Residential Kitchen

Update 31/12/2014: Residential Kitchen has closed down and been replaced by Naughty Boy Cafe. 

September 17, 2012

Cindy and I have been talking about going to Residential Kitchen for ages - it's just up the road, has a decent reputation and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Somehow we've just never got our act together though - either riding the tram further up Lygon to Small Block or Mankoushe, or going for an even more local option in Cafe Lua or Le Miel.

But we finally remembered, using a lack of milk in the fridge on Monday morning as an excuse to venture up the street to check it out. It's a nice big space, with high ceilings, big windows and a laid-back vibe (at least at 8am on a Monday).

The brekkie menu is pretty straightforward, with a few original twists. I went for one of their wackier options: a breakfast burek ($16). This is a big pastry scroll, plunked on a plate of white beans and topped with a poached egg and a sprinkling of dukkah.

It works a little bit better in theory than in practice - the pastry ends up a bit soggy from the saucy beans, and there's a slightly odd combination of flavours. The burek itself is a tiny bit sweet, up against the savoury bits and bobs around it. Still, it's nice that they're trying something out of the ordinary. 

Cindy went to the other end of the scale, ordering the most basic thing on the menu: toast and spreads ($6, served with vegemite, marmalade and fig jam).

There's not much to say about this really - it was toast. Good bread, toasted nicely and a decent array of spreads to sample on it. 

The coffee was good (they're using Campos coffee) and the service was fine. That's about the best way to sum up the whole experience: fine. Good but not great. I'm glad we finally got there, but I'm not sure we'll hurry back.

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Residential Kitchen has a few blogger fans (e.g. Skinny Glutton and Review Me Benny!), with a particular reputation for being child-friendly (see little eats and Hey Bambini).

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Residential Kitchen
499-501 Lygon Street, Carlton North
9381 2388
breakfasts $6-$16
http://www.residentialkitchen.com.au

Accessibility: Residential Kitchen has a very spacious interior. We paid at the counter, but I'm pretty sure you'd get full table service if you were a little more patient than us. We didn't check out the loos.