Mr Banks is a new cafe that’s opened in Melbourne’s CBD serving all day breakfast as well as lunch. It’s located in the newly renovated Fulham Place, just off Flinders Lane in Melbourne’s CBD.
I had actually intended to check out the CBD branch of Collingwood burger joint Huxtaburger “Huxtaburger CBD“, however it was not open, the builders still working away towards the end of the laneway in the photo below. By the looks of the place, my guess would be 2 weeks before they open (edit – it’s now open, and very good. You can read my review here).
The fit-out is very typical for Melbourne, being raw and exposed. Nothing unique but it works. One criticism I had was that the lighting was a touch too dark. You can tell from my photos that my phone camera was struggling in with the lighting and although I’m generally a fan of lighting that’s not too bright, the dimmers at Mr. Banks could certainly do with being turned up a notch.
The front opens up widely into the laneway, and there are a few tables outdoors, with some more tables to the right of the below photo.
At the counter are a range of salads, sandwiches and bagels, and there is a quite small, focused dine in menu serving typical all day breakfast options and lunches.
No expense has been wasted on the coffee set-up, with a La Marzocco coffee machine, 2 Mazzer grinders, and locally roasted single origin beans from Code Black Coffee. The resulting coffee was pretty much perfect, with a great consistency and balance to the flavours.
In an inspired bout of originality, all 4 of us ordered the steak sandwich. At $16 it was pretty much what you’d expect for the price. The bread was slightly toasted, and the chips were tasty and not too oily or salty. The beetroot paste was a nice twist on what we had assumed would just be normal beetroot. Beneath the steak was steamed spinach.
This all counts for nothing if the steak itself is not up to scratch, and in this regard the sandwich did not disappoint. The steak was a beautifully cooked piece of porterhouse that was extremely tender and flavoursome.
Overall the experience at Mr Banks was a very positive one. There were some teething problems, mainly that although they were adequately staffed, everyone seemed to be doing a bit of everything – I’m sure this will be ironed out in the coming weeks. All of the staff were very friendly and cheerful, and I certainly see myself coming back here to try some of the other lunch and breakfast options on offer.
I’ve not been able to find any information on the Internet as of yet regarding Mr Banks, so the “Essential Information” below is a bit light on. I will update it when the information comes to hand.
Mr Banks
Fulham Place (Next to 347 Flinders Lane)
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: n/a
Email: n/a
Website: n/a
Open
n/a
