Journeyman
169 Chapel St, Windsor
03 9521 4884
http://journeymancafe.com.au
I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Journeyman until last week. It popped up on my instagram wall – and the rest is history (via a bit of hashtag and menu stalking!). Previously known as Dukes Coffee Roasters, with a name change last year to differentiate the cafe from the roasting business. Journeyman is a small rectangular space tucked away on Chapel St. Extending back into the building, the cafe is kitted out in an industrial-warehouse style, complete with brick walls, wooden beams and stainless steel light fixtures and bar stools. (The lack of windows meant the light was not ideal for taking photos – please excuse the quality!). The espresso machines and a large cabinet of takeaway food run lengthways along the cafe, though what really drew our eye was the doughboys donuts on the counter – stocked by a few cafes (like Top Paddock) in Melbourne now as well as the original store, the innovative daily flavours are always a winner.
The menu was pretty extensive and covered all the bases: standards of bircher, toasted blueberry maple waffles, toasted muesli, banana bread with almond butter, and chilli scrambled eggs were mixed in with the more innovative: pork croquette (with poached eggs, cider vinegar hollandaise, apple and spinach), local rockling fish finger (with alfalfa, tartare and lemon on brioche bun), and almond and cornflake crispy chicken (with slaw, coriander, lime, on brioche bun). However, the unusual presence of multiple healthy options was what made the menu really interesting. Though very tempted by the twist on avocado smash (avocado hummus toast with poached eggs and honey candied bacon), I went for the charred greens with poached eggs, chermoula, labneh, capers, and almonds, with the addition of smoked salmon.
This was delicious. The flavour and texture combination of chermoula charred kale, broccoli, snow peas with soft labneh, perfectly poached eggs, almond and salmon was spot on and left me feeling like the healthiest cafe-goer around. Tough competition came from Miranda’s choice: her beetroot cured salmon with quinoa, avocado, chilli and dale, with poached eggs, feta and herbs was another superfood breakfast.
Both were of a generous size and used top notch ingredients, so we felt they were pretty reasonable priced at $16 (+$5 salmon) and $18 respectively. Journeyman is also well known for their coffee: they still use and sell Dukes coffee in the cafe with changing espresso blends.
Though Journeyman was busy, we got a table straight away inside, as outdoor tables were limited. The service was friendly, but what really stood out was how fast our food arrived. Compared to other cafes I have visited recently and how busy they were, this was a definite bonus. By the time we left, Journeyman was packed and people were waiting outside for tables: by the looks of the similarly buzzing cafes nearby, Windsor is a popular suburb for Sunday brunching!
To finish off our green meals with a sweet treat, we split a vanilla-shortcrust-berry-compote doughboys doughnut from the counter which was thoroughly enjoyed.
Rating: 7/10
Don’t miss: the outstanding healthy breakfast options
Pro-tip: parking is free and not hard to find on the nearby side-streets of Chapel St on the weekend
Features: doughboys doughnuts, Dukes Coffee.
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