The Grain Store

The only way to justify a 9am start at work on a Saturday as beautiful as today is by going out for breakfast. As soon as K suggested it, my mood did a 180 from completely dreading waking up in the morning, to being beyond excited. Where would we go this time around? I had one place in mind for sure - it had been sitting on wish list for a while and I was eager to tick it off.

The Grain Store started off with head chef Ingo Meissner. His style is a fusion of his trained traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine, interjected with influences from his travels across parts of Europe, Canada and Bermuda, as well as his native Germany - and is combined together to create a whole new melting pot of cultural cuisine known as the modern Australian. And he does this at the same time as paying homage to the city's history as a centre for grain trade along the Yarra River with a neatly decked out interior reminiscent of those times. A true, well-rounded artiste indeed. 

We were early birds - in at 8am on the dot so we could maximise the time we had before we would have to be at work. You felt right at home as you slid into the comfy bench by the window and entered an atmosphere of smooth jazzy background music coupled with the sound of a buzzing coffee machine brewing fresh coffee and a kitchen preparing beautiful food using only the freshest local produce.

The weekend menu

Although I'd spent the night before weighing up my breakfast choices, I was still undecided by the the next morning. I made a choice based on whim and instinct; the words basically came out of my mouth without me even consciously making the decision for them to do so. 

Buttermilk French Toast & Pink Lady Compote with eggnog curd, pink grapefruit, oreo crumble & peppered caramel

Now this is true French toast - prepared the night before and placed in the fridge overnight, ready to be baked fresh the following morning. 
The toast was light and fluffy, and drenched in sweet maple syrup with a gorgeous eggnog curd of the perfect custard consistency, enhanced by the tangy sweetness of the smooth and sticky peppered caramel and topped off with a sprinkling of the oreo crumble. So many flavours. Too many to choose from. I couldn't get enough of it.

Scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with roasted roma tomatoes, dry cured bacon and Italian sausage

K prefers to keep her breakfast traditional, and savoury.With a hugely generous serving, it was definitely worth her money - so much so, she could not even finish it.

Regular cappucino and a soy cappucino

Last but not least, the coffees. Having done my research before hand, I was looking forward to my coffee art - but I guess I missed the memo where they skipped it on soy orders. Nevertheless, nothing beats a good cuppa to start your day. The coffee was difficult to fault!

Suffice it to say, my beautiful breakfast was the perfect start to what would have otherwise been a downer of a day.

The Grain Store
517 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000