Benitos
| Where | 445 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000—View map |
Contact | 0396705347 |
Website | — |
Open | Monday to Friday Breakfast 7am until 11.30am |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside |
Kids | Get a baby sitter |
Pets | Unwelcome |
The Warm Heart in the Cold CBD
Ellie Parker 2 May 2008
Benitos is a warm little hub of activity despite the early morning CBD gloom.
Up a small flight of stairs you enter a world of freshly baked sticky buns, superb Romcaffe coffee and murmurs of conversation. Beautifully suited couples huddle in worn leather booths, cradling coffees and staring into each other’s eyes. Others feast on the sophisticated breakfast menu that sits classic renditions with interesting variations such as breakfast bruschetta.
The fried eggs and bacon panino with relish will make you feel like you can face another day in the office. The sweet relish melds with the gooey yolk to create morning delight. The ciabatta fried in egg with parmesan and bacon is a scrumptious variation-on-a-theme. There are also more traditional options such as an omelette of smoked salmon and goats cheese, eggs benedict and the Benitos Breakfast, consisting of eggs, terrifically tasty mushrooms, baked tomato and bacon. Everything is cooked with a careful, diligent eye.
The pièce -de- résistance is the rice pudding with seasonal fruit compote. Served warm, this dish is creamy, cinnamony and unctuous. The perfect comfort food to warm the cockles in a darkened, narrow laneway.
Benitos attracts a gentle crowd. Suits duck in and out for their take away coffee and sticky bun fix, whilst other professionals congregate for client breakfasts, debriefs and strategy meetings. Benitos’ warmth and fine food creates a lovely escape for whoever walks up those steps.