Once a Tailor

Disclosure: I was invited to the launch of Once a Tailor, but returned and paid for my and Brad's brunch

A little while ago, I was invited to a launch night for a cafe on Glenferrie Road called 'Once a Tailor'. They had been around for a little while, but I think they just a little bit longer to find their feet and find their place on the bustling little street. 

Somewhat sheepishly, the main thing that induced me to go (other than the proximity), was the fact that Darren Percival (runner up on the Voice last year) was going to be performing, as he's a very close friend of one of the owners. My dad and I love the show, and he was my dad's favourite performer from the first season, so of course I had to check him out (and get some noms in the process!)

Here's a little sneak peek of him singing. Sorry for the shakiness, that's a few glasses of wine at work there!

Whilst he was brilliant, and such a carefree and joyful singer, Once a Tailor also rose to the occasion, offering smaller, nibble sized versions of some of their breakfast and lunch menu (which I thought was quite clever, albeit a little messy at times), which we generally found tasty and well seasons and I absolutely loved the decor! There was a sort of, elegant man-cave feel to it, with the antler chandeliers and worn brick walls.

I took mum and Brad with me, and had a great night running around with Adrian, Elisa and Allan, where we were briefly denied these gorgeous little sweets, after the waitress told us what they were and dusted them with sugar…what a flirt! Fortunately we got to try them later in the night, I forgot exactly what was in them, but they were surprisingly light and quite delicious!

My mum ended up visiting the next day for brunch with a friend…and her friend then booked to have Mother's day brunch with her children that weekend! Seems there was a trend going on, and I had to get in on it. 

So the weekend after, Brad and I popped in for a quiet Saturday brunch. The space wasn't too busy and although we were offered a spot out in the back, I knew I wanted the natural light that the communal table in the front room offered!

A sweet and warming chai, and a rather smooth looking coffee. Looking good here. Especially with bright, sunshine yellow saucers. What could make me happier?

Brad ordered their baked eggs, which were probably a little bit more cooked through than we would like, I do like it when there's sort of a soupy or stewy element to the baked egg, so that it's perfect for mopping up with bread. Brad also found these were a bit bland, so a little more seasoning might not have hurt.

I on the other hand, after tossing up between zucchini and corn, ordered their zucchini fritters with pesto and poached eggs. My poached eggs were cooked to oozy perfection and the pesto and zucchini were made for each other. The fritters were maybe a tiny bit wet, but overall were very tasty, and a nice change from the typical corn fritter. 

Before we left, I couldn't resist trying out their hot Italian chocolate. I don't normally do hot chocolates in cafes, but throw Italian in there…and well, that just changes everything.

I honestly, couldn't have been happier with this. I loved that this was rich, but not sweet and had a real cocoa flavour to it. It was also a little thicker than your typical hot chocolate, but not as thick or heavy as something you might get from Max Brenner or Koko Black. I loved finishing my little yellow mug of happiness and still feel relatively light (considering what I just had). I'm totally coming back just for a hot chocolate break. Why not?

On a whole, I like the space and the food is pretty good, except for the baked eggs we had. We got great service, both launch night and on our brunch visit, with friendly and smiley waiters and waitresses, who were quite attentive. 

Plus there's just like, loads of yellow coloured things in this place. Surely that only means good things? 

Once a Tailor

727 Glenferrie Road

Hawthorn 3122

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