Little Tommy Tucker, Bentleigh by Big Fil

There’s lots to like about Little Tommy Tucker.  I thought the food was good and the layout better, that in spite of being packed to the rafters and noisy it was still a pleasant place to eat.  What really stood out though was the service, with ‘the bearded charmer’ (yes, I do watch American Pickers) providing the friendliest and most efficient café service we have come across in the last four years.

 

We did make a bit of a mistake though.  Normally we are crack of dawn breakfast eaters, getting to where we want to visit around 8am when most of the competition for tables is still asleep.  Arriving around 10 meant that we had to join the queue waiting for a table to become free.  Fortunately the wait was only ten minutes or so, after which we were shown to our spot right in the middle of the room.

 

The menu is interesting, to the extent that we ordered three breakfast items to share.  Even then there were a few casualties, things we would have liked to try but had to leave behind. 

 

First up for the day though was Snooze’s foraged pine mushrooms, served with cottage cheese, rye toast, a poached egg and crunchy quinoa.  Definitely her favourite dish of the day: a nice balance of spices, textures and elements although a smallish serving size and a slightly overcooked poached egg.

 

I went for the Gippsland Sirloin Steak, with chilli fried eggs, English sausage, tomato and horseradish celeriac salad.  For me the element of the dish which stood out were the nicely cooked sirloin steak.  The tomato, the salad, the sausage, the fried eggs, while there were no issues with any of these elements it was something that sounded excellent on the menu, didn’t quite live up to my expectations on the plate.  It’s obviously all high quality produce and treated with care and respect.  But we can’t all like the same things and I found the flavours a little restrained.

 

To finish up we ordered the buttered Dr Marty’s crumpets, with fresh banana, smashed honeycomb, banana custard and Canadian maple syrup.  Nice firm banana, although a little lacking in flavour and sweetness, my favourite element was the smashed honeycomb.  What was a little disappointing though, as with my main breakfast the flavours were more restrained than I really like, maybe some nice leatherwood honey rather than the banana custard.

 

Overall

Overall a very good café that I am sure will be someone’s absolute favourite, even if it wasn’t mine.  A real happening sort of vibe (which not many places in Centre Road have), an excellent fit out and outstanding service, and food that is pretty as a picture.

 

Verdict

Food – 8
Service – 9
Ambience – 8
Price – 7

 

Address

432 Centre Road
Bentleigh VIC 3204
Tel: (03) 9576 5174