Fandango

Fandango
97 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC
Organic Fairtrade Coffee Supreme
Best Scrambled Eggs


After the slightly less than average breakfast at Errol's Pantry & Bakehouse just down the road, I was a little doubtful of North Melbourne. But Fandango delivered.

The staff were friendly and were happy to shift us inside when a table was available (the place is tiny & the table outside had the sun beating down on my back). We ordered the scrambled eggs and asked for pancakes to come after. The waitress suggested we order the dessert later - she guessed (correctly) that we'll be full after sharing the scrambled. So we didn't get to try the pancakes. The pesto-scrambled eggs was exceptional. Rich, tasty and flecked with crunchy bits of pine nut. The bacon and grilled tomato were pretty good too. Definitely a must visit when my mum comes down.
The 2nd time we went there it was much less crowded. Probably 'cos it was late. But they serve breakfast all day! Coffees ($3) still weren't that fantastic but the seeing how carefully the barrister makes the coffees & hot chocolates made me appreciate it more. Service was just as good as the last time - they cleared and cleaned the table between dishes, told us what was not available when we were 1st seated (not when we wanted to order it), and the waitress even brought out a water bowl specially for this well behaved bichon-maltese mix sitting outside.

We made sure we were hungry this time & didn't order the bacon ($2.50 more) with the Pesto Scrambled Eggs ($12). Pleasantly surprised when it came with 2 huge halves of roasted tomato with thyme sprinkled on top... and the scrambled eggs was just as heavenly. The best scrambled eggs period. We were kinda full at the end of it but seeing how delicious the food on other tables looked, we had to try something new.

There was Poached eggs with beetroot and fetta relish served with spinach on toasted sourdough ($12) and an Apricot & date loaf toasted and served with homemade honeyed cream cheese ($4.50) amongst others for breakfast. Lunch, available from 11am, included a Chicken, cheese & chutney melt ($7), and a BLAT sandwich/wrap/pide ($7/$8/$8.50).

We sticked with the the Triple stack of pancakes topped with banana, strawberries, homemade honeyed cream cheese and maple syrup ($10). Sort of a let down 'cos while the toppings were yummy, the pancakes were solid, hard and dry.

So Bills has no competition in that dish. The rating increased from a 3 to a 4 soley for the excellent scrambled. I'm even craving more now, just hours after the delicious meal. And at that reasonable price, I wouldn't be surprised if you find me back there very soon.

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Update:

So we went back to finally try the Fandango grande aka big breakfast ($17) but the menu has changed! All of the other favourites are still there, but the extras increased by $0.50. Damn inflation. Service was excellent as usual.

The Pesto Scrambled eggs are less green but still tasty and deserving of 4 beans.

The Avocado and tomato with basil pesto and cracked pepper on toasted sourdough was good, but the outstanding item was the Bacon side we ordered. It had always been this good but I only noticed how exceptional it is after my aunty (who works in the meat industry) pointed it out. We wouldn't repeat the homemade tomato relish though.

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Update:

I don't know why we keep coming here. Maybe it's the excellent service. Maybe it's the location. Maybe it's the pesto scrambles. But not today, I wanted something different and for the 1st time, the pesto star didn't make an appearance on my table.

We tried the French toast with bacon, baked apple and homemade maple butter ($10). It was nice, but artery clogging. Turkish toast drowned in male with yummy butter on top and icing sugar for a finishing touch... Not to mention all that maple made it really soggy really fast.

The Egg and Bacon Sandwich with spinach, cheese and homemade tomato relish on toasted pide ($8) was bad. Even the takeaway place near work does better sandwiches. Sigh... how could a sandwich go wrong? Well, the bread was not toasted properly (invest in a sandwich press!), the egg was fried in a hot mess with the bacon and didn't resemble an egg (there was no defined yolk), there was too much lousy tomato sauce which made the badly toasted bread soggy and the spinach wasn't very fresh. Not to mention, the side of mushrooms ($3) I ordered were not very tasty and were microwaved (when the inside is freaking hot and the outside only slightly warm, it's a giveaway!)

I really wanted this small local cafe to remain a 4 beans. But unfortunately I can't justify it when it's a 1 trick pony =(