Axil Coffee Roasters

322 Burwood Road
Melbourne, VIC 3122

axilcoffee.com.au/

What does a foodie do when end of semester exams are looming? Clearly, the answer is ‘have brunch, and then spend three hours blogging about it’. And so, I found myself outside of Axil Coffee Roasters on a sunny Friday morning three days before my first exam, for what I’m insisting to be ‘much needed study sustenance’. 

Interior

This gem of a cafe is situated right by Swinburne (Chris’) University, making for a dangerously convenient location for a spot of brunch and a good coffee. Following the so-in-right-now trend of converted warehouses, Axil comes complete with exposed pipes and naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling of a cavernous room. A wall of flowerpots planted with greenery adds welcome contrast to the industrial vibe, though I personally wonder just how long these plants can survive, given that there are only two windows to let in the sun.

Small Skinny Flat White ($4.5)

Being a specialty coffee roaster, and owned by one of the best baristas in Australia David Makin, I couldn’t go past a cup of sweet sweet caffeine with my brunch, even though I’m not used to enjoying coffee with anything other than a piece of cake or a good book. Smooth and full bodied, my small skinny flat white ($4.5) had a lovely hint of chocolate and no bitterness whatsoever, making for an easy to enjoy drink. Whilst still not as good as Brother Baba Budan, it went down wonderfully, and even the coffee-detesting Chris said it ‘wasn’t as bad as most coffees’. Heh.

Baked Eggs with Goat Feta, Dukkah and Peperonata Sauce with Toast ($15)

Baked eggs seem to have become our benchmark dish for assessing new brunch spots. The baked eggs with goat feta, dukkah and peperonata sauce with toast ($15) was a shining example of what good baked eggs should be. Piping hot with running golden yolks and a sauce that wasn’t too acidic, it was all-too-easily mopped up by the generous quantity of good buttered toast. A lovely middle-eastern twist on a classic brunch dish.

Breakfast Burrito with Scambled Eggs, Chorizo, Chilli Beans and Corn Salsa ($16)

I on the other hand, skipped past the menu and ordered the burrito with scrambled eggs, chorizo, chilli beans and corn salsa ($16) off the daily specials instead. I’m having trouble right now trying to describe what it was like – how does one describe the best brunch dish they’ve ever had? Whilst exceedingly messy to eat (as are all burritos), the pillows of scrambled egg, slices of squeaky chorizo, juicy corn kernels and the cleanest sprigs of coriander I’ve ever seen made for the most perfect mouthful you could wish for.  The portion was more than generous, but I hoovered it all up by myself without any trouble at all (sorry Chris!). Kudos to Axil for not skimping on the ingredients, I’m guessing 3 eggs and a whole chorizo went into this baby!

An hour later, we left Axil full, happy, and in my case, caffeinated and ready to take on the mountains of study ahead. And how did the studying go you ask? As if I would ruin such a good meal with something as revolting as study!

Rating: 15.5/20 – best brunch bought, burrito beats boyfriend