced for the area, including such essentials as pides, wraps, build your own breakfasts and a daily changing specials board offering soups, shepherds pies and other not-so-extravagant dishes. This café is definitely worth a try if you’re in the area, but I wouldn’t make it my first coffee of the day. No beans given…