Gold. The oldest precious metal and commonly associated with top, premium quality wares. Melbourne’s newest cafe applies this premise to coffee and food under the banner of “good as gold”. Meet Au79.
Over a year in the making, this former Abbotsford mechanics workshop has been completely transformed and is now home to not just a cafe but also a roastery, bakery and patisserie.
Brought to us by the team behind Sir Charles, Addict, Prospect Espresso, Liar Liar and other solid Melbourne institutions, elements from each of these cafes trickle through and combine to form something quite extravagant. Seating over 200 patrons, the cafe is certainly not on the small scale.
The cafe is divided into three dining areas separated by the kitchen and roastery, with the cafe proper at the front. The interior features clean black and white as the underlying colour scheme with light timber furnishings and splashes of marble, pink and, of course, gold trimmings. On top of all of these elements is a mass of greenery. Big leafy pot plants, hanging baskets and wall plants, there’s no shortage of nature. Lighting is plentiful with large windows, skylights and individual table spotlight.
Seating is a mixture of small tables, booths and some large communal tables,
The food menu is just as extravagant and is mostly breakfast dishes with just five, but five strong lunch dishes. The dishes have a mixed cuisine with some creative takes on the usual breakfast suspects, such as the truffled croquette madame, the bircher muesli and the roasted cauliflower smash, plus some Japanese influenced dishes such as the okonomiyaki and the confit duck bao burger.
It is quite unusual for an okonomiyaki to feature on a breakfast menu, but Au79 nails it with the addition of eggplant katsu, yuzu mayo, herbed daikon salad and sweet potato crisps. The result is a well balanced combination of savoury, creamy and sweet elements.
The confit duck bao burger also hits the spot with crispy fried and juicy duck combined with a touch of spice from some ssamjang mayo.
For the sweet tooths, the Belgian waffle balls with passionfruit cream, banana compote, fresh pineapple, banana crumb and pandan ice cream will definitely excite.
Coffee is naturally on point with a range of espresso and filter options straight from the very visible roaster. The coffee will progressively roll out to all the sister cafes.
Hot chocolate from Mork, Prana chai, turmeric almond lattes and matcha lattes are on offer along with a selection of herbal, Chinese and Nepalese teas. Also available is a range of juices, cold press fixers, milkshakes and smoothies.
A return visit is needed to sample the intriguing coffee cherry cascara which also features.
Au79, the chemical element and number for gold, provides liquid and edible gold and brings a new level to not just Abbotsford, but the Melbourne cafe culture.
Au79
27-29 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford
http://au79cafe.com.au