Cafe Rosamond
| Where | Rear 191 Smith St, Fitzroy, 3065—View map |
Contact | 03 9419 2270 |
Website | — |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 2:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm |
Payment | Cash |
Diet | Soy |
Seating | Inside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
Peek-a-boo, they've found you!
Ellie Parker 20 February 2009
I have put off reviewing Café Rosamond for 4 years because I consider it my own. That’s right, it’s mine. All mine. Don’t you dare go anywhere near it. Besides, it’s too small for all of you. So stay away... please.
Rosamond has elicited a strange combination of fierce pride, selfish determination and utter paranoia. This little breakfast cubbyhole has stolen my little breakfast heart. To be honest, there are many others who feel the same way. We all know who we are because we see each other every other day.
So, what’s all the fuss about? For a start, the coffee is unbelievably silky, smooth and strong. If you could gobble a coffee it would be Rosamond’s.
Then there are The Eggs. I transform into the Cheshire Cat every time the Kangaroo Island scrambled eggs appear before my nose. They are superlative. Rosamond's crew must do something special to them and I actually don’t care what it is as long as they keep on coming my way. The scrambled comes with additional sides, but the avocado salad seasoned with lemon juice, pepper and parsley, comes up trumps. They are perfect breakfast bedfellows. Go no further.
The other favourite is Rosamond’s fruit, muesli and yoghurt. So many cafes get this dish so wrong- sloppy yoghurt, dud fruits, average muesli all resulting in one very sorry-for-itself dish. If the muesli and fruit combo were a dark art, then Rosamond would be the master sorcerer. The plop of yoghurt is almost always perfect. The fruit is juicy, seasonal, pretty and sliced to order. Rosamond uses the Red Hill Muesli Company brand, which is responsible for some of the finest oats around town.
The little menu also offers jaffles, baked eggs, porridge, fruit toast, croissants and other usual suspects. There is alovely selection of teas that come in proper tea pots done old-style. Food is served on quaint bric-a-brac odds and sods (think Grandma’s cupboards and garage sales).
Rosamond is a Fitzroy institution. In Winter, the rugged up Fitzroyalty look like a gathering of snuggle pots and cuddle pies. Customers cluster together enjoying comfort food, cosy surrounds and damn fine coffee. Space is limited, so it is always a challenge to slot newcomers in like Tetris.
Pop your head in one day for a mighty coffee. You might see a Cheshire Cat in the corner, beadily eyeing off strangers. And by stranger, I mean you.