Small Block
| Where | 130 Lygon Street, East Brunswick—View map |
Contact | 03 9381 2244 |
Website | — |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm |
Payment | Cash |
Diet | Soy, Gluten free |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
'Yes you can have eggs on toast'
Ellie Parker 21 August 2009
Weekends are for being shattered from the week that has just been. Weekend breakfasts are for re-energising your happy batteries and bringing you back to earth. Small Block understands all of this.
Everyone operates on a sleepy, tender agenda at Small Bock. You can cuddle your coffee and stare into the distance for what seems like hours here. Food never arrives in a flurried hurry. Locals in their 20s bumble out dulled, monosyllabic conversation. Couples in their 30s and 40s know better and bring along the Saturday papers. Even the funky little toddler people scale it back a bit.
There is no doubt, Small Block deserves the accolade of being one of the first to create the definitive Brunswick brekkie experience. There is always a wait for tables, because that's just how its done around here. Same goes for the breakfast - all things come in good time. But when it comes, its glorious.
The food can be as simple or as complicated as you like. ‘Yes you can have eggs on toast' is written on the menu and in actual fact the poached eggs on homemade corn bread does it for me every time.The Summer Brekkie splashes colour and flavour onto the brekkie canvas with avocado, poached eggs, Persian feta, beetroot relish, spinach and sourdough- a bit like tapas. The eggs benedict are a bit hit with the men in my life and the muesli with poached fruit and yoghurt is popular with the ladies. Welsh Rarebit fans should also expect great things. For something different there is an omelette with pork relish, bean shoots, fried shallots and chili jam. I could go on.
The clientele are generally as hip as the red vinyl seats they sit on. The walls are adorned with chopped up, collaged street signs reminiscent of Rosalie Gascoigne's artworks. There are intimate tables for two up front, bench seats out back, stools and milk crates outside and window seating for those who like a room with a view.
If you want a typical Melbourne (Brunswick) brekkie experience, Small Block has got it in spades. They gave a good name to weekend brunch way back when. They're still doing it.