1/27/2019

Phat Stacks Burgers, Camberwell, Melbourne

Phat, pink and juicy meat pat. Gold, coloured or normal buns. Big size, well assembled. Fully satisfying, Fully yummy.

The chips are absolutely top-notch. I would visit just to have a basket of those. Golden, crunchy outside and soft inside, and so yummy overall.

The staff are delightful!, Genuinely umber-friendly, and they treat each and every customer as a visiting king/queen.

Pity that my belly is not bigger, because some of the stacked burgers and humongous shakes are just one of those things that you cannot let pass.

Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co., CBD, Melbourne

GOOD THINGS
The staff are all very welcoming, genuinely friendly and very accommodating.Great premises.Fast service

NOT SO GOOD 
Average burgers. Very Maccas but twice the price. Sorry, I'm fussy about my burgers. If you serve anything that reminds me of Maccas, which I visit now and then and I have nothing against, but you charge me twice the price, that's never going to be a hit with me. Any other chain of burgers has, at least to my taste, better menu and better burgers. Not that what I ate at Betty's was bad, it was just OK.

The Bakers Wife, Camberwell, Melbourne

Out of the beaten track, this vibrant full-of-character cafe in Camberwell matched my expectation.
The place is really charming, modern and accommodating.

The staff are a bunch of good-looking genuinely friendly hard-working chaps, and they made my experience something really enjoyable.

The menu had a mix of classics and innovative dishes, and they have specials of the week. Plus a large selection of baked sweets.
 
I had one of the specials, the octopus dish, which had a very tender flavorsome octopus, not chewy at all, on a bed of lentils, fennel and citrus mayo. The dish was generous in size and fully satisfying regarding flavour. However, I missed a bit of more texture in the dish, and a bit of more citrus anything, as the wedge of lemon and mayo were not enough, at least to me.

As a dessert I had one of their wonderful apricot tartlets. It was uber-fresh, fluffy, moist and full of flavor. However, I was disappointed that, despite apricots being in season, the tartlet had a compote of apricot not full pieces of the fruit. I think that would have got the tartlet to the next level. 

My iced latte was very good and a great size!

I loved the cafe, the staff and their food options. A bit of more finesse and they would get a five star from me.
  

The Meat & Wine Co, Camberwell, Melbourne

Upmarket place in the heart of Camberwell, Meat & Co honors its name by offering pieces of meat cooked to perfection in very classy settings. 

The menu is varied and scalable regarding size of the meat you want, variety of meat, and cooking of the meat.  Their dishes come with salad or fries, and the sauces have to be ordered as a side, as well.

Their selection of wines and drinks is also very good.
My meat was cooked to perfection and it was, in fact, the best thing of my meal. Truly satisfying, juicy and yummy. The fries were totally average and don't make any favor to the meat or the restaurant. The garlic sauce I ordered was very delicate, so in my case the garlic flavor was good but not enough.

I love that they have good meat knives and fabric napkins, something I don't take for granted.

I found the place good-priced for the quality of food and drinks you find. I had the smallest cut of meat and I left fully full and satisfied without being ripped off.

Staff were very professional, courteous and polite, but also a bit uptight and not specially friendly.

Axil Coffee Roasters, Hawthorn Vic

The visit to the mother house didn't disappoint, and Axil Coffee Roasters delivers good coffee, great food and a genuinely-friendly fast service in very modern and stylish settings. I liked their coffee, but I really enjoyed the croquette dish I had. It was well balanced, a good-sized portion and with a great mix of textures and flavors and eggs perfectly poached. Menu was a bit disappointing regards variety and lack of specials, but beyond that, I really enjoyed my visit. 

 

12/15/2018

Noughts and Crosses Cafe, Flemington Vic, Melbourne

I've visited this place endless times, since they first opened in Flemington, and it is one of my fav cafes in the area. It has very chill-out premises and staff, and an always interesting menu. To be fair, they used to have more interesting dishes at the beginning, but everything I've eaten at this cafe has always been satisfying, with dishes well cooked and interesting. The last one I had, the pork shoulder was a great meal with the potatoes cooked to perfection. Patrons are always chill-out people of all ages. Not a hipster place, but a modern fav of mine. Nothing flashy, just consistently good food.  Coffee is good.

Short Black (Camberwell Vic)

3.5/5 
This a all-round Italian cafe, with ample premises and comfortable seating area, patrons of all ages and a large Italian and Australian classics menu, with generous servings. I had their hand-made chicken gnocchi with wine sauce and they were lovely, perhaps lacked a bit of finesse and were on the pricey side. Their earl-grey tea was great. I enjoyed my visit.