Coin Laundry Café

61 Armadale St
Armadale.

This review holds a special place in my heart, which beats ever so stronger thanks to the constant injection of caffeine on a daily basis.

Coin Laundry is now in its third week of business, and it seems only fitting that my post be late. I have barely had the time to think let alone write- my busy lifestyle matched only by the boys at this ultra cute corner café.

Steve Rowley and Matt Vero have dove head first into the sudsy waters of their second café venture, Coin Laundry, to receive an amazing response. Trust me, you’ll find yourself so in love that you’ll be dishing out more than a dollar or two here.

Maintaining the original name from the previous shop tenant, the boys have created a space which compliments the heritage listed exterior, moving away from the industrialised interior of most café’s. This spot has a country chic feel, a welcoming atmosphere and a bustling vibe. With exposed brick walls, a white and green coffee bar splashback and hand sanded wooden tables, Coin Laundry has a clean and contemporary feel. Origami flowers decorate the walls that join to high ceilings- the space has great acoustics and fabulous natural light, meaning no matter what time of day you’re in, it’s always bright inside.

Be prepared to wait for both a table and food, it appears that the Armadale mothers club has spread word about Coin Laundry already, with not only weekends, but early morning weekdays seeing queues out the door. Let’s note that this place is dog friendly, child friendly, and cyclist friendly- all round nice guys.

Head chef Eddie is dishing out food that is worth the wait, with an impressive menu to choose from. Go the Coin laundry breaki- Poached eggs on Noisette bread, with avocado, beetroot, crispy bacon, and roasted tomatoes. If you are only a little peckish, try the ricotta corn fritters, or poached fruit with Labneh and burnt honey caramel. This is a particular favourite, sweet, light and full of goodness.

Steve has chosen well with his coffee blend, New Zealand Allpress, roasted in Sydney. He along with baristas Jimmy and Dave can be found glued to the other side of the coffee bar, meticulously pouring out delicious and creamy coffees, one after the other.

I’m particular fond of this spot, not just because I can call the owners my friends, but also because I have had the pleasure of being on the other side of the breakfast table, as a waitress on weekends. I wouldn’t work just anywhere, just as wouldn’t tell you to eat just anywhere.

Apart from myself, the staff at Coin Laundry are all friends of Rowley and Vero, making this cafe one big family. The difference here is that these staff members want to be there, it’s not about the money or filling time, they have a genuine passion for coffee, food and their friends. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what going out for breakfast is all about?

Weekends are about relaxing; hanging out with friends and eating a little bit too much that you have to waddle out the door. There should be no effort, no stress and no chores.

In saying that, this might be the only time you’ll want anything to do with the laundry.

Date Rate: Super cute backdrop for a young love affair
Coffee cure: Steve has got it down to a T.
Hangover happy: Coin Laundry breaki is a win. If that fails, the boys have just got their liquor licence approved for lunch... Back it up :)
Price: Nothing the Armadaleons haven't seen before.

you should know

Coffee from Batch.

320 Carlisle Street, Balaclava

Nom.

A litte advice...

Over the course of my incessant ramblings about shop fronts, single origins and 'the ultimate big breakfast' I have had many people tell me that I am indeed mad. Surely my life is not dominated by eggs and bacon? How sad.

To be honest, I've given hobbies a go, and this is the only thing that seems to have stuck. I am yet to find a suitable replacement for my caffeine addiction, or breakfast for that matter.

Many fights have been fought with friends and strangers over the importance of breakfast in the food hierarchy, and the only thing that can be agreed upon is that I will fight to the death to prove my point.

Who knows, I doubt I'll ever find a suitable replacement for my love of cafes, but what I have found is a great companion for breakfast, and that's my Mac.

I used to loathe going to cafes on my own, I felt that not only was it "totes un-cool" and something that only my mum would do, but a very lonely act.

How things have changed. Now days I revel in my own company, followed closely by my beloved piece of technology. It's the perfect date, and it turns out that there are a lot of cafes that provide a suitable backdrop for our love affair.

This post goes out to Mr Ben Thompson, who seeks to find his own office in a cafe or two. I must admit it's a hard task to find a place that will let you hang out for several hours in a corner, hunched over your laptop, but if you search hard enough, be nice enough, and order several dozen lattes, you'll find one or two.

So here's my top pick, for the coffee, the food, the ambiance and most importantly, some chilled out service.

Monk Bohdi Dharma- Rear 202 Carlisle St, Balaclava VIC 3183. Go the Avo & Feta Mash
Lawson's Grove-1 Lawson Grove, South Yarra
Dr, Jekyll-107 Grey Street St. Kilda 3182. Sit in the courtyard, and say hi to Roy for me :)
Mart-107a Canterbury Road,(Tram stop) Middle Park. When the sun is shining, grab a booth outside. The Granola is a favourite.
St. Ali- 12-18 Yarra Place South Melbourne VIC 3205. Lamb pizza, that's all I'll say.
Dead man espresso-35 Market St South Melbourne 3205. Fruit salad- a must have.
Coin Laundry,61 Armadale St. Armadale. Banana Bread with espresso butter- nom nom.
Inkr 7- 7 inkerman Street, St Kilda, VIC, 3182. Again, courtyard- very good. Eggs pancetta is a whole new world.
Miss Jacksons-2/19 Grey Street, St Kilda 3182 (enter from Jackson Street).
New York Tomato- Lot 24, 2-6 New St, Richmond, VIC, 3121
Crue-194 Toorak Road, South Yarra, 3141
Outpost-9 Yarra St, South Yarra, 3141. The bircher is amazing.
Picnic-60 Toorak Rd, South Yarra 3141

Have fun working :)

Q eleven

303 Coventry Street, South Melbourne, Victoria, 3205

This heading keeps making me think of Q bar... just awful, and just the opposite to this review.

My friend has recently declared herself gluten free/fructose free/lactose free and god knows what free.

It's a startling theory for me, one I almost can't comprehend. If this was me.... my life might just be over.

She seems to think there are not that many places that will suit her new diet, and to be honest, it's true.

So by the time I heard about Q eleven, I was already in the car, driving to South Melbourne.

You can't miss Q eleven on Coventry St, it's right opposite the markets, and whilst it's small in size, the fluro green exterior is a dead give away, and a preview to the excitement within.

We had a friendly greeting and despite our attempts to brave the winter chill, we were quickly ushered inside to a much warmer and inviting table. There is a very cosy vibe to this place, and even though it's so little (we were positioned between two tables and quite close to the kitchen and register) I still felt as though i could get down to the nitty gritty of essential catch up with my morning girl date.

After a very relaxing Saturday morning yoga class, I was ready to undo all my hard work with some serious breakfast goodness. This led me to the choice of Balsamic mushrooms, avocado mash, Yarra Valley feta, dukkah, toasted sourdough GFR* and a poached egg accompanied by a strong latte from Genovese coffee. (One should note they are also serving a single origin from Kenya.)

My gym buddy for the day, Miss Bree decided to indulge in a Ham & roesti stack, Kassler ham, quinoa and potato roesti, spinach, poached egg and onion jam GFR*.

Yep, we were just as excited when our food arrived as were reading the menu, and I haven't even mentioned some of the sweet things on offer:

-French toast, mandarin curd, toasted almonds, raspberry creme fraiche GFR*
-Creamed sago pudding, lime, coconut, berries, organic Barambah Greek yoghurt GFR*

* This annoying little star is letting you know that gluten free is available on request. (kudos from my friend- I can finally take her out in public)

I couldn't say anything bad about my meal if I tried. First and foremost, the presentation was amazing, almost too good to the point where I didn't want to disrupt the architectural design positioned on my plate. Taste was also flawless. I have decided that there is nothing like some dukkah in the morning to enlighten the soul, for the first time in a while, I didn't even add salt or pepper to my meal. Shock horror.

I will definitely return to Q eleven, I now feel it is my duty to make my way through the menu. Thanks to Kristin, another gluten free individual for sending me this way.

If you like this place, you will also like Las Chicas & Kanteen

Date Rate: Breakfast followed by a market adventure? Win.
Coffee cure: a good cup, but it didn't send my senses soaring.
Hangover happy: Their tortilla would accommodate.
Price: Fairly pricey for an adequate serve.

Apologies for disappearance

This is merely a quick hello that I still exist, and I have still been out enjoying a latte or two.

New job has taken over le life, and hence The F word has been on an extended holiday, i hope to your dismay.

Today however, I'm back with vengeance, and before you know it there will be some exciting things happening here. So watch this space.

In the mean time, I clearly have some work to do, and you have some cafes to attend.

One thing I have already learnt since starting my new job is that I may not be as wise as I thought when it comes to bragging about breakfast. There are plenty of places I am yet to see.

I have been gobsmacked at the amount of cafes my co-workers have been listing, and I'm ashamed to say i had no idea of their existence.

Not anymore.

Let's try to keep these updates regular, for all our sakes. We wouldn't want to get hungry now would we.

I like this.