Classics collide in Macleod cafe Touchstone for ultimate sweet treat
Eating ice cream for breakfast might be frowned upon, but this Macleod cafe has come up with a unique way of combining an Aussie icon with a popular morning dish. And their famed creation has crowds coming from all over Melbourne.
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Owners of Macleod cafe Touchstone, Patrick and Elisa Horan, are no rookies — they’ve both been in the industry for 10 years.
Mrs Horan was a season three MasterChef contestant and Mr Horan ran a coffee cart business, Bean on the Run before they opened their first cafe, Fergus, in Malvern East.
Touchstone boasts a unique twist on the classic brunch, that has people travelling from all over just to try the famed Golden Gaytime french toast.
The toast comes with vanilla custard, berries, toffee ice cream, honeycomb crumb and coconut chips, topped with chocolate sand.
“We wanted something which stands out, uniquely different and a little bit fancy,” Mr Horan said.
Another Touchstone specialty is a Snickers milk chocolate pannacotta, with salted macadamia caramel, raspberry gelee, strawberries, peanut crumble and torched marshmallow.
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Touchstone doesn’t exclusively do sweet treats though. Mr Horan said a favourite was the chilli chorizo scramble with corn jalapeño, coriander and queso fresco on seeded sourdough.
The restaurant welcomes families too, with a speciality children’s menu offering scrambled eggs and bacon on toast and a milkshake.
The Horans, who were teenage sweethearts, moved to Macleod two years ago with their two sons, with another child on the way.
“We wanted somewhere with wide open spaces and trees,” Mrs Horan said.
Touchstone was formerly an ice cream shop, and the couple snapped it up as soon as it was back on the market.
“When we walked past and saw it was for sale, we were immediately in talks with the real estate agent that same day,” Mrs Horan said.
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The cafe opened May 1 after eight months of renovation and the couple say the response was “overwhelmingly positive.”
“It’s been really great, people are still discovering us on this quiet strip,” Mr Horan said.
Touchstone cafe is at 1/30 Aberdeen Rd, Macleod and open seven days a week.
Details: 9785 9287 or @touchstonecafe on Instagram.
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