Monday, May 4, 2009

Le Chien

5 Gamon St Seddon
Phone: (03) 9362 7333


What a great place to watch the day go by! And that’s what we almost did! Before we knew it the morning was turning into lunch. I was supposed to be on my way home not still drinking tea at 12pm. As it turned out I would not return home for another couple of hours as I was lured to another café by a girlfriend who hadn’t made it for breakfast but managed to get out by lunchtime(she has twins!) Fancy that! But that’s another story.

Why is it so easy to NOT leave Le Chien? Regularly we sit at the bar that looks onto Gamon St, and beyond to the half modern, half 80’s Sabrosso building. Not really a great view. So what keeps bringing us back to Le Chien?

Is it the owner, Andy, the other staff, the clientele, the Food, the Tea or the Coffee?

Let’s start with what is most talked about, THE COFFEE! I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that The Best Coffee in “S.K.Y.” comes from Le Chien. Over and over again I hear this! It is almost driving me to drink coffee, but alas I just don’t get the coffee thing! I know, shame on me! But Hey do you get the Tea thing? I know R does!


So there is no doubt that Andy makes a great coffee and, yes, his new Barista (whose name I am yet to discover) apparently does too. The coffee attracts people from far and wide. Just on the morning I was there Mick from Chalk and Mary from Lacquer stopped here to grab their morning coffee’s to take to work. They have about half a dozen cafes in Yarraville Village to choose from and yet they come out of their way to Seddon pick up their coffee. Nothing else needs to be said.

Not only does Andy make a great coffee, but he is such a likable chap. He always offers a warm welcome when you enter and immediately you feel at home. Perhaps that’s what attracts the clientele that he has. One morning the Western Bulldogs are taking up all seats and the next morning an actress or an actor from recent television are rushing in for their caffeine hit. Mum’s with prams line up outside while one delegated mum runs in orders and collects the coffees and muffins to take down to the park.

They play fantastic music here as well, always at just the right volume but enough to notice who it is. On one occasion I had to ask what album they were playing and I promptly went out and bought it I liked it so much. If anyone is interested it is the soundtrack to Garden State. Brilliant. Simply put, Le Chien has atmosphere plus!

We have talked a lot about the coffee but what about the tea? We love it! Probably the best cup of tea to be poured in S.K.Y. and the best value. Reason being, they give you the biggest pot of freshly brewed tea! They give you a lovely cup that does not have a rim as thick as a small novel,(one of R's pet peeves) and the tea seems to go on forever.


And now the actual Breakfast. This was a really hard one for me because I have been here heaps for breakfast and I have to admit, I have a fave. I LOVE the promite special. What is that you ask? Well it is two runny poached eggs on promite ciabbata toast with avocado, tomato and parsley. It really is fantastic so for me not to be able to order that was so hard. So I ordered the norm! Runny poached eggs, tomato, spinach and mushrooms. And it was great! However I do think the tomatoes could have been a bit riper. A question I would like to send out to all our readers is - Does anybody else struggle with cutting ciabatta toast? I do love it but it is so awkward to cut sometimes I feel like I’m going to lose all the food onto the floor. Any suggestions! (we thought it might need a steak knife!!)

Earlier on I asked why is it not so easy to leave Le Chien. Above are all the reasons I think that keep you coming back and keep you from leaving but maybe the obvious reason is the door. How long does it take to get used to that door? As you sit there watching customers come and go it is quite amusing to watch people trying to work it out however it should be noted that is has probably been put there for our own comfort so persevere (push the big red button on the wall) because the rest is worth it.
OUR RATING
Atmosphere - 9/10
Service- 8/10
Food - 8.5/10
Tea/Coffee - 9.5/10
Price - 8/10
43/50

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