St. Ali
18 Yarra Pl
Melbourne, 3205
(03) 9686 2990
Website
Google map
I was going through the photos the other day and realised that I have taken many food and coffee shots of St. Ali but never blogged since the one I did in August last year – name of post. It deserves a part 2 and even 3. I tend to visit it when I have a long morning at work or when I just feel like chilling out by myself and away from work. It isn’t exactly the quietest cafe in South Melbourne. It is always buzzing with people, the slayer hard at work, beans roasting in the far end and sipping of coffee and kling klang of cutlery.
It had been awhile since I stepped foot into St. Ali. Terrible. I know. But having a coffee machine at work and saving for a Tassie trip means giving up little luxuries. It had been a little crazy at work the last couple of days and my initial plan was to take a nice stroll to Misuzu but with threatening skies, I took refuge at St. Ali instead. I settled down at the back of the room with parts of The Age and a latte. After the first sip, I realised what I had been missing the last couple of weeks. Bloody good coffee.
St. Ali latte
I ordered the very popular my mexican feast. The corn fritters had a nice crispy exterior and a green creamy interior filled with crunchy sweet corn. The well seasoned fritters sat on a bed of tangy young spinach and bitter rocket. It was accompanied with a side of slightly fried and salty halloumi and topped with thick slices of sweet tomatoes, sweet & sour kasundi and 2 slightly over-cooked poached eggs. I liked the little hint of cumin and how all the flavours come together in one mouthful.
My Mexican Feast
St. Ali is now opened 4 night a week for dinner that has a South East Asian influence. I will be back here for dinner and my occasional escape from work. Despite its busy atmosphere, it seems easy to hide away from the crowd and just chill.
And for some light reading, here is my last post on St. Ali.
Do you have a favourite cafe or place that you go away and just ‘hide’ away from the world?
What a top brekky, especially with the haloumi! Heaven!
Conor @ HoldtheBeef´s last blog ..Polly wants a pastry house
St. Ali sounds like a great little cafe. I have relatives in Australia so I hope to visit Melbourne in the near future. I’ll have to keep in mind about your website so I can find some more great eateries!
I just blogged about an Aussie bistro that is far from the madding crowd! What a coincidence.
The Little Teochew´s last blog ..Boomarang
Oh I love haloumi, such a wonderful cheese, hmmm you make me want to take a plane to Sydney, or melbourne or wherever in Australia with your restaurants reviews. I don’t like to go blindly somewhere, most of the time I am disappointed.
citronetvanille´s last blog ..Artichokes are back in town – Tagine of artichokes, chickpeas, potatoes, red peppers and olives
Beautiful photos!
Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes´s last blog ..Honey Mustard Salmon Burger
I’ve heard so many good things about St Ali – looks like everyone agrees it’s the place to go to. Glad you’ve rediscovered it!
Belle@OohLook´s last blog ..Chicken pie that’s better than his mum’s
I love the decoration in the latte. I can never make any cool patterns.
Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..Salad Trading Scheme – Fattoush
Doh! This last month I’ve been to Melbourne only briefly but I’d love to stay longer so that I could try all of these places you all blog about!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Goldfish Cookies
Sounds like a great place, wonderful breakfast & coffee!
5 Star Foodie´s last blog ..Pastelitos
Have been meaning to do a Melbourne coffee-crawl for ages, and St Ali’s on the list. Nice coffee art! And I do love a good fritter.
Emma @CakeMistress´s last blog ..Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve only been to St. Ali once, but breakfast and the coffee was superb. It was nice to be there alone and catch up on reading a very old issue of a magazine subscription I have.
Did you know they are doing a duck degustation in late March? Myself and @tristankenney are going, so excited.
Yes. I am aware. Need to see how everything pans out. Too much to do and too little time.
Nice to see another Antipodean on Food Blog Forum! I live in Austria at te moment and though you’d think Europe=good coffee, it’s balls I tell you. Australia and NZ have coffee going on and I so miss it.
Also, being half Japanese, I was interested to see your tonkotsu ramen quest – hope you had fun!
Sasa´s last blog ..Pain Bouillie and the Dark Days Before People Knew Seaweed was Edible
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