The interior design of Melbourne’s cafes are some of the most unique to be found but there are a few styles that are dominant. Hobba takes on the large open converted warehouse style and makes it fun and inviting for all.
Doubling as a private function space, the front entrance of Hobba opens up into a large open space with exposed brickwork and wooden beams. A selection of funky artwork prints hanging on the walls and hanging basket plants add some colour to the vibrant space. Seating comprises a mixture of individual tables, booths and communal benches. There is also seating outside.
The food menu covers breakfast and lunch with some creative takes on typical Melbourne cafe dishes. Standouts include the Bubble and Squeak Rosti, rosti topped with brown butter hollandaise, roasted tomatoes, fried egg and cured bacon on sourdough, and the Hobba Hotcakes, served with seasonal berries, whipped mascarpone, honeycomb, vanilla bean and house-made maple syrup.
On this visit I ordered The Española – a Spanish omelette with chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelised onions, kale, Sriracha hot sauce and feta, topped with zucchini ribbon and a herb garnish salad. What a mouthful. Both in the verbal sense and the resulting dish. Served in the cast iron skillet it was undoubtedly cooked in, the omelette was the perfect texture, ever so slightly juicy and full of flavour. The hot sauce seemed a little absent and more of it would have made this a stunning dish. A small downside of served in the skillet was that it took some time for the dish to cool down to an edible temperature.
Coffee was on point with a range of blends and single origin coffees from Five Senses available for both espresso and filter. Draught and bottled beer and wine are also available.
Service at times was a little slow but the cafe was fully packed at the time so understandable. Somehow my visit lasted for nearly two hours, though I probably lost track of time whilst writing other reviews.
Hobba fills a void in the side roads away from the Chapel Street but manages to bring a bustling atmosphere.