Wide Open Road is a very new Brunswick cafe, having opened its doors about a month ago. It’s located on the bottom floor of an old warehouse on Barkly Street, opposite Barkly Square and just off Sydney Road. Living nearby, I wearily popped in for coffee one Saturday a few weeks ago and was mightily impressed. Melbournians are spoiled for choice when it comes to good coffee, but truly great cups of coffee are few and far between. Wide Open Road brew truly great coffee. I later found out that they actually make their own blends and roast their own beans, so I guess their coffee scientists know their shit.
Having been there for coffee a few times since, last Sunday my partner and I decided to sit down for a full breakfast. The food on offer is simple and quite humble when compared to the range and extravagance of the insanely popular nearby Green Refectory. There’s a blackboard featuring breakfast staples – toast with condiments, ham and cheese croissants, small cakes and the like. These are displayed neatly in a glass cabinet at the counter. There’s also an A4 sized board on the counter that has a few daily specials – from memory it has featured things like fruit porridges, scones with jam and cream and gourmet bacon and egg sandwiches. I chose an omelette with goat’s cheese, spicy sausage and black olives and Cate chose the ol’ reliable ham and cheese croissant.
The omelette was salty and delicious, effortlessly combining a few basic ingredients into more than the sum of their parts. With some crunchy toast (not too much thankfully, as is often the case with breakfasts that come with toast) and fresh greens, it struck a perfect balance and didn’t leave me so stuffed that I couldn’t fit in a second coffee. Cate enjoyed her croissant, though regretted not getting the omelette.
After breakfast we also ordered a small gluten-free orange cake to share, which was moist and sweet and tangy and rolled in roast almond pieces. We sat outside slowly eating and drinking coffee for about an hour and the staff were friendly and helpful throughout. Empty plates were promptly cleared and one staff member who was outside on a break offered to get us another napkin when one of ours blew onto the ground.
The concept behind Wild Open Road works well. Simple, quaint and tasty food combined with brilliant coffee and good service. It’s a step away from the massive meals and hustle and bustle of other Brunswick cafes and stands out all the more for it.
Read what others have said about Wide Open Road @ urbanspoon:
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“…my partner and I…” you sound like you might be gay. Which is okay, but I think it is unfair to Cate.
Sorry if I got your hopes up there Joel. X.
I have heard good things about this place.
Have you been to Pope Joan? That’s my favourite cafe at the moment.
This has been on my must-eat-at list since they opened! Good to hear it has your thumbs up, Cassie.
Yeah, it’s pretty close to the top of the list to check out.
Ty Ken for your stand on the Skrewdriver shirt.Billy is my ex and still a great friend.We have 3 chrdilen together and he is an amazing father.People need to start thinking outside the box and stop jumping to ignorant rants.Every person is entitled to their own beliefs.But to knock my man on his iq because you dont like his shirt is juvenile.Someone commented average age of 35 not avaerage age of 3.So grow up.I am proud to wear a Skrewdriver shirt and honestly dont give a rats @$* what people think.Why dont you take the time to talk to Billy???Oh yeah close minded people can only make snide remarks.If Vision has an all age show I will be there with Billy and our girls with Skrewdriver shirts on.Havent you ever heard dont judge a book by its cover??Let this be dont judge a man by his shirt.Billy gotta love ya and I know our baby girl cant wait for her own skrewdriver shirt.Thumbs up to ya Ken!!
Karen and Wally:Al and I just heard about the passing of Euchre, we wtnaed to express our sincere sympathy to you both and the Kennel. Al and Jo-Ann, Sierra and Cosmo
Points I would like to see added to this review are:
Terrarium awesomeness;
Architectural simplicity and corresponding interior design fit-out;
Use of original 1950s Australian crockery and cutlery to complement the above point;
Staff that are consistant in their referance to customers as ‘sweetie’ and manage to make it not sound offensive or creepy.
That is all…I’m not being picky. I heartily enjoyed and endorse this review.
All good points – the place definitely has an appealing aesthetic, something I really should have mentioned.