breakfast thieves, fitzroy

Even before I made my trip down to Breakfast Thieves in Fitzroy, I had heard a lot about how great their brunches were. One of my friends who was vegetarian recommended it to me often and so when I finally had the opportunity to check it out, I was definitely quite excited!

The interior of the cafe is very simple and cozy. I love the little lightbulbs they've hung as lighting and even though it was nice and bright outside, the lights most definitely emitted some warmth into the room. Going to cafes often give me ideas and inspirations for what I could do with my room (or future home)- almost like a real-life Pinterest, if I can say so.

Despite visiting Breakfast Thieves on a weekday arvo, there were still a fair amount of people in the cafe. That being said, we were seated quite promptly upon arrival. Also, this cafe is smaller than Industry Beans having a few communal tables and more bar seats, so it might be tricky to visit this place with a large group of people.

flat white

Sometimes I wish brunch sessions weren't always so weather-dependent. Not only does the rain dampen my spirits just a little too much, but the cold weather also cools my coffee far too quickly, especially since the coffee comes in a comfortably not-too-hot temperature. What I end up with by the time my food comes, is hot food and cold coffee. That being said however, the flat white I had was smooth, smelled lovely and as you can see, looked very pretty with its porcelain blue cup and saucer. Additional points for pretty coffee art (figure of speech, I am not creating a point system of any sort).

(L) The Legend:
Spicy baked eggs with spanish chorizo, roasted mushroom,
 green peas, feta, served with herbed garlic toast
(R) The Leprechaun:
Crisp spiced sweet corn & basil fritters on cauliflower puree,
side of poached eggs on mini avocado toast drizzled with basil oil

On to the amazing stuff! I had 'The Legend' and my friend who was vegetarian had 'The Leprechaun' and having had a taste of both, I can say it was absolutely amazing! From my blurb on the right, you'll see that I love mushrooms and so to have it in my baked eggs is perfect. Before this, the only other places I've had baked eggs were at Hardware Societe and Coffehead (will review at some point) and this baked egg repertoire definitely packs a punch with its rustic presentation. Unlike the others I had, 'The Legend' had a great spicy kick to it, giving full credit to Mr. Spanish Chorizo. Also, while some of the other baked eggs have a 'bolognese' base sauce to it and is quite saucy, 'The Legend' is chunkier in texture compared to other normal baked eggs with the many different ingredients in the dish. It still has a lot of sauce but it is more puree rather than the runny pasta sauces some of us might be used to. The other great thing about baked eggs is if you aren't a fan of runny yolks, you can always leave them in there for just a little bit longer and they'll firm up in a minute or so!

The fritters in 'The Leprechaun' itself were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just as fritters should be. I personally think this is a great dish for the vegetarians out there, and my friend agrees. The cauliflower puree is smooth and as expected, the poached eggs were no challenge for the chefs- perfectly runny. On top tasting great, look at it, it looks beautiful! Perfect instagram shot right there.

breakfast thieves
shop 1, 420 gore st,
fitzroy vic 3065
9416 4884
price point: ~$15

listening to: fire escape by imaginary friend