It’s a curse. Melbourne has so many
good cafes it is impossible to try all of them.
You can try and try and try, but as fast as you visit one another
magically appears. Consequently you can
feel a bit like Sisyphus, who according to Greek myth was condemned to push a
huge boulder to the top of a hill only for it to always fall down to the bottom
again. Ok, that’s an obscure reference
out of nowhere, but that's really how it feels sometimes, just after you try
yet another great brunch word comes over the grapevine of the latest
superdooper in place.
Ora counts as one of those superdooper places. It’s in a strange location for such a good
café, off the nearby main shopping strip around the High Street corner in Kew , down a suburban street and in a small group of
shops. Doesn’t look like much from the
outside either, although the steady stream of people moving in the same
direction as us may have been a clue we were heading for somewhere a little
special.
Inside it's kind of nice, homey and comfy possibly partly
because it does feel fairly small.
Indeed, given the number of patrons early on a Sunday morning I could
imagine having to wait a while for seat. And would it be worth it? Absolutely.
I’d heard Ora had a good reputation for its food and the
menu is certainly an interesting one. While
it was partly because we were talking so much it took us several minutes to
decide on our orders – the pressed pork belly and pickled pork hock with quail
egg for me, and for Snooze the broadbean falafel with smoked eggplant dip,
grapefruit quinoa and while I don’t remember it from the menu a dollop of labna
of the side.
I absolutely loved my pressed pork belly. As described by Snooze "I vacuumed it
up". Some of the richest pork
flavours I’ve had in a long time, and the meat juicy and moist without being
overly fatty. Even the beans, which were
much better than you typically get with a café breakfast, were overwhelmed by
the porky heaven. Something I could
happily eat again and again, at least until achieving Michelin man status.
Snooze, of course, ordered the more restrained option. While it couldn’t compare with porky heaven I
was impressed with her meal as well. The
falafel in particular were light and herby, the quinoa added a nice spark to
the flavour. Probably nine times out of
ten this would have been the best dish of the day, but not today.
Overall
Nice if small café with staff that were both friendly and
very cute. A bit of a mixed crowd as it looked like there were a few
blow ins like Snooze and myself but also some local families. It’s not
surprising Kew has one of the best cafes in Melbourne, but it is surprising it
isn’t more centrally located. Definitely worth a visit.
Verdict
Food – 8.5
Service – 8
Ambience – 8
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