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MELBOURNE | The Northcote STN is the newest cafe from the people behind Workshop Brothers, and is inspired by owners Nolan and Brian Taing’s time living in London. We were recently invited to check out the new venue and, being big fans of the modern Asian fusion food that these guys serve up at Workshop Brothers, were keen to see what the new venue was all about.
As you’ve probably gathered, “STN” refers to “Station” and the cafe, which has been designed by Studio Tate and branded by Pop&Pac, features clean lines and curves, with lots of white and pink, and several cues to the London Underground. This isn’t a tacky themed cafe, and the influences range from obvious to subtle – the tiles on the main bench, the seating, the “Mind The Gap” imprint on the floor, and little flourishes here and there that only people who have spent time in London will notice.
Chef Mark Wallen (ex Pint of Milk, Naughty Boy, Duchess of Spotswood) leads the kitchen, which pumps out a concise menu of Asian inspired fusion breakfast and lunch dishes. Think Coconut & Wasabi Chicken broth, shredding poussin, egg noodles, broccoli, coriander, ginger & spring onion sauce, or if you’ve got a sweet tooth, Red Velvet pancakes, coconut meringue, fresh berries, freeze dried fruit, mascarpone, white chocolate soil. Drinks wise, it’s coffee brewed any way you like using beans from Axil Coffee Roaters, along with matcha, a few on-trend lattes, and things like the Peanutella – a rich blend of peanut butter and hot chocolate, served in a martini glass, with torched marshmallows on top.
When we visited, we were hard pressed to choose what to eat, despite there only being 15 menu items. Our first choice was the Chai brioche with infused corella pear, peanut butter parfiat, chocolate, mandarin, espresso and star anise glaze. Due Lauren’s nut allergy, we replaced the peanut butter parfait with vanilla bean parfait, but this didn’t detract from the dish. All of the flavours balanced perfectly, with a nice level of spice and sweetness – nothing was too overpowering. The textural complexity of this dish really worked too, with the super crispy brioche combining well with the soft pear and creamy parfait.
Next was a healthier option, the green smoothie bowl with kale, kiwi fruit, blueberry, dragon fruit, quinoa candy, seed granola, and chia seeds. Again, a great combination of flavours and texture, albeit this time with a healthy twist. Finally, we went for an interesting take on the usual chilli scrambled eggs. A combination of smokey chorizo, fresh avocada, corn salsa, tomato, coriander and chilli oil atop toast, that uses XO sauce to give each bite a decidedly Chinese flavour that really works. Surprisingly, this dish was quite light, and arguably the highlight of the three we had.
We were impressed by The Northcote STN – it’s definitely more Jubilee Line than Central Line. In fact we’ve already planned a return visit as paying customers to try some more of the enticing menu options. There are plans to open more “STN” cafes around Melbourne in the future and, if the quality and innovation can be maintained across the new locations, we can’t wait to see them open.
Northcote STN
382 High Street
Northcote
Victoria 3070
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9078 5873
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Mon – Fri: 7:00am to 4:00pm
Sat – Sun: 8:00am to 4:00pm