Lil Boy Blue, Kew by Big Fil

I got the impression that Lil Boy Blue was a fairly new addition to the Kew Kafe scene.  Certainly, having recently been named as one the Age’s top ten places to get an ‘international’ style breakfast (a fried egg taco) it appeared to have gone from very to ridiculously busy, something reflected in the slightly panicked way staff were trying to cope with the number of customers (they generally succeeded).

In terms of style, it’s pretty much on the Melbourne trend, warm, not too blingy, tables scattered around a small room, seats next to the windows and a small passageway leading to a few tables at the back.  While we did have to wait a few minutes for a seat, it was 9.30 on a Saturday morning.  Even so our waitress was escorting us to a table at the back within five minutes.  A little squishy and not as nice a location as at the front, but that’s what you get for visiting at that time of day.

Given how busy they were we probably took longer than we should have to decide on our orders.  Ms L and myself decided to be sociable and share our orders, firstly a salmon gravalex with polenta chips, avocado puree, poached egg, crème friache, dill and mustard dressing.  Pretty as a picture, with perfectly poached egg and delicious marinated salmon.  I am not sure I’d have described them as polenta chips though they were still nicely fluffy in the middle, lightly crunchy on the outside.

After explaining the concept of pikelets to Ms L (like smaller, a little more dense pancakes) and stone fruit (peaches, apricots, plums etc, fruit with a pit in the middle), our second dish was decided.  In addition to pikelets and fruit it also came with cinnamon ice cream and almond praline.  Ms L’s eyes lit up when she took her first bite, proclaiming them ‘yummy’.  I would have to concur, with nicely poached and not too soft fruit, not overly dense pikelets and pretty decent ice cream.

Ironman decided on the pulled shoulder pork in a brioche bun.  This came served in its own lil blue boy paper wrapping, which I thought was an interesting way of branding.  The bun had a nice golden crust but looked a little small, and Ironman confirmed that he was expecting something a little larger given it wasn’t served with a side order of fries or something similar.  Also something which Ironman noted, when served pulled pork in the US it had come with a sweet vinegar sauce.  This version was a little different – as I understand it there are several authentic ways of serving pulled pork depending on where in the US you are.

Ms Counting her Calories had chosen Lil Boy Blue specifically so she could have the fried egg tacos with ham, chilli tomato relish and goats feta.  Last dish to arrive and probably the best, it came with the same cute wrapping as the pulled pork bun.  Three things stood out to me about the tacos – the way the texture of the fried egg and the soft tacos melded together so well, that the egg was nicely fried and not overdone, and the bit of a kick from the chill relish.  I am not sure if I’d have it in my list of top ten world breakfasts of the year, but I can’t say they are wrong either.

Overall

Cute little cafe with good quality food.  Service was a bit pushed on the day, but other than a minor mistake with one drinks order everything came out right and I was particularly grateful for the way they communicated with us as to how long we would likely need to wait for a table.  Definitely a keeper.

Verdict

Food – 8.5

Service – 7.5

Ambience – 7.5 (a little over-capacity but nice)

Price – 7

Address

309 High Street

Kew VIC 3101

Tel: (03) 9853 5003