Melbourne City's King Street area is not somewhere one would expect to stumble upon a bustling and innovative cafe. In fact, with its density of clubs, office buildings and stripper joints, you'd be lucky to find a flat white that doesn't come with a side of techno music and a lap dance. But this somewhat forgotten end of the city was not always this way. Once, it was filled with buildings that used to store shipments from the Yarra River, often of grain...and that's where city cafe Grain Store comes in.
Located on the corner of Flinders Lane and King Street, Grain Store is a bright, light and open space, which I'm sure bares no resemblance to the interior of the Spearmint Rhino just down the road. I'd heard good things on the grape vine (or should I say grain vine?) about this place and I surely wasn't disappointed. Here, the coffee is good but the food is a standout, where great focus is placed on local, nutritious and ethically grown ingredients, which shows on the menu with a wide array of fresh and healthy choices. Breakfast includes some ridiculously delicious sounding sweet dishes such as the buttermilk french toast with poached peach, peppered caramel, lemon curd and oreo crumble. That's right people, oreos for breakfast. But don't worry if you're more savoury inclined, because choices like grilled asparagus with house smoked salmon, crispy quinoa, goats curd and a poached egg or the portobello mushroom with potato rosti and hazelnut hollandaise, will make your decision extremely difficult. Lunch is just as appealing with wagyu minute steak and Port Arlington mussels with Tasmanian sea trout on offer. You can guarantee I'll be back for those ones.
I arrived on a busy Sunday for lunch and, though I had to wait a good half hour for a table, I can say my experience was most definitely worth it. I was feeling like something light so opted for the vegan cauliflower, quinoa and goji berry salad with pumpkin hummus and seeds, which was fresh and tasty. I felt it might have been a little heavy on the salad greens, so if you're feeling super hungry this might not be a go to dish, but the flavours were well balanced and it was texturally interesting. One of my Grain Store companions couldn't resist the call of the cottage pancakes with passionfruit, almond butter and strawberry puree...which really isn't that surprising, let's be honest. I was drooling just thinking about them, and rightly so because the pillowy-soft pancakes were presented so beautifully alongside the blushing pink puree. It was almost too pretty to eat...but then again, not really. The other dish of choice was the house made fennel sausage with sweet corn blini, poached egg, avocado, persian feta and cider relish. I have to say this was the pick of the day, with the beautifully sweet blini, creamy avocado and ridiculously good relish.
If you happen to be stuck around this end of the city and find you're tummy grumbling, don't be disheartened-It's not all clubs and men in business suits. Just wander to The grain Store and before you know it you'll be gorging yourself on some wonderful concoction that will more than satisfy. And who knows, you may even get that lap dance with your flat white, if you ask the staff nicely.
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