One rainy Sunday morning B and I found ourselves south of the river and in need of a warming brunch to kick start our day. We had a quick search for nearby cafes and came across the St Kilda Dispensary, which had great reviews, so decided to give it a try.
It’s housed in a former dispensary (hence the name!) and has taken its history as the basis for its interior design with lots of beakers, test tubes, vintage medical signage and the like scattered around the place, which I really liked. The place is pretty small, with two small rooms of mainly shared tables, as well as a few spots out of the street which were not much use given the weather that day!
There were some impressive displays of cakes, croissants, muffins and slices at the front counter, but we were there for brunch so went straight for the main menu. The menu is fairly short, with both breakfast and lunch options taking up just a page. There were a handful of vegetarian options on both lists, although vegans would probably struggle which is a shame.
We started with our standard drink orders – a soy flat white for me and an English breakfast tea for B, both of which we were very happy with. My coffee was excellent and B’s tea was looseleaf (which is always a plus!) and came with a cute little milk bottle, which I probably enjoyed more than he did!
We actually both ended up ordering the same item from the menu – the Vegetarian Breakfast Roll ($10.50), which came with avocado & feta mash, egg, rocket and hollandaise. It may have been a pretty simple dish, but it was really, really delicious. Messy, tricky to eat, but delicious. We barely talked while we ate as we were so focussed on enjoying every single bite.
There was a great ratio of the ingredients, it wasn’t just all rocket, and the egg yolk was nice and runny, which added to the messiness but that’s okay!
It was the perfect size too, we both left feeling happily full, rather than stuffed to the brim, which is always good. Although I would have liked some room left to try some of the cakes, but I guess we may have to stop by for afternoon tea one day instead!
So despite the short menu we were very happy with our choice and had a really delicious brunch. It was good value too, with the whole lot coming to $28.50 which is always a bonus!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!