Krimper, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

For a lunch with Ms H, I suggested that we go to Krimper. It’s fairly new and located in the CBD. It’s one of them Melbourne-style cafe that you usually find in the inner city suburbs but less so in the CBD. Being true to its Melbourne cafe heritage, Krimper is a little bit hard to find. It’s a located in a back street that’s between La Trobe and Lt Lonsdale streets, and the fact that there aren’t many (if any) other eateries in these back streets means that you’re wandering down narrow cobblestone streets without being entirely sure that you’re heading in the right direction.

However, we did find the place, and once you know how to get there, it’s pretty easy (I liken it to us trying to locate WonderBao for the first time). Krimper is a renovated factory. Stepping through the small and inconspicuous door, Krimper is airy and spacious inside. Exposed brickwork, a buzzing vibe, the place is dotted with fresh flowers, industrial lights and bicycles. Ms H and I just loved the place immediately, and we knew we had found a special oasis from the tedium of our office-based work lives.

The menu is a blend of European/NY/Asian dishes, each sound ever so delicious. The menu choices were so tempting that I cursed the fact that I had eaten morning tea and would be too full to go for the meatier dishes. Mental note – must go back for lunch again.


She also got the chicken and veg pot-au-feu (soup) w harissa paste, served with a side of quinoa. I tried a spoonful of this soup and it was wonderfully chickeny in flavour. This was proper chicken soup made from a lot of chicken to get that depth of flavour. Ms H seemed pretty pleased with it too.


I went for a veggie option - roasted baby beetroot and pencil fennel salad, with quinoa, chickpeas, feta, dill and mint. I loved pretty much everything about this salad. The sweet, earthy baby beets; tender baby fennel, that almost tasted like spring onions; the nubbly nutty quinoa and chickpeas; the creamy feta and the fragrant mint. It’s these sort of salads that I wish I could make. It’s like everything’s thrown together, but it creates its own harmony of flavours and textures.

Ms H also got a coffee and declared it to be lovely.

Verdict
Food – 8.5
Service – 7
Ambience – 8.5
Price – 7.5

Overall
Love Krimper. It's a find. It's a keeper. Krimper may be new, and if it keeps this going, I can definitely see this become a firm favourite/institution in the CBD. It’s hidden, it’s secluded and it’s my (and many others’) new favourite spot.

Service was friendly and energetic. You can tell the staff are proud of the food and their space. The service was a wee slow on the day we went, but that could be because we went during peak lunch hour.

Am definitely coming back here... in fact, I’ve got two lunches scheduled for Krimper this month!

Address
Krimper
20-24 Guildford Lane
Melbourne 3000
Telephone: 9043 8844