Little Press & Cellar
| Where | 72 Flinders St, Melbourne, 3000—View map |
Contact | 03 9677 9677 admin@thepressclub.com.au |
Website | www.thepressclub.com.au |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Friday 7:00 am to 11:30 am |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Unwelcome |
The not so little Greek guy
Ellie Parker 25 September 2010
Kombosta winter fruits, tsoureki with banana krema, frouta epohis: Greek for breakfast, Calombaris style. Doing what he does best, this time George Calombaris has taken over CBD breakfast with his new Flinders St outfit, Little Press & Cellar. An adjunct to The Press Club (and previously known as Press Club Bar), this little fella is seriously souped up on style.
A chicken fried crumbed egg with bastourma jam will immediately send you into a tail spin. Similar in style to a scotch egg, this little baby takes the goodness of a boiled egg, encased in the deliciousness of minced chicken, and then piffs itself into a deep fryer. Fried chicken for breakfast, you say? Well, don't mind if I do. The bastourma jam might sound like a ridiculous meaty chutney, but there's a slight tamarind-like tang which hits it off with the cubes of salty bastourma, all of which works swimmingly well with the creamy-egg-and-deep-fried-chicken-ball-of-yum. Who cares which came first, it turns out the chicken and the egg are a killer double act.
The Greek farm house breakfast is simple and probably the most traditional dish on offer. Thick slabs of chewy, rustic bread have been grilled over the charcoal, rubbed with a fruity olive oil and then paired with two perfectly poached eggs sprinkled with black salt. Warmed olives, ham and a chunk of aged farm house cheddar complete the beautiful rendition of a classic Grecian start to the day.
One of the flow-on effects of being attached to The Press Club is the faultless service. The front of house is currently in its absolute prime: water is poured into glasses before your bum even hits the seat; Vittoria coffee arrives before the blink of an eye; lounge music ups the vibe, keeping solo diners in good company and allowing suits the chance to retrieve their inner cool. The staff are also pleasantly helpful when it comes to guiding you through the slightly cryptic menu (mind you, it's only cryptic for those who don't speak Greek).
Upshot: Greek-inspired city menu that tempts you into uncharted breakfast waters. Add to that quality, artisanal ingredients interpreted by a masterful kitchen and the result is awesome.