Little Tommy Tucker

"Surely it couldn't be too hard to get a table at a new cafe in Bentleigh," I find myself saying to Brad, as we drive from his place to Glen Waverley over to Centre Road.

25 minutes later, I find myself eating my words. 

Little Tommy Tucker, whilst new, has been well embraced by the locals and the smart and tidy space, is busier than an airport on boxing day, what energy! Such is life. 

I think Brad's patience, and mine, at least in regards to food, has been trained whilst in the States, and we have no issue with waiting for 15 minutes or so, as we're told by the very apologetic manager (probably owner?). We smile and understand and even have no problem when asked if we mind sitting right next to the door, but his mind seems to be ticking at 100 kilometres an hour, as he continues to apologise and run around, and I quietly wish he would calm down a little bit, as being so concerned can't be good for his health!

The trend for cafes these days seems to be moving from 'grunge-chic' and brick walls, to smart tiles, white walls and light coloured timber. Little Tommy Tucker is refreshing and bright on the eyes, with spots of colour and greenery around the place. There is a long bench with lots of tables lined up, and a couple of cute booths at the back, which I was hoping for, but were obviously snapped up quite early! 

 Having visited Stovetop the day before, I seemed to be having a weekend of brewed and strained chai lattes. Not that I am complaining at all! It was beautifully creamy and rich, with lingering honey aromas, without being sugary and great spicy flavours. Definitely yum. Definitely want more!

Brad's latte also looked quite pleasant with it's deep colour and velvety smooth milk. 

The menu's not long, but seems to feature simple, classic and good. 

Brad's eggs benedict with Otway ham hock and hollandaise sauce is hard to go wrong with. The ham is delicious, adding a nice bit of salty and savoury to the perfectly cooked eggs. And um. Hello? Why aren't you drooling over your keyboard over that lusciously yellow hollandaise?

For me, having been caught up in Mushroom Mania fever, I tucked into the butter thyme mushrooms with Dodoni feta and organic lemon, on top of gluten free bread. Although a fairly basic looking dish, the beauty is in it's simplicity, where less is more. The mushrooms, beautiful and rich in flavour, with a lovely texture, accented with hints of feta, that didn't overwhelm. Definitely very pleasant, and well executed, the focus here seems to be on serving honest and delicious food without any pretentiousness.

I find the portions at Little Tommy Tucker weren't huge, but enough to leave one feeling quite sated and comfortable, which I definitely prefer (got to watch that waistline!) I guess since I ate at around 12:30, I was quite content until 5pm or so, although I noticed Brad reaching for a snack or two during the day.

I couldn't resist checking out their sweets, and upon choosing this darling little coconut macaron, the manager whisked by and said it was complimentary. So surprising, but so sweet! 

Whilst the texture of the macaron wasn't exactly traditional, I really loved how light this was, the shells were quite short and the ganache in-between was delicious. Coconut makes for such a refreshing macaron flavour!

Little Tommy Tucker made for a lovely afternoon brunch, with delicious drinks and food. The place was quite lively as mentioned on the weekend, so I'd love to pop by midweek to see what the crowd is like then. If you're in the area? Make sure to check this little boy out (and to the manager/owner (sorry, I really should have asked!), breathe! It's okay! We were really fine sitting next to the door! And thank you for the macaron! :)). 

Little Tommy Tucker

432 Centre Road

Bentleigh 3204

View I'm So Hungree in a larger map