Crabapple Kitchen in the Groove
Crabapple Kitchen is a leading cafe (one of the best cafes in Melbourne) on Glenferrie Road Hawthorn that makes a huge impression with its interesting dining spaces, array of gourmet services, friendly engagement and charm. Check out our article Best Melbourne Eastern Suburbs Cafes and Eateries.
Greg Feck is the luminary behind this establishment and brings to the table fine dining and a love for travel. Experience Crabapple Kitchen and experience the world. Their Friday Night Flights are something to behold, focussing on cuisines of the nations.
The World Loves Melbourne visited one Saturday morning for our first brunch visit and are keen to return. Having imbibed literally hundreds of cafes in Melbourne we felt Crabapple Kitchen is a standout.
There's a sense of playfulness and vibrancy here - a place of colour, flair and creativity. Upon entering Crabapple Kitchen the sound system was playing Madonna "Into the Groove" - so apt.
Get into the groove boy
You have to prove your love to me
I was getting into the groove at Crabapple Kitchen from the "get go" as its conviviality central. I want to bring my partner here, and indeed my mother in law... It's that kind of place.
I've always felt you can tell a foodie destination within seconds. Crabapple Kitchen displays nuances and finesse and a good deal of care in its menu. Walk in to a world of charm, where seating material reminds me of my childhood with blooms of floral against cream. The fitout brings the charm of yesteryear with a splash of modern, notably the exposed brick and naked bulbs (not totally naked with clear jars as coverings).
Crabapple Kitchen has some of the most engaging staff around. Some cafes struggle because staff are not certain or confident beyond a basic level of information. Ask them if they recommend a dish and staff at some cafes just reply, "Don't know, never tried that one." Here at Crabapple Kitchen that's certainly not the case with staff abreast of the menu and eager to make recommendations. Staff at Crabapple Kitchen are foodies (I know some people hate that word but not sure how else to put it). They know their stuff.
Enjoying my little elongated old school table (charm again) I ordered some of Crabapple Kitchen's fine coffee. My latte was impressive and had the required strength for a Saturday morning. Check out the caramel hue on the latte below...
Crabapple Kitchen has one of those menus you can choose from blindfolded throwing a dart. I could see I was going to spend 20 minutes in sweet indecision trying to choose, so I asked the waitress to help me with a recommendation. Having leaned towards the pancakes, I leaned back to embrace her recommendation of Sweet corn and chilli fritters w grilled Cyprian haloumi, avocado, tomato, cucumber, red onion and mint. Her expert advice was to order sides of a poached egg and a serving of chorizo. The wait staff told me the chorizo would set the dish off - and she wasn't wrong.
Crabapple Kitchen is such a revelation
Dining here is a sweet sensation
Such a pretty dish from a team that understands nuances. Hail the mint to give extra zest! My impression was of a refreshing hearty breakfast imbibing fritters with kick and a bevvy of indulgences including the haloumi and chorizo.
So pretty was this dish, I took this photo (above) to post on Instagram with filters.
Crabapple is pumping baby on a weekend. When I sent a shout out on Twitter several people messaged me about their love for the Friday Night Flight Nights where Crabapple Kitchen somehow manages to create amazing themed dining experiences of various countries and regions. On the Friday following my visit you could experience the best of Portugal.
What is different here to your ordinary plain vanilla cafe/restaurant is these guys have several top chefs and a crack team in the kitchen. Not just executive chef but sous chef for goodness sake. I'm keen to return for lunch and dinner, with my eye already on the Free range chicken schnitzel and Judy's pork chops.
Crabapple Kitchen floats my boat.
Going to get to know you in a special way
This doesn't happen to me everyday
