Marmalade and Soul
162 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North
He says
After foolishly finding myself in Swanston Street McDonalds at 2:00am on Saturday morning, I was very much in the mood for a good meal come lunch time. Colin Hill suggested a new breakfast/brunch place that had opened near his house. Almost telepathically the café sensed his enthusiasm for local cuisine, and they dropped a flyer in his letterbox. I love a good flyer. I like places that make an effort to engage people with good old fashioned leg work. #noteverythingneedstobeontheinternet. So, with flyer in hand our unlikely trio headed off to Marmalade and Soul.
The first thing I noticed walking into Marmalade and Soul was the care taken with the presentation. Everything was carefully presented and planned, from the tricket displays to the tables. The bottles of HP sauce on the walls linked in with the menu items. It showed that they’d really thought about the décor, instead of just grabbing any old antique memorabilia. The second thing I noticed was the air-conditioning, which was either not existent or terribly inefficient. It was swelteringly hot inside, a good 5-6 degrees hotter than the already unbearable outside temperature.
She says
Last Sunday we headed out for brunch to the new Raymond Capaldi (of Hare & Grace) cafe on Queens Parade, Marmalade and Soul. It was sweltering outside and unfortunately just as hot (or hotter) inside. It was hotter than the sun in there. Other than being hot, it was very nice inside though. A clean new life for a previously slightly grungy pub, Marmalade and Soul features your standard exposed brick walls, shiny polished boards and an assortment of knick knacks displaced in rough wooden boxes on the walls. Also there’s a chandelier that looks like it’s made of wooden spoons, I really liked it. Oh, and there’s a bright red dial phone a lot like one that I found in my grandfather’s garage a few years ago and now have in my lounge room that’s circa 1960ish and stamped ‘property of postmaster general’ on the bottom. It know it’s cliche and twee, but I love that kind thing.
Marmalade and Soul has been open for breakfast and lunch for about 3 weeks now and, from 8 March, will be open for dinner Thurs – Sat. When we visited there was no dinner menu available to look at yet, but if the lunch menu is anything to go by, it will certainly be interesting. The lunch menu is a little eclectic, definitely not a traditional brunch offering. We were interested enough by the lunch options that none of us opted for anything involving eggs. I think that may be a first.
We found that the service was great, the cafe was buzzing with almost as many staff as customers. Maybe that’s just because they’re recently opened, but hey, better to over compensate than under.
We ate
Gerard had the sausage roll with black pudding and beetroot ($19). Gerard liked the sausage roll, but decided that he probably didn’t $19 like it.
Kelvin had the ‘chick-o-roll’ ($22). He likes it, everything was very fresh. He particularly liked the attention given to the tomato.
I had the jewelled rice with poached chicken, almonds and dried cherries ($22). It was very creamy but somehow also light and great for such a hot day.
We shared a side of the fries with parmesan jam (or was it jelly? To be honest, I don’t remember, but either way they were $10). The fries were pretty good, I love a chunky fry.
Final thoughts
We all enjoyed our lunch but Gerard and I thought that it was a little on the expensive side for what it was. Lower the prices a couple of dollars and throw in some air conditioning and this would be a winner. Even with prices on the high side and a not-quite-controlled climate, I’ll be very interested to see what the dinner menu has to offer.
