Filter Opens Up A World Of Pour Overs and Smorrebrod
Filter is a new cafe on Collins St with royal pedigree of Andrew Kelly from Auction Rooms and Small Batch, at the helm.
The World Loves Melbourne enjoys new concepts, and Filter is a cafe that is not pure espresso but rather specialises in pour overs and all things filter. That's not to say they don't excel at espresso, but the coffee of choice here is filtered specialist coffees from around the world.
Filter cafe declares, "At Small Batch we concentrate on sourcing, preparing and serving excellent coffee so you can concentrate on enjoying it."The cafe has been a journey with Broadsheet and Bank of Melbourne over several months of planning, as the result of a competition called The Keys, in which funding was given for a new venture.
The Keys also enlisted the assistance of Kate Bartholomew (Coda, Tonka), Nathan Tolman (Top Paddock, Two Birds One Stone), Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Kong, Baby) and Bank of Melbourne's Vanessa Hastie, to help with the venture.
Specialising in filter coffee is a cool concept, filter of course being coffee strained through paper...
Filter is in a great location at the New York end of Collins St, just across from Rialto Towers. There's some cool coffee joints in the proximity but not the dearth we find at the Paris end of Collins St.
My Kochore Ethiopian filter above was intense in flavour across the palate. The tasting notes describe this coffee, "This one is a beautiful soft fruit salad experience with hints of black tea. We love clean fruity coffee so choosing this one was a no brainer." This coffee is known for its citrus, strawberry, and peach tart.
Filter has a mysterious almost understated appearance from the outside. A spacious cafe with loads of natural light greets the customer. Long elongated benches look something like a bar, with coffee stations and food areas interspersed. Pull up a stool and imbibe. Can I make the obvious comment about filter stations looking like a science experiment?
Interesting is the cuisine, with the highlight being the Danish and Swedish open sandwich known as "smorrebrod". I found I needed two such sandwiches for lunch, and enjoyed them both. The Garfish selection above looked tempting but the Pickled Pork with pork and apple jelly and sauce gribiche (below) was a triumph, served on rye bread.
The Pickled pork selection paired perfectly with my filter coffee. The fruity nature of the coffee cut through the creamy pickled pork.
Filter is a modern cafe, with great use of timber and a Scandinavian look.
Grab your beans for your own filter at home...
Tasty also was the Corned duck, uni butter, with pickled rhubarb below...
Even the take away cups are appealing...
As are the appealing filter holders...
Filter is also open for breakfast, with breakfast related smorrebrod, as well as bakery treats. This was an enjoyable and refreshing experience.