Regarded by many as one of the benchmark speciality coffee cafes in Melbourne, Proud Mary is still going strong. After visiting for a few years now, this review has been a long time coming.
Nestled in the back streets of Collingwood away from busy Smith Street, the cafe has found its home in base of an old red brick factory building with a simple logo sign adorning the doorway. Do not be worried about not finding it though, as Proud Mary has built its reputation enough to have people flocking in and out all day long. During peak weekend lunch periods it is almost always necessary to wait for a table to become available, though you may be lucky every now and then.
Inside, community is key with most of the tables being communal with a few small tables, booths and window benches available. Probably the first thing one notices, however, is the giant espresso machine. This is a custom-built six group Synesso, a testament to their passion for quality coffee. Hanging above the machine on the wall is a blackboard listing the daily espresso options, usually three or four different single origins in addition to the usual blends. The staff regularly travel internationally right to the origin itself at the coffee farms in search of new, high quality beans.
The food menu is equally full of choices with a range of breakfast and lunch options. In past years the menu has remained constant for months on end with the same but well proven dishes but recently there has been quite a few changes with some creative dishes. Current options include “Cotechino” – pork sausage, creamed fennel, crispy garlic, poached egg and sourdough, Ox Tongue with smoked almonds, crispy onion, peppers, poached egg and sourdough and Beef Cheek Burger with romesco sauce, guindilla peppers in a brioche bun and kipfler potato crisps. The old favourite pork belly sandwich has also evolved into a gorgeous juicy cut of pork belly on a bed of frekkah grain, green chilli yoghurt and almonds, which I had on this particular visit.
These refreshed menu changes and ever changing coffee selection show that long time Proud Mary is very much still relevant and evolving in the world class Melbourne speciality coffee cafe culture.