658 Church Street, Richmond, 9429 4332
My score: 3.5/5
Lots of people eat lots of avocado without ever seeing an avocado because avocado is that creamy green stuff that comes with breakfast. Not here. At Top Paddock, an impressive new cafe from the owners of Two Birds One Stone, avocado is served in its skin and you spread it yourself. As avocado varieties come in and out of season, the dish will look different. It’s a small, direct way that chef Jesse McTavish expresses his farm-to-plate philosophy. I think it’s great.
What’s also great is the design of this sprawling cafe. A coffee station is axis for various zones: a deck with rockery, large tables for birthday lunches, round tables for corporate brainstorming, nooks for catching up on email and perches for people-watching. There’s an open feel, augmented by multiple entrances, skylights and covetable lighting fixtures. Big can mean busy and service ranges from wonderful to overwhelmed.
The same menu runs all day and the chef, who is from Byron Bay, would love it if you ate fish for breakfast. Choose from gin-cured trout with beetroot relish or pretty pan-fried kingfish that’s given a Mexican wave by arranging it with baby coriander, fried egg and a corn tortilla that’s tricky to eat with knife and fork. The glazed plate is beautiful, as is all the crockery. Pulled pork is made from the neck and shoulder of a pig that’s delivered by the farmer that raised it; the meat is braised to succulent surrender with fennel and lemon and served with sodden prunes over a hunk of rye. Think of the bread as an inside-out stuffing and it tastes better than if you consider it merely soggy.
Traditional breakfast dishes are given a good shaking. Polenta porridge is robust yet doesn’t sit like an anchor in the stomach. The ricotta hotcake is epic: just try it, fight over it, applaud it. The sweet display includes a chocolate cheesecake brownie that’s been in co-owner Nathan Toleman’s swag since his first cafe, Alphington’s APTE. It’s evil and delightful as ever. Coffee is taken seriously; the lattes are good and there’s single origin fun too.
Top Paddock rockets into the top echelon of the Melbourne cafe scene because it’s one of a number of places taking food as seriously as any hatted restaurant. That doesn’t make for a cheap brunch but, taken in context, it’s a win at weeny prices.
See their website.
More Richmond:
Chingon, 413 Swan Street, Richmond, 9429 5695
Two Mexican brothers cook the street food they grew up with at this busy taqueria with starlit terrace.
The Fair Foodstore, 135 Church Street, Richmond, 9429 6008
There’s a focus on doing the simple things perfectly here: a great boiled egg, an excellent coffee, a salad that speaks of the season.
Union Dining, 272 Swan Street, Richmond, 9428 2988
Make the most of the warm weather by heading up to the terrace for cocktails and snacky wonders like brioche with roast chicken and harissa mayonnaise. Otherwise, visit the restaurant for the Euro tour du jour.
First published in The Age, March 3, 2013
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