The only downside of Melbourne’s sudden breakfast and lunch café boom is that menus are generally filled with the usual fare – smashed avocado, eggs benedict, thyme mushrooms. The menu at Lil Boy Blue offers something new and refreshing and they pull it off. The meals at Lil Boy Blue are deliberately focussed on creating combinations of food that taste the best. And the reason Lil Boy Blue might have nailed its courageous move to create interesting food is that the owner, Joshua Clarke, is also the chef. (The name is inspired by his two young kids).
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| I had trouble deciding today but I was pretty happy with my choice: spiced pumpkin salad with baby beets, du puy lentils, crumbed goats feta, trail mix, tendrils, pickled onions and beetroot vinaigrette. The trail mix was such an interesting addition and added sweetness to my meal. My one issue with this new style of food is that it's so difficult to eat it all at once and mix flavours. |
Breakfast is served until 12pm on weekdays and 2pm on weekends. Mum and I have eaten breakfast here once before and enjoyed it – I had the Brioche Bun filled with Autumn Mushrooms, Spinach in Garlic and Lemon and Truffle Pecorino and mum had the Poached and Crumbed eggs with Mushrooms, Soldiers, Salsa Verde, Pickled Capsicum and Goats Curd. So we decided to go back for lunch. The lunch menu (which starts at 12pm) includes nibbles, lil plates, and big plates. It’s also open for dinner! And there’s a dessert menu and sweets made in-house every morning, located in the front cabinet.
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| This was mum's meal: crisp skin pork belly, chilli lime prawns with parsnip, green beans, currants and apple cider jus. Mum ate it all despite it being really rich - we were both ready for a snooze after our meals. |
The exterior doesn’t give anything away about the food that’s made in the kitchen. Sandwiched between a dry cleaner and a musical shop, it’s just a glass window with some white and blue. Inside the place has a modern, simplistic feel, with 70-seats somehow hidden inside this café.
The front room is the main dining area, with wooden tables, and an infamous textual rug hanging on the exposed brick wall. You can walk through to back room, where there are tall seats and tables, where you can get a glimpse into the kitchen and watch the magic happens. There is also an upstairs function area, available for bookings, and a private sunroom. Lil Boy Blue is vibrant but has a really relaxed vibe. All the staff are welcoming and accommodating. It’s definitely a café that will make any breakfast lover’s list of favourites.
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| Skinny chai latte - I've had one of there's before and it's really tasty. They add honey to it for sweetness. And the cups here are really cool - they look like they're takeaway cups but they're ceramic. |
Word of warning: This is High Street, Kew. It’s notoriously congested and has tram-traffic 24/7. That means you’ll have to do some creative parking down a side street (or if you’re very lucky, you might get one on High Street but I wouldn’t bet on it).
Lil Boy Blue
309 High Street, Kew
9853 5003
Hours:
Tues: 7am to 4pm
Wed - Sat: 7am to 11pm
Sun: 7am to 4pm
Website
http://www.lilboyblue.com.au/
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