Mr Tulk
| Where | 328 Swanston St, State Library, Melbourne, 3000—View map |
Contact | 03 8686 5700 |
Website | — |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Saturday 7:00 am to 5:00 pm |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Soy |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Unwelcome |
The library cafe
Claire Wiltshire 22 August 2008
If you find yourself under a picturesque dome ceiling, amid a pile of weighty journals and experience a slight pang in the gut, chances are you've been working too hard in Melbourne's State Library to remember to eat breakfast. That's where the inviting, adjoining Mr Tulk cafe comes in handy.
With the brunch menu available until 5pm (when it's replaced with happy hour, just for a change of pace), you can make up for the hungry reading hours at any time of the day. For something simple, the avocado (sparked up with black pepper and tangy lime) on sourdough is a delightful choice. There are also some cute childhood favourites, like egg with vegemite soldiers; and porridge with banana and date for brain food to sustain you through the day.
The specials menu is worth keeping an eye on too, especially for the south-east Asian style plate of eggs. Crispy fried with thick soy so salty it brings a tear to the eye, the eggs come sans toast and topped with spring onions and chilli.
The coffee is great, but a pot of tea, with all the right trimmings, is much more fun. Chai is brewed, as it should be, with milk, in a gorgeous tea pot and the strainer has its own resting receptacle (essential for a tidy tea pouring ritual). No cutting corners with a cheap old teabag here.
Mr Tulk is a great place to catch up with friends, as well as being a welcoming place for solo visitors, with cosy book-shelf-framed booths that are lit up by huge old windows, and a big communal table for spreading out The Age. Gaze out over the popular library green and drift away with a tummy full of brekkie goodness.
And in case you were wondering - Mr Tulk's prestigious name pays homage to the library's first chief librarian, and his silhouetted profile adorns the cafe, reminding visitors of Melbourne's proud history of knowledge and learning.