St Edmonds: Review

St Edmonds: Review
154 Greville St, Prahran VIC
Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-4pm, Sun 8am-5pm

Geometric murals adorn the brick exterior walls of St Edmonds, a garaged converted-cafe in the backstreets of Prahran. Inside is just as good: garage-feel is maintained with concrete floors but light wooden benches, wide open windows along the length of the space and an adjoining covered outdoor courtyard complete with hanging greenery give the cafe a light and spacious feel, far enough from the hustle of Chapel St and strangely still far enough off the radar of the Instagram masses to avoid significant wait times for a table. St Edmonds has been around for a few years, but came under new management in May this year – and we were impressed.

The all day breakfast menu covers all the bases: porridge (vanilla & chia with banana, wild orange cacoa crumble -$15), a green avocado-mango smoothie bowl adorned with pistachio, oats and fresh berries ($13), all kinds of eggs, from the brioche breakfast roll ($16) and soft breakfast tacos ($17.5) to the crisp chorizo, kipfler potatoes, eggplant with watercress, beetroot tahini dressing, fried eggs & toasted ciabatta ($23), and the omnipresent smashed avocado with feta, herbs & lemon ($15). Lunch gets more interesting and acquires an Asian twist with options including a coconut poached chicken salad with almonds, beans, avocado, herbs and fried shallots ($16), Korean braised beef spare rib with soft polenta, buckwheat, raw green salad & garlic chips ($21) and Japanese fried chicken with rosti, coleslaw & wasabi mayo ($16).

I couldn’t go past the Brekkie Greens ($21) though: the jumble of buckwheat kernels, generous chunks of creamy avocado, crunchy raw broccoli, shredded kale, nutty pistachios, and mouthfuls of heat in the form of red chili, topped with hot smoked ocean trout and poached eggs was too good. Although $1.5 seems a little steep for an extra piece of toast, if you are a breakfast salad sort of person, this is just about as good as it gets.

Cathy went for the garlic roasted mushrooms ($18), where slow roasted field mushrooms are given a note of sweetness by the balsamic reduction and served alongside crusty sourdough toast smeared with goats curd, the crunch of macadamia dukkah, a pair of poached eggs and extra rocket to add a bite of bitterness to the dish. A generous serve with traditional but well-executed flavours – and sometimes just what you need for brunch.

The real highlight was the sweet dish ($18). Thick slabs of soft french toast rest on a generous layer of creamy, strong espresso mascarpone cut through by tart raspberry compote and are adorned with crunchy shards of honeycomb and an extra hit of coffee-soil. The perfect antidote to the Brekkie Greens, this french toast is good. Seriously good. Espresso mascarpone ensures it isn’t too sweet but still sweet enough, the toast itself was golden-edged and perfectly cooked, and everything culminates in an extremely satisfying dessert-for-breakfast experience.

St Edmonds delivers. For a lazy weekend brunch, a quick weekday healthy salad or even a coffee, with the friendly service, sunlit surrounds and food to suit everyone from the sweet tooth to the big breakfast or those more health-oriented, you really can’t go wrong.

Rating: 8/10
Don’t miss: the espresso mascarpone french toast
Do: take the opportunity to check out the surrounding shops in Prahran.
Features: outdoor courtyard, all-day breakfast menu