Originally published on Broadsheet.
Good coffee and design comes to a neighbourhood that was wanting.
The Chesterville Road shopping strip in Bentleigh East has been stale for a while. There’s been a longstanding butcher, fruit shop, newsagency and bakery, but no cafe truly serving the locals hungry for more.
“People were totally shocked when we opened up,” says co-owner Tanya Billard, who shares the business with her husband, Stu, and brother Adam Nicholl. “We’re quite different for this area.”
Stu and Tanya were the operational partners at the CBD’s Riverland for 10 years, but after having their first child they needed to shift to a more family-friendly lifestyle. After all, it’s pretty hard to have a baby and run a bar.
Diners will see hints of Middle Eastern, Asian and American flavours sprinkled across the menu.
The winter menu has dishes such as poached eggs with a baba ganoush and walnut labne; a four-grain porridge with carrot juice, ginger and rhubarb; and for lunch, Louisiana-style spiced pulled-pork tacos with caramelised pineapple. A kids menu is also available, aiming to serve an area saturated with schools.
caterina hrysomallis 