Caffe Panette

Caffe Panette
144 Cecil St, South Melbourne, VIC
Grinders Coffee


Update (again):

Went back and ordered the safe choice of Joe's Melting Muffins. It still deserves 3 beans...

The Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs - served with chives and sauteed spinach on toasted sourdough was ok too, but neither of them were very filling!
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Update:

So we went back and this trip Panette got downgraded to 3 beans.The meal started well with the waitress giving us complimentary baguette slices which were crisp, fragrant and nice. Maybe 'cos 1 of the items we ordered was more for lunch than for breakfast?

We ordered a special of the day: smoked salmon & savoury pancake stack with a red onion & caper salad dressed with creme fraiche ($17.90). The dish was pretty well thought of and presented. Ingredients were fresh but i just didnt like how healthy the buckwheat pancake was.

We also had the Croque Madame which didnt look nor taste very nice. Far too much mustard and the toast was over fried to a almost black biscuit.

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Occupying a sunny corner position opposite the South Melbourne markets, there are nice big windows that allow for people watching. It seems the locals here love their dogs, especially with a huge pet shop & dog day care in the vicinity, and smaller pet stores in the market. So the many tables outside the café are popular too.

On a Sunday it was hard to find a park with the bustling market. So we expected to wait for a table for ages but were pleasantly surprised to be shown to the last empty seat straight away. Coffee wasn't great, but there was lots of chocolate syrup in my mocha, making it taste better, but slightly too sweet.

The food that came out of the kitchen looked impressive. Scrambled eggs on sour dough ($8.50). House-made baked beans - ham hocks and haricot beans served in a rich tomato sauce ($13.90). French toast with caramelised apples and double cream ($12.50).

There was no big breakfast option so I ordered Joe's melting muffins ($13.90) - toasted English muffins with bacon, roma tomatoes, avocado and cheese melted on top. Lovely. I also ordered a side of roesti ($3), which was generously sized, very tasty, crispy at the top and had great texture. Only beef is that it was too salty.

The Eggs a la mer ($14.90) are a simple yet pleasing combination of poached eggs, smoked salmon, champignon mushrooms and hollandaise sauce. The dish was elegant, but the smoked salmon could be fresher.

Overall, these are just tiny criticisms amongst really good brunch.