Famish'd, Melbourne CBD by Snooze

How many times can you say you went out for lunch, shared a salad and baked potato, and a couple of very small macaroons at about noon and you weren't ready for dinner by 7pm? Not often in my world but that's exactly what happened at Famish'd, a small cafe style eatery with large serves at odds with the price of the food served.


Before I go through what Big Fil and I had, some explanation of the concept behind Famish'd might be useful. The two main features in the room are a large refrigerated unit containing an array of sandwich type fillings and salads, and a board describing how to order behind the serving staff. I still had no idea was to do but this was quickly resolved by the friendly staff who talked me through it: start with a baked potato or salad and add five ingredients for the base cost, or $2 for additional items. There was also a range of ready made salads like a tasty looking potato salad, soup and a variety of cakes. Big Fil and I went with the design your own baked potato and salad.

Big Fil chose the mixed leaf salad and added sweet corn, artichoke heart, red onion, mixed beans and tomatoes, and added chicken. He also went with a subtle but nice coconut curry dressing. What I was impressed with was that on asking for a second plate to share with someone else his salad was divided into two bowls and a second slice of bread added ... the photo below is the"half" bowl of salad! A nice touch by Famish'd, which led me to thinking that half the regular portion of salad would have been enough for me generally without half a baked potato to come!


Big Fil was surprised I didn't opt for the salad but truth to tell the modern fetish for salad which is little more than garnish drives me crazy, so when presented with a hearty baked potato it's time to get out of my way! I wasn't as careful with what I chose and instead of thinking through what would go well with the potato I went for things I like: cheese, sour cream, cucumber, artichoke heart and chickpeas . I could have chosen better and included bacon bits, for example, and I was also offered a dressing which I turned down. All in all though, the potato was well cooked and nicely mashed and the additions were truly generous. A nice choice: baked potato with sour cream and cheese alone is always worth having.


If I've enjoyed a baked potato or three, I never walk away from macaroons and I grabbed two chocolate and one hazelnut and milk chocolate. These macaroons are amongst the best I've had.
None of your delicate, break apart offerings here: the chocolate macaroon in particular was crisp but slightly dense with a solid, deliciously rich chocolate filling. I'm thinking about going back today for more. Hazelnut is less of a favourite with me so this particular macaroon didn't sing for me. Having said that though, the hazelnut flavouring was obvious and good, and I'd suggest it to anybody liking hazelnuts.


Overall
Famish'd was a little out of the way for Big Fil and I at the top end of Little Collins Street, but this won't be the case for everybody. There's little not to rave about with the exception of the decor. The concept is good, the food fresh and extremely generous considering the price, the range is considerable and the service friendly. My only thoughts on the decor, and they don't detract generally, is that while the quirky logo is really cute, orange and white is hard to pull off, especially the shade of orange used upstairs. The grungy carpet on the stairs also put me off, although Big Fil didn't notice. Small things, because overall Famish'd has my thumbs up.

Rating
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 6.5
Service - 8
Price - 8

Address
130 Little Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9004 0322