When Brad and I first started going out, we'd often meet on Glenferrie Road, as he was still studying at Swinburne University and I'd always struggle in finding a new lunch place or new coffee place to visit. Liar Liar is alright, but not a favourite, Mario's was reliable for a decent chai latte although one visit we got told off for being cosy on one of the couches with takeaway drinks and never returned (apparently it's for drink in customers only? :/), and a lot of other places were alright or good, but never great.
Oh if only Axil Coffee Roasters was open then. I suppose it still works out since Brad is still at Swinburne, except doing his PhD now and I still live fairly close by.
Axil is damn new, I think it might have only opened last week? But I'm not entirely sure, but I do remember driving by it, thinking I had never seen it before and then thinking it looked so cute and then thinking, I needed to go there, before redirecting my attention to the road. Cafes are such dangerous distractions.
So last weekend Brad and I woke up at noon and made our way to Axil for breakfast.
It's huge, big and airy, clear everything out and you could probably have a pretty decent warehouse party in here. I loved it when I walked in, it's definitely a lot bigger than most suburban cafes and not like anything we have in Hawthorn or Kew (or so I think anyway). It's got that hip, trendy feel about it, which I've always admitted I'm a sucker for. It's just that breath of modern fresh air in a suburb stuffed with private schools and Laurent cafes.
I love how the scribbles feel playful yet grungy or even industrial as well, the cool serious gray tones with punches of yellow, as if a 3 year old fuelled by red cordial was given a great big yellow paint brush and was let loose when nothing was in here.
Maybe more chaotic than I mean to make it seem, but you get what I mean. I love it. Which I've said like 3 times, but I really mean it. Really.
I got my usual chai latte and Brad got his latte, I couldn't stop purring over how smooth and velvety the milk was. Absolutely beautifully done.
Brad got the baked eggs, forgot exactly what was in them, but um. Totally yummy. They were also a refreshing break from the typical saucy tomato flavoured baked eggs with chorizo or some kind of sausages in them. These were cheesy with dukkah, but not with too much sauce or liquid and served with perfectly crunchy toast.
I got the corn and haloumi fritters served with spinach, avocado, salsa and a poached egg....although they had been so busy earlier in the morning that they had run out of avocado. But the waitress said they were otherwise still available and that she would give me a discount since there was no avocado.
Isn't it the prettiest little picture?
And now isn't it just sexy?!
Oh what a delight. The corn fritters are just the way I like them, roughly shaped, filled to the brim with corn kernels that occasionally pop out and try to run away from the pack. I didn't notice the haloumi so much, but I certainly appreciated that these weren't too doughy. The poached egg was just gorgeous, who doesn't love a warm runny yolk all over their breakfast? It was so well portioned and so well balanced that I absolutely enjoyed every bite.
I am so glad that Axil has opened up in my residential area, they've really done everything well from the interior, to the coffee, to the food, to the friendly service. This place is going to get popular. I can easily see myself wasting many hours here, and even more if they got wifi....
322 Burwood Road
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