Tucked in Melbourne’s Thoroughbred heartland, Provota promises quality in spades with its amazing range of foods from around the world. I sensed that something special might be brewing when it came to the coffee. I had my pallet somewhat pleased out with a lovely, nutty Allpress blend. The barista here looks like he is on the ball, and also supports the amazing retail business here. Sit at the mega table, and do your thing with ease.
Heading out to Maling Road from Richmond in the hopes of finding a really sweet quality cafe and coffee to review after much recommendation. I’m going to have to say almost immediately that it wasn’t worth the Saturday traffic. Bambalero’s is in prime location on Maling Road in Canterbury with all ambition of almost being a specialty coffee venue, it really shouldn’t have disappointed. On initial contact with my barista and ordering two piccolo latte’s, I did have to tell her what they were before she set to work. I had anticipated that from the roaster in the centre of the cafe that they would have made a piccolo before today but alas, now they know. My palate was not impressed, so I moved on to an espresso to see if I could salvage some love for my taste buds. I found it fairly bland and acidic, perhaps the efforts of a poor extraction and not so much a poor roast. It seems that Bambaleros has the right formula for roasting and in the area it is, this could be quite popular but without passionate experienced barista’s to really follow through I don’t see any reason to travel from and outer suburb to find it. Pitched as a boutique coffee roasting house perhaps, with a variety of 8 Arabica blends roasted on site ready for sale, but I’m afraid as a cafe it really generated a little disappointment in me for what it ‘could have been.’
This is a lovely little place nestled in the heart of Tiger Land, and the world of my youth to be honest. It’s under new management and it looks like the new owner is serious about his coffee offer. There is an outside court space for the sunny days or the smokers among you. You can expect good service, a friendly smile and a dedication to a quality cup of coffee.
If you live around Richmond, you should check this place out and say hi to Julian the owner!
Call me over the top but my three pet gripes in quality coffee is 1. the fine dining restaurants, 2. The hotels and 3. the Business & Industrial parks. Well, looks like number three is a changing. We get about 15-20 new cafes recommended to us a week in MCR and when i saw this one, I was keen to get out here myself to review. I had some feedback from my spies that I was in for a treat. I knew we were looking good when I entered and between a bevy of coffee orders the madam barista looked up and smiled at the new face in town. This is a good thing, I know they care. Next, I spied Dukes Coffee on the shelves, goal 2, I know Peter and the guys at Dukes and they are mad about their product! I ordered my Long Macc from an equally pleasant lady at the register, and they soon delivered my first injection for the day. It was noticeably Dukes with that smooth deep vibrant blend. A worthy place to get your fix ladies and gents.
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