Auction Rooms

Put the hammer down and get out to the old Auction Rooms in North Melbourne. A superb open space, vertical pipe pendants fill the air, oversized globes in another area, and it looks like they ran out of metho to strip the brick wall completely. Taking centre stage is the bar, where the magically smooth brew is crafted that rivals St Ali. They have food to match.

Museli with honey, yoghurt and caramelised pears, toast and salad there for something lighter. Choose from the Bids, the non-vegetarian cooked breakfast of organic poached eggs, sautéed spinach, baked bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes on toasted artisan sourdough all about quality produce. Add bacon to the Italian slow cooked beans, broken down but retaining its shape in a rich tomato sauce flavoured with basil, rosemary infused olive oil with slices of sourdough. No sourdough with the Japanese style beef stew, tender cubes of the cow in a sauce that resembles a curry but tastes more like the oyako-don, sweet and oniony. A more recent visit greeted us with chorizo in eggs dusted with a cumin spice mixture, a steal for the price paid.

Service is a bit slow however, but I’d excuse that, because it does get very busy. Final calls on this place, I’m totally sold.


4 / 5 yums!
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Where? 103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC
What? Under $15