Babka III

May 9, 2026 

   

 

Babka is still open on Brunswick St for twenty-years-on coverage, though we've missed the cafe's founder by about 3 years. It seems to have lost most of the Eastern European features it was once known for:  borscht, potato dumplings, and - most devastatingly for me - the blintzes. Instead there's the more predictable Aussie cafe run of chilli scrambled eggs, smashed avo, chicken and avocado toasties, and egg and bacon rolls. (There are no markings for vegans or gluten-free folks, and I wouldn't especially recommend the menu to either.)

   

 

The overflowing sweets cabinet still reigns, and there were plenty of customers queuing for takeaway coffee, bread and baked sweets, rather than the sit-down menu.

 

   

 

Michael ordered the aforementioned chilli scramble ($21.50), a likeable, decently proportioned plate with a choice of bread (sourdough here), fresh herbs, chilli slices, grated cheese and a house-made chilli sauce from yesteryear.

 

   

 

Blintzless, I pivoted to French toast ($21.50). I was perfectly happy with one slice - it was nicely battered without being too eggy. The accompanying 'fresh fruits' were mostly tasteless strawberries, and the scoop of mascarpone was great. I didn't need any of the maple syrup on offer. 

 

   

 

We picked out a lil' something from the dessert case to take home for later. Michael rated his plum frangipane tart ($9) highly. I was even happier with the lemon tart ($9) - while I though the pastry was average, the lemon filling was exceptional, with a gorgeous wafer-thin crust of burnt sugar.

 

   

 

The Babka menu clearly isn't what it once was, but there's still a comfort to the place. The classic cafe fit-out feels just right. We were perched near the coffee machine and noticed the manager cheerfully chatting with everyone, with many clearly being regulars. The customers spanned generations and Brunswick St subcultures. I'm glad Babka has found a form it can sustain. 

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You can read about one, two of our previous visits to Babka. Since then, it's received generally positive reviews on Multicultural Melbourne, Almost Always Ravenous, Spoonful of Sugar, and Vanilla Slice (Snot) Blog.

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Babka

358 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 

9416 0091 

menu: one, two 

instagram page 

 

Accessibility: There is a step up on entry and a crowded interior. Furniture is densely arranged regular height small tables and backed chairs. We ordered and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Fitz Curry Cafe III

May 8, 2026 

 

   

 

The next stop in our 20 year anniversary tour of the 2006 Cheap Eats guide is the 25-year-old Fitz Curry Cafe. It's well over a decade (perhaps nearing two!) since we last visited, but Fitz Curry was an early front-runner in Michael's search for a favourite Melbourne Indian restaurant. The Cheap Eats review highlighted their organic ingredients; these seem to be less of a selling point in 2026, although the cafe's website mentions organic flour roti.

 

   

 

Eating in at Fitz Curry includes that touch of Indian restaurant hospitality we love: a basket of papadams with a light yoghurt-based mint chutney. Having had one cocktail and little food in the preceding hours, I fell upon these enthusiastically.

 

   

 

We ordered as we did so many years ago: navaratan korma ($8-10 in 2006, $23.99 in 2026), malai kofta ($8-10 in 2007, $24.99 in 2026), garlic naan ($4.99), and steamed basmati rice ($4.99). The curries were quite mild and sweet (we requested medium heat), the kind we've known and enjoyed many times from family Indian restaurants. We're more excited about the likes of Horn Please, Bhang and Masti these days, but Fitz Curry Cafe hit the mark for a nostalgia tour such as this.

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You can read about one, two of our previous Fitz Curry experiences. 

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Fitz Curry Cafe

44 Johnston St, Fitzroy

9495 6119 

banquets, mains page 1, mains page 2, sides & desserts 

https://fitzcurrycafe.com.au/

 

Accessibility: There are two shallow steps up on entry and a clear, flat corridor through the middle of the restaurant. Furniture is densely packed, consisting of regular height tables and backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Harissa butter beans

May 6, 2026

   

 

I've got a bit of a type when it comes to dinner recipes: come up with some kind of one-pot, bean-based situation with lots of flavour and a solid dose of veggies and I'm going to put it on my list. So when I saw a colleague eating this for lunch at work I was immediately nagging her to send me the recipe. 

It's very simple and very adaptable and has already had a second go around for a weeknight dinner here - you've got a bit of bite from the harissa smoothed out by the coconut milk and some nice depth of flavour from the nooch and the sun-dried tomatoes. Butter beans are great here, but it would work equally well with white beans. We've had it with little roti breads on the side (as pictured) and with some fresh sourdough, both of wich were excellent. It will slot smoothly into the rotation, alongside other beany favourites. 

Harissa butter beans

(via this recipe from Nutri View)

2 cans butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, peeled and sliced finely

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped (the recipe drains the oil off, but I reckon it's worth tipping it in!)

3 tablespoons harissa paste

400ml coconut milk

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil over med-high heat in a large pot and cook the shallots for a few minutes until they've softened. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Tip in the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil and stir to combine. 

Add the butter beans and the harissa, stirring to coat the beans in the spice paste. After a couple of minutes, tip in the coconut milk and lower the heat. Bring the mix to a low simmer and stir in the nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer for about 15 minutes until it's thickened a bit and then add the chopped kale, cooking just long enough for it to properly wilt - about 5 minutes. 

Serve, with whatever bread product you fancy. 

Trippy Taco V

May 2, 2026 

 

   

 

Trippy Taco does not actually appear in the 2006 Cheap Eats guide, but it's entrenched in where's the beef? lore, opening on Smith St in that first year we lived in Melbourne and instantly becoming Michael's favourite place for a workday lunch, as well as a semi-regular nighttime hang-out with friends. It's now been on Gertrude St much longer than it was ever on Smith, and most recently we walked across from the VAS Gallery with some friends for a weekend lunch. 

 

While the menu's not strictly the same, changes to the spread of casual Mexican-inspired foods are subtle: there are no longer sultanas in the salads, and they now offer something called 'heart attack fries'. Everything's vegetarian; vegan and gluten-free options are plentiful; and there's more dietary information than most places on the printed menu. 

 

   

 

A large basket of trippy fries ($9) for the table was essential. (The smaller serving was $4 in 2008 and is now $7 in 2026.) Their seasoning has always been heavy on the smoked paprika and that's how everyone likes it.

 

   

 

Michael returned to an old fave, the tofu asada burrito ($9 in 2008 and now $17 in 2026). It's precisely as it's always been, from his memory: chunky and full of flavour, with bright salad and guacamole, and even better when doused in something from TT's hot sauce collection. 

 

   

 

I've always had a soft spot for the Trippy Taco tamale ($8.50 for a more elaborate version in 2008, now $13 in 2026 + $3 for guacamole + $2.50 for salsa) - so sweet and tender and carby! I still haven't had the dessert version, once a special and now a menu fixture. Twenty years later, Trippy Taco still has a little more to offer us. 

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You can read about one, two, three, four of our past visits to Trippy Taco. Since then, it's appeared on veg*n blogs melbourne with the rocket, Green Gourmet Giraffe, I Spy Plum Pie, Veggo Melburnian, and I Travel For Vegan Food. It's also appeared on omni blogs They Call Me Maggie, FOOD CHEE, Sweet & Sour Fork, Ms I-Hua, The Epicurean of Southbank, and Melbourne Vita.  

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Trippy Taco

234 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

9415 7711 

menu: one, two 

https://www.trippytaco.com.au/

 

Accessibility: There's one step on entry, and there's a clear flat pathway through the centre. Furniture is densely arranged, regular height tables and backed chairs. We ordered and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Arepa Days

April 19, 2026

 

   

 

Arepa Days has been on our wishlist since it opened, it being a sibling to Michael's beloved Sonido. (The list ticks over slowly, with Arepa Days opening back in 2018.) At long last, I found my excuse to meet up with a friend there for Sunday brunch! I love the cafe's relaxed fit-out and splashes of colour, though I'd rather more of the seats had backs. Thankfully I was in early enough to grab a bench against the wall. 

 

The name clearly indicates the features here: a daytime cafe with a menu centred on arepas. The menu is mostly gluten-free, and the arepas are also vegan when not explicitly cheese-stuffed. They can be served simply, with just cheese, butter and salt or some corn, or built up with eggs, beans, pulled beef, even black pudding. There are rice bowls, too, lots of sides to customise your plate, and an attractive little selection of sweets at the counter. 

 

   

 

I was early and cold, and started with a chai ($6.40). It was milky and not too sweet; it could have been spicier but was nevertheless lovely to nurse.

 

   

 

When it came time to eat, I went for the huevos arepa plate ($18.10) with a side of beans ($5.50). It looked a little small but proved deeply satisfying, with lots of golden scrambled eggs striped with hogao and piled onto a soft arepa, the flavourful beans dotted with feta and everything scattered with fresh coriander leaves.

 

Staff were happy to let us linger, and I would have lingered longer still if I didn't have places to be. Arepa Days was everything I anticipated.

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Arepa Days has also been reviewed by Mamma Knows North. 

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Arepa Days

25 Preston St, Preston  

food, drinks 

https://www.arepadays.com.au/

 

Accessibility: Arepa Days has a wide entry with one step up. The interior is quite crowded with furniture, mostly regular-height tables with backless stools, and some benches along the walls. We ordered and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.