Breakfast Thieves
Shop 1, 420 Gore St, Fitzroy
03 9416 4884
Monday-Friday 730am-4pm, Saturday-Sunday 8am-4pm.

Making the most of my few days left in Melbourne for the semester meant venturing over to Fitzroy to visit Breakfast Thieves, a popular cafe just off Smith Street. The small space is decked out in contrasting white tiles and bleached wooden slats, while an innovative sweets display features small cubby holes set into the wall and a cut-out panel gives diners a peeking view of the kitchen in action. A few communal tables are matched with cast-iron legged bench tables and stools, while gas-heaters outdoors maximise the seating capacity. We were seated indoors straight away, it being a Friday, but I doubt it would have been so easy on a weekend.

The menu is full of innovative flavour combinations and dish titles, with the lunch menu in particularly featuring Asian-inspired options. Choices in the all day breakfast list include Bircher Muesli (blueberry sago, rolled oats, organic quinoa, goji, dried cranberries, vanilla yogurt, banana, strawberry, 65% cocoa chunks, rockmelon + orange soup – $16.5), the Spanish Gypsy Dance (spanish black pudding with crisp rosemary & parmesan polenta bars, chilean pebre, cherry tomatoes, pickles, basil oil & poached eggs – $19.5), and The Breakfast Chain for those who can’t choose between sweet and savoury (Passionfruit & mango vanilla trifle with granola, apple & blueberry almond trifle and soft-boiled eggs & english cheddar melted soldiers – $20). Other interesting lunch options included the Lady Ching Shih (43° confit ocean trout & crispy trout dumpling on a vermicelli salad – $21) and Uncle Foo’s Fiery Crab Burger (polenta-crusted soft shell crab with fiery chilli crab sauce in brioche bun and kaffir lime thrice cooked chips – $21). Three benedict options featuring a yuzu-hollandaise sauce are also available on weekends only.

I couldn’t go past the Say ABCD ($19), so Cathy and I shared the gorgeous fairy-garden inspired french toast dish. Small cubes of brioche french toast, pillowy soft with crusty edges, are presented with tangy kiwifruit coulis, rich chocolate ganache, crisp paper-thin wafers of sweet streaky candied bacon, raspberry puree, coconut-almond crumble and apple poached pink in hibiscus syrup. The only odd component was perhaps the latter, where the flowery apple pieces might have improved if served warm and tender, rather than in cool chunks. Although very sweet, this crazy mish-mash of flavours did seem to work, with each mouthful delivering a slightly different combination. Would order again.

I also tried the Lephrechan – crisp fried sweetcorn fritters on chipotle and grilled corn puree, pickled beetroot, yuzu avocado mouse & poached eggs ($19). A delicious spicy-mexican-slash-asian combination, the dense, spongy fritters had few whole corn kernels inside, being relatively batter-heavy, so the chipotle puree, yuzu avocado mousse and eggs were needed to add moisture. (By the way, yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit – I had to look it up!). The crunchy pieces of pickled beetroot did seem slightly out of place however, and, as always, avocado mousse always appears a little lack lacklustre compared to the real thing.

Imogen and Cathy ordered the Legend ($19), where spicy baked eggs with chorizo, mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn and feta are served in a piping hot skillet, still bubbling from the oven, with herbed garlic toast on the side. Spicy and filling, this hearty dish is perfect for a winter lunch.

Jeff decided to go back to his roots (his words, not mine!), and chose the Botak Chin Congee ($20), where a home-made smooth bowl of congee is topped with Malaysian sticky honey-braised pork, crisp mushrooms, soy peanuts, spring onion, pickled ginger & soy boiled egg. This he thoroughly enjoyed, particularly the sticky pork component.

Service was efficient and they did allow us to split the bill, with Jeff and I leaving with extra take-away sweets – he chose the huge (just about as big as his head) Anzac biscuit, while I thoroughly enjoyed the dense chocolate walnut brownie. A great place for an out of the ordinary brunch or lunch with friends or for sustenance during a Fitzroy shopping trip, Breakfast Thieves offers innovative and high quality food in a casual setting and will not disappoint.

Rating: 7/10
Don’t miss: the wild brioche french toast
Features: outdoor seating, child friendly, asian-inspired brunch and lunch dishes

The post Breakfast Thieves: Review appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.