Porgie and Mr Jones

September 24, 2011

Cindy and I usually keep our breakfasting out pretty close to home. Being car-less and hungry means that a long journey for brekkie is likely to end in grumpiness and impatience rather than relaxation and contentment. This explains the three years it has taken us to make our way out to Hawthorn to try out one of Melbourne's most raved about cafes: Porgie and Mr Jones. Thankfully, the buzz has died down a bit over that period (in part due to the ongoing expansion of the P&MJ empire), meaning that we didn't have to wait for a table, a fact that made me and my caffeine addiction very happy indeed.

Porigie and Mr Jones expands TARDIS-like from a stylish front area into two big back rooms decked out in a more homely fashion, and a courtyard beyond the kitchen.

The white tablecloths give things a fancier feel than I think they're going for, but the staff are relaxed and friendly and the general vibe is pleasant. Coffee orders were taken immediately and I was caffeinated quite soon after we sat down. Breakfast is a decent mix of eggy savouries and a variety of sweeter options - I was in the mood for baked beans of some description but they were a surprising menu omission. Still, there was plenty to choose from. Following our typical approach to breakfast, I leant towards savoury while Cindy couldn't go past the sweets.

My dish was something of a Jones-family staple turning up on the menu at all three of his establishments: Mr Jones' golden 'folded' scrambles with fresh herbs and holy goats cheese on wholegrain toast ($12.90), with added avocado ($3.50).

These are very lightly scrambled eggs, falling pretty close to omelette territory. Either way they were delicious, dotted with creamy chunks of goats cheese and a scattering of fresh basil leaves. The avo was smashed to guacamole texture, but was at least ripe and fresh and the bread reaffirmed my desire to visit Noisette one day. Not too shabby at all.

Cindy went healthier: Fruits of the season with rosewater, Cleo's yoghurt, honey and oat crumble ($11.90).

The fruit and yoghurt were excellent - it's nice to see a fruit salad that offers up a good variety, but Cindy didn't get the rosewater hit she was hoping for (a shame given her obsession with it) and the crumble was very fine and not particularly oaty. It was all satisfactory but I think she left with a vague sense of disappointment. This was somewhat alleviated when I grabbed an excellent brownie to takeaway with us as a treat for the journey home. It didn't survive long enough to be photographed I'm afraid.

The menu and the vibe of P & MJ are very similar to their sister-venue Friends of Mine and, unsurprisingly, our feelings about this brekkie were about the same as our thoughts on Friends of Mine - both have decent coffee, good food and friendly service, but neither wowed us enough to get us back on an early morning tram across town in the near future. Vegans aren't well catered to here, but coeliacs will be happy with the offer of homemade gluten-free bread ($1 extra).

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In contrast, the blogosphere is giddy with P & MJ love - check out rave reviews from: Food Chee, Two Fat Buns, Almost Always Ravenous, I'm So Hungreee, Food Rehab, Melbourne Gastronome, Let Me Feed You Melbourne, Eat and Be Merry for Tomorrow We Diet, Uey Loves, Never Trust a Skinny Foody, Ronnie's Spots, Second Helping, Melbourne Dining Experiences, The Breakfast Blog, Kate and Zoe, Home Sweet Home, Nouveau Potato, Two Munch, Eat Play Shop and Iron Chef Shellie

Let's Get Fat Together, Zinnamon and Feed Melbourne had similar experiences to ours: nothing to complain about but not quite measuring up to expectations, while Eat Almost Anything at Least Once was pretty disappointed.

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Porgie and Mr Jones
291 Auburn Road, Hawthorn
9882 2955
Breakfasts: $5.00 - $18.90
http://porgiemrjones.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a small step up into the fairly crowded front room. There's a bit more space in the back area, although there's another step to negotiate here. The place is well lit and payment takes place at the relatively low front counter. Toilets are up a flight of stairs.