Poynton's Cafe

The Boulevard (cnr Vida St.), Essendon VIC 3040

03 9337 8111.

Generic!!!!!

Poynton's is a sensational nursery. I love going there, if not to buy then just to look. The natural colours of the nursery are amazing from no matter where you are standing, but I guess the best overall view is from the cafe.
The cafe is extremely generic in how it looks. The table, the seats, the space, the cake fridge are all a little bit ho hum. However look out the window and peace overcomes you. It's quite serene, the river, the nursery and the birds singing (are you with me Rach?). Then look at the menu and it's all generic again. A menu that is quite extensive and expensive. I knew before I had even ordered that the food was not going to be special. You know, you get a feeling that the people in a cafe either care or they don't. The overwhelming feeling here for me was that there was no love here. In the nursery you see lot's of love, but unfortunately not in the cafe.

I ordered the baked eggs which were supposed to have chorizo, tomato and coriander. No coriander, tiny
bits of chorizo and turkish bread on the side (no butter). Fancy no coriander when they probably have it growing in the nursery.  $16.50 was a bit steep, probably quite steep actually. T2 at 3.50, but can't remember how it came. I quickly finished what I ordered (no savouring) just so I could get back out into the nursery. Sometimes you should stick to what you know and if it is plants you know stick to growing them and if it's food you know then stick to cooking it. However if you are very clever and think you can pair the two how about serving food grown in the nursery and advertising that! Too easy!

The Famous Blue Raincoat

South Kingsville sounds like it should be in SKY but actually it is on the other side of the West gate. It is so worth hopping in your car for a meal at this fab venue. I call it a venue because although it is a café (it calls itself a restaurant and bar) on different nights of the week it does turn into a music venue where owner James Wakeling and some of his mates get up and play a combination of Jazz, Folk and Blues. Cool!

This venue is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast menu is great and has some fav’s of mine on there. The muesli and promite eggs are a couple, however this particular weekend morning I opted for the pancakes with berries, yoghurt and maple syrup. It was delicious! I felt by adding the yoghurt it was healthier than your average pancakes (that’s what I’m telling myself anyway). If you are a regular reader of this blog you would have noticed that generally I stick to the egg dishes but there are the odd occasions when I wake up craving something sweet and it has to be given in to. Although I may never have pancakes again for this blog I think it is my duty to try as many breakfast options as I can so I can report back to you. I think eating the pancakes at the time was feeding my cravings and just yummy but I have to say afterwards I felt somewhat bloated and perhaps a little regretful. What I totally regretted was ordering the tea! As blogged nearly 12 months ago I was not that impressed with the tea. Even less impressed this time. Adam’s Peak Tea (never heard of it before) it’s called and it’s a bag in a cafeteria pot. Luke warm water, ilk!! I reckon they could lift the standards here!

Coming here for dinner is great fun because on different nights of the week they have different cuisines and for less than $15, you could have a paella or you could come on a Sunday for the Sunday traditional roast.

I really like this place. It’s warm, it’s groovy, it’s comfy and most of all it could be a home away from home. I just wish it was closer to me so I could walk there and then I would visit more often.

The big news for Famous Blue Raincoat Owners James and Kaz is that they have just taken over the deli which is a couple of doors down from FBR. It is a lovely shop decked out with fresh fruit and veg (some organic), lots of different deli items and the best part I think, Noisette Bread. Noisette is a Boulangerie Patisserie in Port Melbourne and it is truly divine. Not sure whether they serve breakfast but perhaps will have to venture over to find out Rach, what do you think?