LEVI, Murrumbeena – THE CITY LANE
4 March 2020
https://thecitylane.com/levi-murrumbeena/
MELBOURNE | It’s not often that you see me out Murrumbeena way, but LEVI had me intrigued enough to accept a recent invite there.
Housed in an old sewing factory, Levi is a recently opened café that’s already proving to be very popular with locals. The large, natural light-filled café serves fantastic coffee, with a food menu that makes you remember what makes eating brunch in Melbourne so good. Head chef Emma Jeffrey (ex Fenix, Reserve, Mammoth) has put together a menu that focuses on quality ingredients and interesting flavour combinations without the unnecessary fluff and nonsense that you see on so many breakfast menus around town.
The chicken roll has become Levi’s de facto signature dish, and it lives up to the hype. It’s a nostalgic throwback to the classic Red Rooster chicken roll and it’s very good. A long, soft roll (like the ones used for proper lobster rolls) is filled with mounds of hot roast chicken, stuffing, and shoestring fries, which is then topped with chicken skin crumble. To the side is a gravy with chives that takes three days to make. A quick dip of the roll into the gravy before each bite and all is right with the world.
I tend to avoid sweet breakfast dishes, but the pavlova sounded too good to pass up. I’m glad I ate it, as the well balanced, not at all too sweet dish is a standout. Poached peaches combine with hot white chocolate mousse, vanilla cream, and mandarin granita for a refreshing blend of temperatures and textures.
The smoothies are another winner here, again avoiding nonsense and focusing on flavour and texture. I tried the banana, raw cacao, almond milk, and coconut smoothie (pic three) and absolutely loved it.
Murrumbeena might not be a part of Melbourne that I find myself in often, but with Levi impressing me the way that it did, I might just be making it out this way more often.
LEVI
6 Railway Parade
Murrumbeena
Victoria 3186
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9563 2124
E-mail: hello@levimelbourne.com.au
Website
Open
Mon – Sat: 7:00am to 4:00pm
Sun: 8:00am to 3:00pm