Tre Espresso

Tre Espresso is tucked away at the end of a nice little street (in the Hardwick Building strip, off Sydney Road, Brunswick, very close to Melody Nelson). It's a great location, with plenty of room for outside tables; the decor is cool, eclectic and comfortable in a quasi-1970s style with a palette of orange and brown and wood, and old records on the walls. The staff were friendly and accommodating and the coffee was excellent: one of the best lattes I've had in Melbourne. Sadly, the food was the only letdown: my baked eggs with spinach and beans was pretty tasteless, and D's eggs benedict suffered from the same problem. Such a pity, because it really has everything else you'd want.

Melody Nelson

Melody Nelson is a quirky little shop in Sparta Place, Brunswick. A bag graced with a baleful cat caught my eye a few weeks ago and I resolved to go back; inside there's an eclectic selection of interesting homewares and gifts. I came away with some presents for my sister's Christmas parcel, beautifully wrapped by the delightful Amelia.

Lux Foundry

Lux Foundry sits beside the light railway line at 21 Hope Street, Brunswick. A formerly cavernous industrial space (the premises, built in 1891, of the Brunswick Gas and Coke Company, and later home to the manufacturer of Lux stoves, two handsome examples of which are still on site), it's been intelligently transformed into a café that mixes original features and vintage hardware with quirky modern touches and has a generous outside space. After greedily imbibing my vanilla milkshake (served in a steel cup reminiscent of a 1950s diner) I hardly had room for my scrambled egg with cavalo nero and grated asagio on sourdough; my companion's pork schnitzel with apple and celeriac coleslaw tasted as good as it looked. At lunchtime we sat outside in quixotic Melbourne weather rapidly changing from almost too sunny to Arctic breezes; many others had had the same idea and Lux clearly welcomes people of all ages plus dogs and babies.