Mart 130

Mart 130
107a Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best Pesto


Update (again):

I don't know why I give this place so many chances. I ended up here yet again, hoping to bring this place back to 4 beans.

Coffee, despite me mentioning previously Genovese can't go wrong, was really bitter and had a burnt taste.

I decided against the pancakes (even though I remembered I should try them and not the French toast) 'cos I wanted something more substantial so I went with Mart eggs #1 ($16.90) - free range scrambled eggs with chives, shaved parmesan, truffle oil, mushroom and sauteed spinach. Ok I admit that was not entirely true - the truffle oil enticed me too much! Sadly, there was hardly any truffle oil unlike the Asparagus dish at Outpost and nothing exceptional either. In fact, the spinach was rather bland. The mushrooms, while tasty, were microwaved...

He went with Mart Eggs #4 ($16.90) - free range poached eggs with avocado, smoked salmon, creme fraiche, fresh spinach and a cucumber, red onion, caper and dill salsa. He said the best part was the salsa, which is the only part I didn't try as it was a combination of my "favourite" ingredients! Imagine that. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

_________________________________________________________

Update:
Mart 130 got downgraded back to 3 beans! Service was slow 'cos they were packed as usual but they seemed to ignore the people sitting outside too!

To be honest, I forgot what this was called. it involved hollandaise sauce, poached eggs, chorizo and onions in some sorta tomato sauce, served on hard toast. Only ordinary and food was cold!

I couldn't remember if I tried the french toast or the pancakes last time - I wanted to order the other one which I remembered looked good on another table. I ended up ordering the savoury french toast, which was what I ordered last time (except I had the sweet one)! Argh. To make matters worst, the french toast was cold and bland... nothing similar to the last trip!
_________________________________________________________

I didn't realise the significance of its name until I reached the place & saw the 'R' flipped horizontally. MART is TRAM spelt backwards, at stop number 130 on the No. 96 light rail to St Kilda. It's built on the platform of an old station master's building. Cool eating spot - who comes up with ideas like that?

Directions ('cos it's hidden away & you probably won't find it unless you take a tram there): From the city, get to Albert Rd. Turn left to Canterbury Rd, drive down & it will be on your left. Abundance of 4P parking.

The venue is small - a trackside dog-friendly area where the pooch can watch trams go by, the cramp inside where we ate last time (and were slightly disappointed due to extremely high expectations), and the enclosed deck behind overlooking Albert Park & some tennis courts where we ate recently (because we wondered if we were missing something with all the hype).
Don't get me wrong, the food was good last time. I ordered Eggs #2 - Fleshy poached eggs with mild hollandaise sauce, creamy avocado & scrumptious bacon on sour dough. Except after reading reviews, we expected this to be the number 1 spot in Melbourne for breakfasts, and it fell short of that. Maybe it was the famous corn fritters with bacon, relish & sour cream that we should have tried?

This time, we lowered our standards & were pleasantly surprised. When we entered, a waitress totally ignored a "Hi, can we get a table for 2?" In my head I was thinking *minus points for rudeness*.

Thank goodness it was only her, and after a short wait not long enough to read the menu on the blackboard, we managed to get seats. My hot chocolate ($4) was less milky & more chocolaty than usual. And Genovese coffee doesn't go wrong. It was Australian Open season, so he was entertained by all the young Hewitt wannabes playing at the court. I was entertained by the millions of doggies that ran past. At least it made the long wait for the food (small kitchen syndrome) pass quicker. Oh, that and eyeing other patrons' food. He commented on how good the Bircher Muesli looked. I, on the other hand, drooled at the pancakes.

We still didn't order the corn fritters. The word "coriander" scared us.

Service was excellent. The waitress (not the same rude one), without asking, brought a side plate with 2 sets of cutlery & quality napkins 'cos we were sharing scrambled eggs on sourdough with bacon & pesto. While the toast was a little too hard & the scrambles were good but not quite Fandango or Bills, the bacon was thick & tasty. The star however, was the pesto. I've never tried pesto so yums that I couldn't resist eating it on its own, garlic, parmesan & all…
About service (I tend to digress when it comes to food), the waitress cleared our plates & told us the French toast with mixed berries and vanilla mascarpone that we requested to come after the savoury was on it's way. She then brought another side plate & 2 sets of cutlery. How thoughtful!
It was heavenly. Tonnes of berries oozing with juice, light mascarpone & French toast of the right consistency.So after the satisfying breakfast, we up-ed the rating since the previous trip. No credit cards or eftpos though, so remember to visit the ATM before!