Stovetop

July 20, 2013

Stovetop is a new cafe ideally located halfway between our house and the Queen Vic Markets. We had market-related chores lined up for Saturday morning, so we wandered by and tested it out on our way in. Despite a recent mention in Three Thousand (where I learned about it), Stovetop was deserted around 9:30. I’m sure this state of affairs won’t last as it ticks a lot of boxes for a buzzy Melbourne cafe: hip coffee stylings, slightly offbeat breakfast options and a beautifully designed space. There’ll be crowds there by the time this review goes up I’m guessing.

It really is a lovely fit-out – the big windows mean the light streams in and the design is a nice balance between trendy industrial and warm wood and greenery. The particular schtick that Stovetop is offering up is... stovetop coffee. With drip filter coffee already going through about seven waves of sophistication/ludicrousness (see, for example, Assembly Curated Coffee), it was probably inevitable that someone gave it a shot.

For $6 you get a little 2-cup pot. My 5 senses blend was pleasant enough, but I think my palette is too unsophisticated to detect the plum, cherry and/or caramel notes. I’ll just stick to flat whites in future (which Stovetop do an excellent job of FYI).

Cindy fancied up her drink as well, going for a brewed chai latte ($4). It had the appropriate mix of sweetness and cinnamony spice and was all frothy and warming.

The food menu serves vegetarians reasonably well (although vegan options are limited – the most promising dish looks like the porridge of spiced quinoa and sago with almond milk, coconut flakes and toasted almonds, $9). Cindy is basically unable to say no to waffles, and Stovetop’s version (cinnamon waffles with pomegranate molasses, vanilla bean custard, agave and almond dukkah, $13) was never going to change that.

She was pretty impressed by it – the custard made them into a kind of delicious waffle sandwich, and the two syrups added a sticky layer of sweetness to it all. Inside, candied orange slivers added some marmaladey fruitiness.

I stuck to savoury - lured in by the fried goodness of the sweet potato and chia latkes, served with poached eggs, baba ganoush and rocket ($14).

This was a nice, novel way of serving poached eggs – possibly my first ever latkes. They were the star of the dish too, all crispy and oily, but the smoky eggplant was a good counterpoint to the runny eggs as well. It all worked excellently and, at $14, is one of the better value eggy breakfasts around.

Stovetop was a solid breakfast experience - very reasonable prices, a couple of tremendous dishes and reliable service. They're a great addition to Carlton's breakfast options - add in an interesting vegan savoury dish and I'd be recommending them to all and sundry.

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I first spotted Stovetop on Three Thousand, and I'm So Hungree has already got there a couple of times and is clearly a fan.

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Stovetop
100 Leicester St, Carlton
9347 2010
veggie breakfasts, $6-$14
http://www.stovetop.com.au (see if you can look at it without laughing at the (unintentionally?) hilarious photo)

Accessibility: The entry is flat and wide and everything's pretty spacious inside. You order at the table and pay at a lowish counter. We didn't visit the toilets.