Though it's situated in a warehouse-lined street at the North Melbourne end of Carlton, Seven Seeds has had no problem attracting a following. Just a whisper of "micro roaster" might be all it takes in Melbourne, though I understand that these folks have been successfully grinding up the good stuff for a while at various other cafes around Melbourne. Not much of a coffee drinker myself, you'll have to look elsewhere for reviews of their bean scene - I noticed blog posts by Nugmeg, Claire, that Jess Ho, EssJay, Penny and several by Ryan but a google search of seven seeds carlton turns up even more.
No, of course, I'm here for the food. The menu's small but attractive; most attractive to me because almost every dish features Dench's fine, fine baked goods. What's nominally the breakfast menu is an all-vegetarian line-up of pastries, toast, muesli, sweet and savoury, and for 'lunch' there's a choice of five hot pressed sandwiches (one vegetarian). Actually the entire menu's available whenever the kitchen's open so there's no need to get uptight about the time and type of meal you're after.What you see up there is that one vego toastie - Dench's supernaturally awesome grainy bread, buttered and toasted and filled with a judicious smattering of pecorino, dukkah, sage and lemon zest ($9.50). The side salad is a nice touch, lightly dressed and scattered with sesame seeds. If ever a toastie was worth a tenner, it is this one.
Michael ordered the 'savoury breakfast': a plate of fetta, avocado, toasted seeds, walnut oil and more of that crazy grainy bread ($11). It's another plateful of flavours I love, with the seeds and the greens and the lemon keeping everything lively and not over-the-top rich.Speaking of over-the-top rich, I've got my eye on their 'sweet breakfast': French-toasted brioche with pear, ricotta, toasted almonds and maple ($11)... though given Seven Seeds' neat restraint in the dishes we did try, I'm hoping the brioche will prove to be just-the-ticket rich.
Address: 114 Berkeley St, Carlton
Phone: 9347 8664
Unlicensed
Price: light meals $3.50-$11
Website: www.sevenseeds.com.au
great to hear of another lunch place near my workplace - especially if it has dench bread - must remember it when I am back in the office
ReplyDeleteHmmm, yum. I really want Dench bread right now...and a toastie press.
ReplyDeleteDamn.
Cravings.
Coffee.
Also.
Needed.
Sigh.
Gulp.
Yum.
Gurgle.
I am obsessed with Dench bread at the moment (in case you hadn't noticed...) - made my own toastie on it for lunch yesterday! Must admit it wasn't quite as impressive as Seven Seeds' dukkah and zest version.
ReplyDeleteYeah, love seven seeds, i try and get there at least once a week. Cindy, give coffee another shot, order a espresso, scrape the crema off, then drink it!
ReplyDeleteBrad, I'd probably enjoy the flavour - it's the after-effects I'd rather avoid! :-P
ReplyDeleteThe coffee there is amazing. I work just around the corner from them & I'm finding it had not to visit for a coffee every couple of hours.....
ReplyDeleteIt's a temptation, Mikey! It's a bit of a walk for me, but I'm inclined to stop by for a semi-regular lunchtime toastie. :-)
ReplyDeletelooking at thi is making me hungry. still in office! where is my life :(
ReplyDeletemay make a trip to seven seeds this weekend. :)
Oh no, Penny! Dinner time in the office is the worst time to be checking out food blogs. :-P Hope you have plenty of time to relax at Seven Seeds on the weekend.
ReplyDelete