Broadsheet Restaurant

When Broadsheet Restaurant opened, I expected a line of flailing bodies, writhing in excitement to be lining out the door (especially on the weekends) ensuring that, in true Melbourne style hype, that there would be an hour wait to pop in and check out what the heck was going on. After all, that’s generally what happens once Broadsheet has covered a new cafe. 

So on the long weekend in June, I purposely stayed away and went elsewhere on the Saturday in Collingwood …but couldn’t resist walking by and seeing how things were looking. 

I was quite surprised when I walked by the gallery space that had been converted into the restaurant that in fact, there weren’t people lining outside, and from what I could see…there were actually seats available inside! 

So on Monday, Brad and I crossed our fingers and visited, and were pleasantly surprised to be seated straight away. 

For a temporary space, I think they’ve done a nice job, it’s cool and slick, with a touch of greenery, pretty and interesting lights, and well thought out seating so they can fit in quite a number of people. It was definitely lacking a bit of warmth, but considering the space is going to be around for three months, it ain’t too shabby. 

If you hadn’t heard of what Broadsheet Restaurant is, it’s an all day diner, showcasing dishes from a myriad of Melbourne’s best restaurants and chefs, including dishes from Top Paddock, Auction Rooms, The Town mouse and many more. 

Naturally, it would be absolutely criminal for the Broadsheet Restaurant to serve bad coffee, so as expected, Brad’s coffee looks beautiful…but a little unexpectedly, the soy chai is absolutely delicious as well. I was blown away with how good it was! Intensely full of spice, and not so creamy and milky which I adored. 

When I really like chai’s, I have two. 

And I certainly did at Broadsheet Restaurant!

The menu reads well, but a little on the expensive side, especially for breakfast. 

I opt for the mixed grain and seed porridge with almond milk, macadamia crumble and poached seasonal fruit from Auction Rooms. 

Now I love Auction Rooms, and I love porridge, but I was a little disappointed with this particular dish. To me, porridge is warm, hearty and immensely satisfying…and this didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The flavours were good, but I found this to be a little on the watery side, luke warm instead of piping hot and not very filling. The portion size here was too much small for me, I can only imagine how tiny it would be for a guy! 

On the total flip side though, Brad’s toasted reuben sandwich on dark rye bread with corned basket, sauerkraut and a Swiss and Russian dressing from Five Points Deli ticked all the boxes we needed. It was ginormous, looked amazing and was simply sensational in flavour. Definitely food envy going on here. 

Melbourne’s a tough crowd, and surely the team at Broadsheet know this better than anyone and I think for a space that’s only around for a short period of time, and for combining so many different restaurants in one space, they have done a good job. 

Service was almost on point, despite only having been open for a week or so (when I went). On the down side, it does look like there are some portion issues, looking at some of the other dishes that came out I did feel things looked generally on the small side and it is a little bit on the expensive side as well. 

Open until the 2nd of August

Broadsheet Restaurant 

166 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy