Affogato Expresso Bar

29 Hardware Lane, Melbourne 3000.

Date visited: 29th February 2012

I'm back!  Yes, I'm not dead, just been away on holidays :)  Finally, after two weeks away from MerlinFan, loyal and trusted babysitter of Damon our kitty, we set off to have brekkie somewhere new once again.

Now the day didn't start off great.  I got up on time as planned (since we'd never been to Affogato and didn't know what time they stopped serving the breakfast menu) but Damon decided to sit curled up on my arm and sleep with his little furry chin resting on the crook of my elbow.  Nooooo... he was so cute I didn't have the heart to move and wake him... argggh... heavy rag doll...my arm was getting numb...

Finally he decided to get up so I could finally get up as well.  Then MerlinFan took ages doing her makeup, and by the time we got going it was pretty much 10.30am.  We rushed to Hardware Lane (all the while wondering why people were walking soooo slowly and side by side totally blocking the whole walkway - please, people, you're not even old!!!) thinking for sure we would have to go for the lunch menu now...

Anyway, got to Affogato and saw outside that yay, the breakfast menu was still on a large menu board outside.  Phew!  We were hovering outside still looking at the board when a waiter called hello to us and waved us in.  Good start - service even before we came in!  

We sat inside - the interior was really nice and cosy, with wood panelling and wall paper.  The seats were really cute, with a long bench along one wall and cushions to sit on.  I liked how each table had its own condiments and a jar of flowers.

We were given menus straight away - there was a breakfast menu and a lunch menu, totally spoilt for choice :) The waiter returned to get our drink orders, but we had pretty much already decided what we wanted before we got here (LOL thanks to our trusty Urbanspoon blogger reviews and photos) so we just ordered our food there and then. :P

MerlinFan had the ice coffee, which she said was on the bitter side, which went well with the really sweet vanilla ice cream.

Ice coffee

Now, I couldn't come to a cafe named Affogato and not try the Affogato!  It was basically a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a shot of hot expresso.  :D  The expresso was really strong and bitter, my mouth was watering at the coffee fumes!

Affogato $4.50

The food came really quickly, less than 15 minutes I would have to say, which MerlinFan and I were very impressed with.  Both of us had decided to have French Toast - there were three options - with maple syrup for $8, bacon or mixed fruit $11 and mixed berries and ice cream for $13.

I don't usually order sweet breakfasts, but today I had a craving for French Toast, so I opted to have the mixed berries and ice cream, and MerlinFan had hers with fruits.  Our first words when our food came was wow!  It looked almost too good to eat!

French toast with mixed berries and ice cream

My first thought when I bit into the french toast was OMG!  This french toast should be posted up on the French Toast Wall of Fame - it was so rich and buttery and moist and crunchy all in one bite... Now, french toast can be pretty much different every cafe you go to, and even MerlinFan who loves french toast and is always trying out different toasts everywhere we go, agreed that this was everything she was looking for in a french toast. <Drool>

There was a generous amount too, two large slices of toast, with lots of berry sauce and unlike some other brekkie places where you could actually count the number of pieces of fruit given, Affogato lavished the french toast with fruits.  Also, I didn't know if the ice cream was homemade, but it was really beautiful - creamy and silky, went really well with the sweet and slightly tangy strawberries, boysenberries and blueberries.  

Here's another picture, simply because it would be a sin not to post it LOL

See below, MerlinFan's french toast with fruits.  See what I mean by lavished with fruits?  0_0  

French toast with mixed fruits

MerlinFan's dish had a generous amount of maple syrup (can you see it glistening and dripping from the fruits?) and her french toast was still moist and crispy around the edges.  (How I love french toast with a crunch!!!)  The fruits were fantastic too - strawberries, banana and really, sweet juicy oranges and kiwi fruit (where did these people find kiwi fruit this sweet???)

Here's another photo MerlinFan took - look how pretty it was, making a heart shape aerial design LOL

Absolutely to die for.  

On the way out, I asked the waiter what time they stopped serving brekkie, and was very happy when I found out it was 11.30am.  Fabulous.  That means I won't have to wake up so early next time.  LOL.

Overall, great food and did I mention the affordable prices?  Overall, brekkie and coffee for us came up to only $33.

This is a place I would totally bring my family and friends from out-of-town.