Cafe Vue
| Where | 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000—View map |
Contact | 03 9691 3899 |
Website | www.vuedemonde.com.au |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Friday 7.00am to 4.00pm |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Soy |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Unwelcome |
Prêt-à-Porter breakfast
Ellie Parker 6 July 2008
Café Vue is petit and discrete. It provides daily prêt-à-porter to clientele who almost certainly know and admire Vue De Monde for its haute couture range.
Whilst this might not translate to posh porridge served in a Cona Vacuum Coffee Percolator (Vue De Monde's famed mode of serving bouilllabaisse), it does translate to top notch ingredients and a considered (though limited) menu. Under the auspices of a two-hatted establishment there is a subtle, yet definite difference.
The fruit salad with yoghurt is made to order (always nice to know). The sourdough and fruit bread toast is baked on the premises daily. The pain au chocolat and raisin danish are light and fluffy. The pistachio cupcakes, though not a traditional breakfast item, are equally impressive and more than 100 walk out the door each week.
If you admire Vue’s sense of the theatrical, then you will appreciate the French toast ensemble. The eggy toast is served with a Vue test tube filled with maple syrup. Très amusante, although it makes it a bit awkward if you want more maple syrup. Not for greedy guts.
The ham and egg jaffle is a standout, partly because it is ‘made’ (melted) to order. It is hot and buttery, full of delicious off-the-bone ham. Really good for a down-and-out liver looking for something to soak up the juices. Given that most other menu items are pre-prepared, the jaffle is the pick.
The Illy coffee, according to their website, is served with pride. The pride, I must admit, sometimes comes without a smile. Not that I really expect a smile before 9am, especially if I am not wearing one myself. Some would beg to differ on this point though.
Cafe Vue does not aim for a comfy, warm atmosphere in which to order a hot breakfast. It caters more for the hectic ins and outs of suits and their heavily diarised days. For this reason it is a perfect rendez vous for a casual 10am meeting with colleagues or clients who need coffee, croissants and menu items that will still allow them to talk business without greasy mits or mouthfuls of egg.