Cafe 3A
| Where | 3A Edward St, Brunswick, 3056—View map |
Contact | 03 9380 4996 |
Website | — |
Open | Monday to Thursday 8.00am to 4.00pm |
Payment | Cash |
Diet | Vegan, Soy, Gluten free, Caters to special diets |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
Why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover
Nicola Shafer 14 October 2008
Eating at Café 3A is like being given a standard goldfish as a pet, only to discover that it sings, tap dances, and cooks a mean spaghetti marinara. Café 3A is by no means as non-descript (or bug-eyed) as a goldfish, but it's kind of small, and its studio-style kitchen and mini team of staff caused me to make the wildly incorrect assumption that it would be the sort of place that would just do plain old eggs and toast. How wrong I was. Eggs and toast are in there, but this is a place for the tasty, the piquant, the aromatic. Here, you can have them with extras like chorizo, plum sauce, salsa verde, and goats' cheese.
Café 3A's trick is to give standard breakfast dishes a brave flavour kick-an omelette isn't just an omelette; instead, it's a salty delicacy of olive tapenade, feta, and prosciutto. Smoked salmon and poached eggs, too, are nowhere near the gelatinous hollandaise gloop they can often be. Here, they are brought to life with a dollop of crème fraiche, and the daring addition of thin strips of prosciutto, whole green peppercorns, and fresh rocket. French toast isn't just egged-up sugary bread, either. The savoury kind is laden with slow-roasted tomatoes, crispy pancetta, goats' feta, and dried basil leaves, while the sweet kind is served with a to-die-for mix of sour cherries, cinnamon crème fraiche, pistachio, and icing sugar.
Of course, I couldn't resist ordering the dish bearing my very own name: Nicola's organic muesli. Once again, put aside all thoughts of the chewy and dull. Here, it's served with black-tea soaked prunes, dried apricot and orange syrup, organic yoghurt, and almonds.
If 3A were to be judged on its
exceptional menu alone, it would already be worth a standing ovation, but it's
also got a lovely, cosy atmosphere, a wonderful selection of fresh cakes, as
well as a kick-ass organic fair trade coffee (Ethiopia Gold
) that is
perfectly creamy and strong.
There are indoor and outdoor tables, though not an abundance of either, so it's not a place for a huge gathering or for comfortably bringing in large objects like prams or lawnmowers, but the upside is that it's never crowded or too loud.
Finally, items on the menu range from as low as $4, to only $14, so there's something on the menu for any budget.