Pearl Café

Pearl Café
599 Church Street, Richmond, VIC
Gravity coffee
Best Mocha Presentation


Geoff Lindsay recently opened Pearl Cafe - the sister to his fancy fine diner just metres up the road. The light, airy corner space is painted white and dominated by a high communal table. On the smaller tables, cutlery sits enveloped in their own sleeves in a chemistry beaker, just beside the Japanese Alessi salt and pepper servers. And on the corner shelf, a figurine of Chairman Mao. Not too sure what's going on with the décor - maybe an attempt to be fusion like their food?

Breakfast hours are strict: 7am-11am weekdays and 8am-11am weekends. The 1st time we came 5 minutes too late, and were offered any paninis ($8) left over or their mod Asian lunch menu - which supposedly is really impressive. Determined to try their coddled eggs, we made a conscious effort to wake up early this time. Seems like queuing is a common thing though, so after waiting at the entrance for about 10 minutes, we were shown to the communal table where we ordered coffees and stood for a further 5 minutes before we got a table.

Gravity coffee - 6 degrees darker to be exact, was slightly bitter but smooth. Who knew my skinny mocha would come so well presented? A glass of mocha, with dark chocolate shavings at the side and an extra portion of frothed milk allows you to create the perfect mocha. Only wish it was slightly hotter to melt the shavings better...

The food took longer than expected to come. At least you could see effort in the presentation - a transparent sheet on the bottom of each dish bearing the café's logo, and the eggs arriving in tiny casserole dishes with the wait staff removing the lids after it is served.

Two organic coddled eggs served with your choice of
1. Smoked salmon, capers, chive and sour cream, toasted poppy seed bagel
2. Chorizo and roast tomato with a Manchego cheese melt
3. Wild + gathered mushrooms, double smoked bacon, sage and burnt butter, toasted multigrain
4. Thick cut ham off-the-bone and a Brie cheese and Dijon mustard melted on baguette
5. Buttered English spinach, little lamb fennel seed sausages, spicy tomato jam pearl bread toast (all $16)

We ordered 1,2 and 3 - 3 had the tastiest egg but needed more bacon and 2 had nice chorizo but not enough. Toasts were not to my liking, especially when I wasn't allowed to change my multigrain to anything else...

For something lighter there are muffins ($5), a Watermelon and strawberry fruit salad with rose water ($10), Bircher muesli with biodynamic yoghurt, fresh grated corella pear and toasted linseed ($6), etc. And who can resist something sweet: Rhubarb trifle with vanilla custard and berry compote, sesame praline Passionfruit pavlova ($10 each) or Valrhona chocolate crackles ($5).