Reading Room Cafe
Victoria University
Building "P"
The Reading Room Cafe is located at the Footscray campus of Victoria University. It is a bit tricky to find but their website gives excellent directions and parking information.
The cafe is currently nearing the end of an 8 week 'Pop-up for Charity' initiative. For each of the 8 weekends they will donate 20% of cafe proceeds to
charities & organisations in Footscray and the local area.
After reading many great reviews I arrived at the Cafe full of expectation and anticipation only to have it deflate like a balloon when I was greeted with a nearly full room and the news that they had no record of my booking for ten! The staff was lovely and quickly offered the alternative of a long table in the empty university space adjoining the cafe. Whilst lacking ambiance it turned out to be quite handy as it gave the children in our group room to spread out and play without disturbing anyone!
Despite the shaky start things improved. The coffee was good. The food, for the most part, delicious.
We started with a few hot drinks .. impressive coffee art.
A little case holds our cutlery, napkins and salt whilst pepper is in small glass jar. Cute!
Even though there were a few of us there was some duplication in the ordering so unfortunately I don't have 10 dishes to show you! What can I say, we have similar tastes!
 |
| Savoury Muffin ($4.50) |
 |
| Sweet Muffin - Apple and Cinnamon ($4.50) |
 | |
| Eggs Hemingway - Poached eggs, dry cured bacon, sauteed mushrooms, tomato relish ($9.50 for eggs, toast and relish, sides $3-4.50 each) |
 |
| From the specials board - Pancetta, white beans, fresh tomato, feta, poached eggs and pear relish ($15) |
 | |
| Fritter's Lane - Sweet corn, pumpkin and coriander fritters, poached eggs, avocado, tomato chutney ($14.50) |
 |
| Soft poached egg - perfect! |
I had the Fritter's Lane and it was divine. The fritters were beautiful - crispy and flavourful. The eggs were perfectly poached and all the flavours married together beautifully. I would return for these alone!
The muffins were freshly baked and delicious and the Eggs Hemingway was a hit - the eggs also perfectly poached and the sides were all very generous serves.
Unfortunately the white bean and pancetta special was not as well received. The eggs were nice but the tomato based sauce was a little strong and monotonous and the pear relish overpowered the dish.
Prices are reasonable and servings generous. I can't wait to return!
The muffins were freshly baked and delicious and the Eggs Hemingway was a hit - the eggs also perfectly poached and the sides were all very generous serves.
Unfortunately the white bean and pancetta special was not as well received. The eggs were nice but the tomato based sauce was a little strong and monotonous and the pear relish overpowered the dish.
Prices are reasonable and servings generous. I can't wait to return!
Piecey Num Nums , Good to see you back!! That brekky looks divine, especially the poached eggs, if they're as good as you describe. Coffees look amazing. Just hope they were piping hot!
ReplyDeleteReally no excuse nowadays for venues to 'lose' a booking so it was probably just luck they were able to reseat your group. ( A small venue may not have had options.)
I would have expected, at a minimum, some compensation in the way of a round of coffees on the house, for the inconvenience or losing your booking and reseating your group outside the Cafe. Hope it wasn't a Special Occasion Day, like Mother's Day or it may have spoilt the whole experience for your guests...
Thanks Yellow Gum. The mix up with my booking was a bit stressful but the staff couldn't have been nicer and the alternative they offered worked out well :)
DeleteI can't wait to try this...sounds great. Strange being in the Uni grounds....is it open after hours?
ReplyDeleteThanks Chinny. Their hours are on their website but I believe they are open until about 7pm weekdays and 4pm weekends.
Delete