It's taken me a bit of time, but I've come to realise just how cool Gertrude St is. I know, terrible of me, but I love how effortless cool the place is. That and there are so many delicious looking eateries all so close to each other....where was one to start? Anada? De Clieu? Arcadia?
On a lazy late, late, late Sunday morning in August, Brad and I found ourselves at Southpaw. I'm not sure how, but I always ended up on the website and cooing over how cute their menu sounded. And the website design is kinda cute too. Leave me alone, I'm a sucker for pretty pretties.
Southpaw to me, visually, feels like a bar that does breakfast. At 1pm I found myself mulling over whether I should have mulled wine...or if it was too early.
There are a few areas to sit oneself at Southpaw, Brad and I sat on the little side counter/tables (I don't know what you would refer to them as...) to enjoy the sunlight that brightened up the foyer, with it's dark woods, chalkboards and bottles of liquor.
There were also what looked like communal pews (seriously) and a few other tables out back, so surprisingly spacious.
Chai for me, latte for Brad. As usual. The chai was quite nice here and I always appreciate being served a pot over just one glass, as by the time I will have finished my pot of chai, Brad will only have just finished his one latte. I'm into drinking my calcium and what not.
Both the brunch and nibbles and dinner menus looked quite scrumptious. But we were here for breakfast. And breakfast means eggs.
It's kind of funny, I was looking to get something a bit lighter and Brad wanted a bigger, more substantial breakfast (as usual), but it looks like our plates got switched a little!
Brad got the 'Fry Up', I love it when places put a little fun twist on dish names rather than just 'eggs with blah and blah and blah'. The 'Fry Up' came with a breakfast hash of kipfler potato, spicy sausage, mushrooms and spinach, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise.
So as explained earlier, a bit smaller than I anticipated, but so cute! I love the bright vividly yellow hollandaise sauce on the whiter than white poached eggs, and that it didn't absolutely drown the dish. I don't recall what the hash was like, but the eggs bled beautifully....
I on the other hand, went for the 'Cats Meow', such a cute name! With poached eggs, potato and corn hash, roasted tomato, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, this was simple and comforting. The hash, although small, was really quite yummy, I liked the addition of corn to the typical potato hash brown. Quite addictive. Overall, a slightly lighter 'big breakfast' type meal and really, just what I was after.
As I was taking this picture, one of the waiters came around and joked with me (or maybe he was being sarcastic? I tend to be kind of dense...) if taking empty plates was the new blogging trend. I don't know about you guys but I love seeing a plate finished at the end of the meal, if the plate it's empty, it's a good sign right?
I really enjoyed our breakfast here, the vibe was laid back, easy going, the waitstaff were all friendly (with a tinge of hipster) and completely unpretentious. It's easily one of those places you could quietly sit at all day and sip your coffee at, not too busy (like some more popular places), but enough activity around for there to be interest, but not to feel rushed or crowded. I dig it. Need to come back for evening nibbles.
189 Gertrude St
Fitzroy 3065
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