Hammer & Tong 412
Rear 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Vic 3065
03 9041 6033

Hours: Sunday-Monday 7am-4pm, Tuesday-Saturday 7am-late

Picking Dad up from the airport on Friday meant a rare opportunity to visit a cafe north of the city, where travel time means I seldom venture. We headed directly to Hammer & Tong 412, a cafe which had been on my list to visit for almost as long as I have lived in Melbourne: winner of the 2014 Time Out Best Cafe award, headed by an ex-Vue de Monde chef, Simon Ward, and front-of-house manager Dennis Ferreira, and using crazy flavour combinations – it was a true Melbourne experience for both of us (addition 15 May 15 – Head Chef is actually Emma Jeffrey). 

Parking was pretty easy and we suddenly came across the Hammer & Tong sign protruding from a graffitied brick wall off Brunswick Street – if you didn’t know it was there, you would probably miss it. The cafe itself is long and thin, with partitioned rooms on slightly different levels. The sleek black bar, large industrial light fittings, concrete roof and chains dangling from the ceiling give a modern warehouse-like feel, though the hanging greens and wooden slat wall further into the cafe soften the effect, and you can view the chefs hard at work on your meal from the partially open kitchen. Beakers containing sugar, salt and pepper adorn the tables, as if to remind you of the food-chemistry you are about to experience: with the aforementioned ex-Vue de Monde chef, this is not surprising.
The menu had me reeling slightly and eager to try everything: though prepared for the french toast, combinations like seared tuna & banana split crumpet, banana malibu sauce, chocolate caviar with banana and saffron ice cream ($24), organic red rice cake, pumpkin mousse, macadamia, 62°c hens egg, kiachi cabbage wafers ($19.5) and goats cheese cannelloni marshmallow, pumpkin leather, lemon myrtle, pistachio crumble & rye lava ($20) left me extraordinary indecisive. All of the options were unlike any I had seen in other cafes – simple yogurt and fruit was transformed into lavender yoghurt custard, strawberry & mango gel, berries, mandarin w basil cress ($19), while porridge lovers could try the potato porridge, hot brown butter, crispy shallots, 62°c egg, cheese & vegemite biscuit ($18.5). I must admit that I am extremely interested in how the Hammer & Tong chefs come up with these unusual fusions of flavour and texture – their recipe testing sessions would be insane!

Dad and I eventually decided on the soft shell crab dog with black sesame slaw, coriander and sriracha mayonnaise ($16.5), as well as the french toast (to share, of course!). Having tried the original Hammer & Tong soft shell crab burger out of their food truck last year at the Night Noodle Markets and aware of its infamy, the new hot-dog version on the menu was a must-try. The soft black bun alone was a work of art, and its contents elevated it to new levels – creamy mayonnaise, crispy brown soft shell crab, and fresh, cool slaw, given spikes of extra flavour by ample coriander and spring onion. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.

However, it was time to move onto our salt & pepper french toast, fried duck egg, maple, chorizo, smoked oreo crumbs & salted caramel ice cream ($22.5). Don’t be put off by the combination of sweet and savoury in this dish: trust me, it works. A thick, eggy, and not-too-sweet round of french toast is topped with a fried duck egg, melded with the sweetness of the oreo crumb and maple, offset by the salty chorizo, and all pulled together by the sweet-salty mix of the salted caramel ice cream. The masterstroke of this dish was to morselise the chorizo and oreo crumbs for an instantaneous, intense burst of flavour the moment it contacts your tongue. Although completely and utterly different to any french toast I have ever eaten, and an amalgamation of flavours I can’t imagine putting together myself, this was one of the most interesting and yet delicious dishes I have tried. A party in your mouth, you might say.

The coffee game at Hammer & Tong is also strong: Dad, my resident coffee connoisseur, commented that the beans tasted like they were only days old and the espresso machine was clearly well-cleaned. The service was friendly and efficient, with our meals arriving after only a short wait. They also run a dinner menu from tuesday-saturday, and watch out for their food truck around Melbourne for a mean soft-shell crab burger. Overall, Hammer & Tong 412 offers a cafe experience like no other, combining fine dining techniques with a daytime brunch menu and flavour combinations that will blow your mind.

Rating: 9/10
Do: share with your brunch partner so you can try multiple dishes
Don’t: freak out at the menu and retreat to plain old eggs on toast – try something new!
Pro-tip: there is parking on the side-street – don’t pay to park on Brunswick.

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