MELBOURNE | Bossy Boots Brighton is a cafe that presents a simple proposition to those who visit. Trends are not the concern of owners Ben Forehan and Rachael Browne couldn’t care less what Broadsheet, the Urban List or Good Food are telling people what they “need” to be eating in a given year. The focus at Bossy Boots rather is simple home style Italian cafe food. The type of food that will stand the test of time. Eggs, toast, cereal, pasta, salads, sandwiches, cakes and coffee are the kinds of things that you’ll find at Bossy Boots – food that you’ve been able to find on cafe menus for years and will continue to find on cafe menus in years to come. We were invited to come in and sample some of the offerings on the menu and were keen to head down to a part of Melbourne we don’t usually focus to see what the food was like.
Walking into Bossy Boots, in its “away from the action of Church Street” location on Bay Street in Brighton, you immediately see this home style “local’s cafe” philosophy in action. The interior is simple and homely (wallpaper, paintings and all), and the inside and outside are packed full of families and individuals who clearly come here often.
Coffee ($3.80)
Coffee uses beans from Coffee Supreme and is perfectly acceptable. There isn’t a range of interesting blends and beans on offer but the house blend is smooth, tasty and fitting for the locale. We were pleased with our flat white and skinny cappuccino.
Juices + Smoothies ($8.50)
A range of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies are offered at Bossy Boots. We ordered the “Zinger Juice” (Orange, Apple, Pineapple, Carrot & Ginger) and “The Hulk” (Celery, Apple, Pear, Spinach, Cucumber and a squeeze of lime) . The Zinger Juice was the highlight out of the 2 and had really balanced flavours. The Hulk was nice but needed a bit more zing to it – perhaps a bit more lime.
Cannelloni of the Day Served With Tossed Garden Salad ($19.50)
A rotating cannelloni of the day is on the menu and when we were told that the day’s offering was spinach and ricotta we couldn’t resist. This really hit the spot. Nothing fancy, just a really decent sized serving of cannelloni. It was densely packed with filling, the pasta was perfectly cooked at the simple tomato sauce and cheese atop it was well proportioned. The salad was simple and tasty too. No-nonsense, home-style cannelloni.
Toasted Sourdough with Fresh Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Roasted Red Peppers & Meredith Goats Cheese ($15.00)
This simple option from the breakfast menu is the kind of thing that we like to eat for breakfast when at home and it didn’t disappoint. Just like the cannelloni, it was an example of something really simple done well. Fresh, quality ingredients are what something like this is all about and it delivered.
Lemon Tart ($9.50)
We were quite full as the servings at Bossy Boots are quite generous but couldn’t leave without trying the famous French-style lemon tart. The tart is baked and the pastry is very thin, as the focus is on the filling. The filing is everything you could want in a lemon tart – wobbly, not overly sweet with just the right level of citrus tang. As with everything else that we tried, it was an example of something simple being done right.
Don’t get me wrong, we love the new stuff that can be found on menus in the trendy cafes around Melbourne but we’re equally fans of good old fashioned home cooking and classic cafe menu options done well. Bossy Boots delivers on the latter with tasty food, top quality ingredients and friendly, attentive service – an unpretentious spot that’s great for locals and those passing through Brighton.
Bossy Boots
106 Bay Street
Brighton
Victoria 3186
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9596 6825
E-mail: n/a
Website: http://www.bossyboots.com.au/
Open
Mon – Fri: 7:00am to 6:00pm
Sat: 7:30am to 4:00pm
Sun: 8:00am to 3:00pm