172 Oxford Street
Collingwood, VIC 3066
03 9417 5930
It’s all about the coffees… isn’t it?
/
There are things to love about Proud Mary. First up, the food’s pretty good and they’re generous with serving size. Secondly, the staff are down-to-earth and the crowd here’s generally unpretentious. And lastly, I just love love love the baby-blue A.C.F. cups they serve their coffees in! I bought a set of 6 different coloured A.C.F. cups recently for a decent sum of money, and guess which one I dropped and smashed? The baby-blue one!! *cry*
But what about the coffees? Prior to my recent brunch visit here, I’d already popped in twice before just for coffees. The barista set-up is quite amazing. 4-5 grinders, a huge big-ass (Synesso?) espresso machine, a clover machine, cold drip set-up, syphon / pour-over, chemex… you name it, they got it!
I had a cold drip on my first coffee visit, a single origin magic on my second coffee visit, and two piccolos over my recent brunch visit. So I’ve definitely had a fair sample size of the coffees here.
My first cold drip coffee experience
/
The coffees here veer towards the light and citrusy side. It can come across as quite astringent to some of us. I was new to coffee-tasting when I had the cold drip (see picture above) half a year ago, so I struggled with appreciating the strong bitter-sour flavours I got from it. Coffee mentor, Lachlan, suggested that there were sweet floral notes and a dark chocolate aftertaste… I tasted none of that. Similar story with the single origin Costa Rican magic I had on visit two, it tasted oddly sour even with sugar added. But fakegf’s house-blend skinny magic did have nice floral notes.
Let’s now fast forward to last month’s brunch visit. By then, I’d started drinking piccolos. My first piccolo came from Proud Mary’s ‘Angel Wings’ blend of the day – with beans from Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador. Once again, citrus acidic tones in my drink with a hint of flowers, but this time I didn’t mind it as much. My second piccolo was a single origin Rwandan Abakundakawa Rusashi COE #13. This time there was a very nice flowery crema cap, but the drink itself tasted almost lemony…!
/
To sum it up, the coffees here taste pretty zesty and interesting… challenging even. I think I’m starting to enjoy them, though an initial mind-shift was needed. On a side note,
Ora Café uses Proud Mary beans but their coffees are smooth and sooo very drinkable, maybe it’s a different blend or roast method.
Ricotta Hotcakes $16.5
caramelised mandarin, dark chocolate fudge, candied hazelnuts, whipped mascarpone
Smoked Pork Neck $16.5
bean fabada, a poached egg, sourdough toast, green aioli
Potato Hash $16.5
bacon, buttered spinach, a poached egg and bagna cauda
/
Now time to talk about the brunch fare. The girls who took me here recently are really fond of the food menu, especially the smoked pork neck, ricotta hotcakes and pork belly sandwich. They practically visit here at least twice a month!
Serving sizes are generous and the brunch fare hearty. My potato hash did not disappoint, it was nice to see the potato all strung out and not clumped together, and there was a punchy anchovy sauce to keep things interesting. While I’d personally prefer lighter dishes and flavours, the food here definitely has its loyal following of hungry stomachs.
But just to let you know, since my visit, they’ve changed the menu for summer! So it might be different now, all light and refreshing perhaps for the hot days to come?
One of the girls ended her meal with a Moka Java Cold Drip, and much to my surprise, this drink was really nice! No floral hints here, and it wasn’t acidic either. On first sip…. think dark woods, dark chocolate and dark berries. This summer, I might possibly consider ordering cold drips when I brunch. Aaaa… a whole new world of coffee tasting to discover!
/
It was nice being taken to a friend’s favourite local brunch spot. I can see why they love it. Casual, genuinely friendly staff, good food, unpretentious crowd (although it can get crazy crowded). And someone sitting on the same share table recognised me as fatbooo!
/
But I’d like to also mention that I personally find brunching at Proud Mary a tad uncomfortable. Maybe its the trendy decor, the tight layout, echoey acoustics and oftentimes busy crowd. Doesn’t fit my rhythm and tempo. So while many may enjoy brunching here, I think I prefer slightly quieter spaces…
/
Like this:
Like Loading...
Yay!! Somewhere I've been! :) :) :) I'm really interested by your comments about the astringency of Proud Mary's coffees, because I was a bit surprised by the sour flavours in my long black there when I was expecting quite amazing coffee.
I'm also really glad that the hotcakes, when I was there, came with caramelised figs not mandarins. Icky icky orange citrus! :P
My recent post Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Truffles
I too have found sour notes from the coffees I've had here, but I still like it here for the good food :)
Having recently discovered cold drip, I'm also looking forward to a summer with a different kind of coffee, cheers!
My recent post Eat. @ Coin Laundry
Good to see we're on the same page re: coffees! I'll try to remember to sample cold drips, they are so interesting!
Oh yes, I remember your visit!
Glad that your tasting notes are on the same line as mine. Good to know that my mind wasn't making things up. I actually now have a mental map of cafes according to how the coffees taste!
Ooo.. I think in terms of food we ordered the same things! Wants to go back!!!
My recent post Albert St Food & Wine @ Brunswick, VIC – Philippa Sibley Returns
New menu's out. All the more reason to revisit. I should do cold drips now that its summer. ;)
Great review – Proud mary is one of my staples. But it is a nightmare to hear that they have changed the menu. I used to frequent both Pround Mary and St Ali for their pork belly sangers – but it dropped off the Ali menu when they changed it and I suspect Mary has done the same…. Now I have nowhere…
Loving the photos too.
p.s. I saw that you recently stopped following on Twitter – can I ask why – as I just need to know if I need to change what I am doing….
PhotoMonkey
http://sharkingforchipsanddrinks.wordpress.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/shark4chipdrink
My recent post Melbourne’s Best Brunch 2011
Thanks again!I hope they've kept your favourite dish in the menu for your sake! Anything pork belly would be an absolute win for me.
Have you tried the pork belly brioche at Dead Man Espresso? I enjoyed that a lot. :)
Sorry about the twitter confusion. All good now. :)
i wanna visit and try the cold drip there. how much was it?
The cold drip was pretty good there. It's a popular place. I don't know the pricing but they are generally around $5-9 because the process is more complicated.
yay! I'll have to try soon. have you bought the Age cheap eats guide? its really good so far. It's only $24.95 and you can find it at the Essential Ingredient in Prahran market.