Beaver's Tail Social Club

Beavers Tail Social Club
160 Barkly St
St Kilda
VIC 3182

Beaver's Tail Social Club is a friendly local. It is small but what it does offer is well considered. They use interesting, quality suppliers (Mork hot chocolate, Prana Chai, own brand 'Beaver's Tail' coffee) The coffee here is a defiant move away from the current trend for subtle, sophisticated flavours. Here the coffee is punchy and robust. I'm going though a 'the-bigger-the-assult-on-my-nervous-system-the-better' phase... so 2 shaky thumbs up from me!!

See what I mean? Now that is a coffee!!

all photos www.rhphoto.com.au

Pardon

Pardon Cafe

Shop 4, 155 Greville St

(On Izett St)

Prahran

Melbourne 3181

This handsome cafe fits perfectly with the local scene. It is succinct and masculine, with enough quirky detail and staff friendliness to give it charm. Pretty young things come and go for perfectly executed coffee and the simplicity of the model allows for chat about the offerings and even the weather. Matt Forbes sweet treats perch temptingly on the counter, which I now regret resisting. Next time!

All photos www.rhphoto.com.au

Krimper

Krimper
20 Guildford Ln, 
VIC 3000

Ahh, Melbourne, we do love a good laneway cafe, don't we? The harder to find and the gloomier the laneway the better. Top marks to Krimper then!

This is the perfect winter hideout with great coffee and smiley staff.

I love so many details about this place. The door, for starters. My profile portrait was actually taken in front of this door a few years back! (See?) Exposed brick may have been done before, but here it is perfect for adding warmth and character to this cavernous space. This is a really photogenic space - so I'll let the pictures fill in the blanks...

all photos www.rhphoto.com.au

Toby's Estate

Toby's Estate
325 Flinders Lane
VIC 3000

Many Melbourne roasters now have an own-brand or attached cafe. Consider Abbotsford Club, First Pour, Industry Beans, Campos, Code Black etc.
And so now we have Toby's Estate on Flinders Lane. This is a regular cafe - in that there is a commercial kitchen cooking up a storm and a selection of (Toby's estate, naturally) coffee but it is also a showroom for the brand, education facility (cupping and courses available) and a store, with coffee, books and coffee making equipment available.

On my visit the cafe was packed with suits. This is convenient for city workers and the slick image seems to be attracting a corporate crowd. In saying that my coffee was definitely worth the visit, and with several varietals on offer there would be something for every coffee preference. Yet another one to try on your next CBD visit!

all photos www.rhphoto.com.au