Top Paddock Cafe, Melbourne 01-2016

I'd heard a lot about Top Paddock for a while, as possibly being the new best cafe around town. The new cafe precinct of Church Street seemed to be largely driven by the queues for this place, and this particular Sunday was no different with people lying on the lawns outside waiting for seats.

There's a lot of breakfast items that sound enticing - eggs benedict with pork cheeks and yuzu, chilli scrambled eggs, spanner crab and the list goes on and on.

- White anchovies & Jamon Serrano (with fried eggs, padron peppers & manchego on toast) $19.5 - the first place I've seen with a real Spanish breakfast and the items took me back to a happier place over there. Tangy anchovies, beautifully cured serrano, grilled peppers and quality bread.

It took me a long time to make it there the first time and it probably will the second also. But I'll be looking forward to it.

Ushi

Eat, drink, travel. Where annual leave, expendable income, intensive research and a daring appetite come together. Originally based in Abbotsford, Melbourne before taking timeout to venture outwards from Whitechapel, London before unexpectedly living in Kingston, Canberra. Progressed to Footscray, Melbourne and now journeyed the full circle back to London. I wonder where will be next... I spend a lot of time researching all the available web information in preparation for eating my way around a city. Initially my thoughts were to make the choices easier for the average traveller passing through to eat well and not be disappointed. However considering the insane number of blogs and the lack of readers of this one, it has now turned into a small catalogue to supplement my memory, particularly for potential return trips and reminiscing. Wonderful food experiences come from markets, street vendors, tiny holes in the wall, fine establishments and also heavily touristed places. I've tried what I consider to be well rated, something I'm particularly after or a menu that interests me. Sometimes the location near another site influences my choice, but I've been known to walk an hour each way to make it somewhere. This has progressed since 2004/2005 (the genesis of my food and travel life) - and it will all eventually find its way here.

Posted