The boys that brought us Top Paddock, Three Bags Full and Two birds one stone have done it again. This time, gracing the people of South Melbourne with their fine food and coffee.
The food is similar to Top paddock - creative, fresh and sourced as locally as possible but this time Chef Jesse McTavish is taking things up a notch. Popular items on the menu are the crayfish burger with yuzu mayonnaise, cured ocean trout with raw kale and seaweed salad and chilli scrambled eggs with air dried Flinders island wallaby and feta.
Whilst the food is enough temptation to pay a visit, the cafe itself is a stunning piece of architecture that is worthy of admiration. The place combines the traditional and contemporary with one half of the cafe being a traditional Victorian terrace house whilst the other the modern foyer of an apartment building featuring lots of windows for natural light. As with all their cafes, the place is also well decorated with beautiful flowers and gorgeous light fixtures.
My chilli scrambled eggs were cooked well and the feta added extra creaminess.
The ocean trout was also very good, the only fault being that the ocean trout was a bit on the small side.
The steak sandwich was unfortunately a bit of a let down. The Kettle Black bun was certainly interesting and the flavours were excellent but the beef was an absolute chore to chew. Which is a shame because it tasted really good, but the skirt steak just didn't break down. If you have to use a knife and fork to eat a sandwich, is it still really a sandwich?
Aside from that, the Kettle Black is an outstanding Cafe. Its staff are wonderful and dealt with the masses of people extremely well and I look forward to my next visit.
50 Albert Road, South Melbourne
(03) 9088 0721
