Melbourne Food Review: Milano on Queen, Queen St., CBD
This was the morning after Cafe Vue Cocktail Night – believe it or not, no hang over. Jacqui (the champ who consumed 10 about cocktails, was not the least bit drunk, and to prove it drove home got breathalysed and passed) had theorised that that is the difference good quality vodka and the nasty cheap crap that gives you hang over.
Because KJ only had two more days in Melbourne, we decided to take her to a cafe for brunch, very relaxing Saturday brunch, Melbourne style. Because it was on the way to the Queen Vic Market (let’s face it, all tourist road leads the Queen Vic), Maya had chosen this place.
(Chicken and avocado salad – $?)
It’s a typical nice, warm coloured and relaxing Melbourne cafe really. The Saturday breakfast menu consisted of the usual breakfast menu typical of the better Melbourne cafes. KJ, being a fussy girl that she is, had asked if they could do a salad (who the hell eats salad for breakfast anyway?) They said yes with a choice of tuna or chicken. She opted for chicken. Maya had opted for scrambled eggs and ‘shrooms on the side.
(pancake with bacon, banana and maple syrup – $14?)
The food took quite a while though – almost 30 minutes before we were served despite being one of the few tables. So bring your patience with you and it shall be rewarded. Josh opted for the pancake option and boy did it blow me away! The dish was made up of two pancakes – one topped with lots of bacon and another with grilled banana. Both doused with maple syrup. Absolutely delicious. I would totally order that.
(the big veggie breakfast – $14? well, free actually)
Me? Starving and couldn’t decide. I opted for the big veggie breakfast. And it did not disappoint. It was the biggest veggie breakfast I had ever seen (hallelujah!). It consisted of two perfectly poached eggs (my choice), fried mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, spinach, home made baked mixed beans and tomato relish. There was supposed to be a hash brown but they had run out so I asked for extra mushrooms instead. All perfectly made and all perfectly yummy. Even the bread (Turkish) passed. And I’m fussy about bread.
But wait. There is a catch. Let’s see that one again. What do you see? You saw something sticking out under a piece of tomato you say? Bad luck for me, unfortunately, because I didn’t. I had to find out the hard way and something sharp poked the side of my mouth. What it turned out to be was a used match. Complete with one burnt end and everything. So I complained. Of course, I complained. In a nice way obviously. The waitress was most apologetic. She immediately took away my plate and offered to make me another breakfast. She rattled off a few things and I settled for a toasted chicken, cheese and avocado sandwich. Luckily by now I had eaten most of the breakfast.
(toasted chicken, cheese and avocado sandwich – free)
A few minutes later, the chef herself turned up to apologised. And a few minutes later, my toasted sandwich arrived. And it was good (and fast! Next table had been there a while and still no food, seems like the 30 minute wait for breakfast was universal). The Turkish bread was perfectly toasted and the chicken unassumingly good with gooey avocado. Josh ate half of it because well, I had eaten most of the breakfast before that.
All in all, it was good. The food was really good as far as cafe breakfast goes. Quite outstanding in fact. I would wait half an hour for that sort of feed any day. As for the used match, I’m sure it’s a genuine mistake, which they promptly corrected in the most apologetic manner. My breakfast and the extra toasted sandwich were taken off the bill. I was happy with the service and the way they handled the situation.
So yes, I would go back.
Milano on Queen, 215 Queen St., Melbourne VIC 3000
