The Two Badgers

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The best thing about Melbourne is the unexpected. A dingy laneway will likely lead you to a specialty coffee shop and a corporate area might house one of the best modern dining places in town.

In this instance, an ordinary, old Irish pub has been turned into a casual dining restaurant.



There's not much to indicate what interesting flavours lie inside, as it merely has a bar front when you first walk in and permits do not allow outdoor seating. A sign indicating they serve Proud Mary coffee in the window is the only hint of the casual dining menu that is on offer.



In fact, they only serve a selected Proud Mary batch brew - no lattes and flat whites of the espresso kind. Batch brew is a black filter coffee. Equipment ensures you can make a batch of filter coffee in one go and ensure a consistent quality. It is then stored and served to order.



Without milk you are able to taste the unique aroma and flavour of the beans. My friend and I are still new to the popular offerings of Melbourne's filter coffee, so we did enjoy it, but needed a touch of milk.



Michael, the chef, hails from London and brings with him an influence from the likes of Rose Gray, a British chef whose cafe earned a Michelin star.



In addition to bar snacks and dinner, they have a newly introduced brunch menu and the items are not your everyday smashed avocado on toast.

The pictures of their Manchester egg salad on their social media look fascinating but with a craving for something sweet, I chose the "eggy bread" with pecans, banana and vanilla maple syrup - with extra bacon of course.



The bacon was perfectly crispy and made me want more. The combination of bacon with the sweeter dish was not unusual but the eggy bread was not really like anything I'd had before. It was like a sweet toasted sandwich, with a bit of crunch in the middle from the pecans - and it was delicious.



Meanwhile my friend chose to have the house-cured salmon. It was something a bit more common but the dill and caper creme fraiche was a nice touch, a refreshing offering compared to hollandaise sauce, which you can get anywhere.



As they restaurant has only recently opened, the eatery is considering on implementing a lunch menu with items such as sandwiches.



Otherwise you have the option of brunch, casual dining or bar snacks to fulfill your appetite.

At the end we were provided some lovely homemade chocolates - sea salt chocolate truffles to be exact. I was a bit weary at first because they look like dark chocolate, but when the sea salt flavour kicked in, I couldn't help but have both of them!



You can keep an eye out on their Facebook and Instagram for special opening deals that they are running or to check out their dinner menu.

Otherwise, don't be fooled by the plain exterior whilst walking past on Barkly St - this place is offering dishes with flavour combinations that you may have not seen before!

*Mon's Adventures was invited to dine as a guest of

#bars
#brunch
#food_wine
#inner_south
#pubs
#restaurants
#st_kilda
%wnmelbourne