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Fairly new at around 6 months old (in Nov 2022),
Fleur Espresso is located at
1A Grange Road, Toorak with operating hours from
Mon - Fri: 7:30am - 2:30pm, and
Sat - Sun: 8am - 2pm. In the fairly bustling area of
Toorak Village, enjoy the breakfast menu until11.30am, with the lunch menu kicking in after it. They accept walk-ins as well as bookings. A light and airy cafe with a modern layout, indoor and outdoor seating, and what looked like a private dining area (perhaps all the seating was put together to accommodate a large family occupying the space on the day) at the far end of the cafe, you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to eating in or takeaway.
I cannot complain about the regular latte and chai latte by
Roasting Warehouse I ordered, as it was perfection, beautifully brewed in a gorgeous baby pink
La Marzocco. With a gumnut sculpture adorning the outdoor seating area, it's obvious your pet pooches are welcome, with the placement of yet another little French Bulldog sculpture and water bowls. Inside the cafe, the lines are clean and spacious, with more to love when you find out that
Fleur Espresso is doing their bit for the environment. They have a slew of waste-minimising initiatives that include an in-house worm farm to take care of food scraps, and biodegradable packaging for their takeaway service.
As you walk through the doors, the
Take Away Canteen Counter and
Takeaway Menu grab your eyes with fresh sandwiches, muffins, doughnuts, pastries and such like sitting on shelves behind a glass compartment. As you can see in the images, it's quite an impressive takeaway menu that ranges from a Breakfast Burger to a Smoked Trout Salad, Nasi Goreng and more. The regular cafe menu gives you gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Enjoy something sweeter with Scones Jam and Cream, Bread and Butter Pudding, Hempnola (hung yoghurt with fruit), and Pancakes, or the regular breakfast menu which includes some standouts like the Crab Omelette and Chilli Scrambles which I ordered, along with cheeky Pancakes for afters.
Chef Santiago, originally from Chile, executed our order to perfection on the day, arriving at our table, beautifully plated up. The aroma of the crab in the Crab Omelette wafting up our nostrils, it had my favourite blistered tomatoes and basil, placed on two slices of sourdough bread. The Chilli Scrambles was no lightweight with a distinct bite of heat, perfectly paired with Pecorino cheese and salsa verde drizzled around the plate, served on a Glicks bagel. A good thing I made a pact with my brother to go halve-sies, so I got to enjoy both flavours. Washed down with our hot coffee, it was pure heaven.
The staff were fantastic, and pre-empted we'd be wanting the Pancakes just after our savoury breakfast meal. Out it came in perfect timing - its traditional sweetness of maple syrup and tartness of lemon replaced and born again, served up with dulce de leche, whipped lemon cream, berries, and raspberry sorbet instead, providing a perfect balance of sweet and tart. The pancakes were light and airy, with a fresh crispness about it, more like a light cake than the traditional pancake. Combined with fresh strawberries and pops of baby fresh mint, my tastebuds were dancing with joy.
The usual suspects of drinks exist with coffees and lattes served up with your choice of soy, almond, oat, coconut, or lactose-free milk, or have it cold on a hot summer's day as iced coffee or latte, mocha and more, with ice cream. With tea by Tea Drop, chai by Prana Chai, chocolate by Mark, cold-pressed juices, shakes, smoothies, organic sodas by Karma, kombucha by Remedy, waters and old-school sodas, your thirst shall be quenched by a variety of indulgences. Do pop down and give this cafe a whirl as it serves up some impressive dishes for breakfast, brunch or lunch. It could well be your next favourite hang-out.
