Cumulus Inc. Melbourne

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

On our first few days in Oz, we had been told breakfast was a bit of ‘a thing’ in Melbourne, that everyone went out for breakfast/brunch on the weekends to catch up with friends or to simply enjoy some good grub.

We were given the heads up on Cumulus Inc, which had the rep for being one of the best breakfast places in Melbourne, and is situated on 45 Flinders Lane, conveniently right behind our lovely Hotel Lindrum.

On our last morning in Melbourne, we were determined to sample a good breakfast, as most of our eating had been night time affairs. We arrived at Cumulus at about 11.38 only to be told that breakfast finishes at 11.30am! Oh, we were so sad. Fear not, though, the very kind barrista wearing rather trendy specs suggsted that we wait til 12 and we could be seated for lunch. We battled on and braved the 20 minute wait. So glad we did.

After our supreme meatfest in Tjanabi, we really wanted a salad. Like, really.

Cumulus has a sharing menu, sort of like tapas, but like proper tapas, not the taudry crud that you get in a lot of bars. The lunch menu offers 8 different varieties of oysters, 8 tiny starters, 10 types of charcuterie plates, 8 salads, 3 fish dishes, and 5 meat dishes. It has a decent selection of French, Itlian and Australian wine.

As I said, we were pretty full. On perusal of the menu, our appetites expanded once again and we managed to pack a lot in!

We shared the two little scallops deliciously wrapped in speck with a caper and raisin vinaigerette, rested on a little cauliflower coulis, for want of a better word. We just popped our individual scallops into our mouths, enjoyed the rich flavour of it all and *puff* it was gone. Lovely.

This little taster was followed by the delicious Kitchen Charcuterie selection, the meat being of the highest, tastiest quality, served with some crisp breads and a little fig sauce on the side.

We shared the salads of rocket, raddicchio with grated salted ricotta and candied walnuts. Just what the doctor ordered.

We also had the hand-made burrata with fig and olive tapenade, served with a sprinkling of aged balsamic vinegar and Nolans Road olive oil. I’d never tasted (or heard of, truth be told) burrata before and it was quite pleasant. It was like a very mild flavoured mozzarella with less structure. It looks like a pile of gloop in the picture, but I assure it was light and refreshing. The fig and olive tapenade was kicking. Delish.

Having been so good with the salad and whatnot, we felt we deserved a dessert and so shared the fantastic Lemon jelly with fromage blanc, almond & blueberries. Frothy and fresh it was, too.

Niall has a glass of 2003 Kreglinger, an Australian sparkling wine, and I had a lovely fresh 2007 Yarralock Chardonnay, also from Oz.

The total bill came to just over $100, which is about €55. You’d be hard pushed to find a lunch of such a high standard in Dublin for that price, lemme tell ya.

We headed off to catch our flight to Perth with once again full bellies and afternoon-glasses-of-wine induced squiffy smiles on our faces. A nice goodbye from Melbourne.

Categories: Blog Trips Tags: Cumulus Inc