Pooch, park and brunch at Priscilla Jones in Albert Park
With country warmth, city smarts and cheffy flourishes that create a flavour fiesta, pet-friendly Priscilla Jones is one of bayside’s best in show.
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Owning a dog and brunching once a weekend are surely in the top five in the How To Be A Melburnian guide book.
But places where you can combine your smashed avo with Fido’s walkies — especially without freezing your butt off in winter — can be surprisingly few and far between.
Within Albert Park’s Gasworks Arts Park building, Priscilla Jones cafe is metres away from a popular off-leash dog park and has been catering to the brunch and lunch crowd and their four-legged pals for several years now.
But in February, Priscilla took on a new menu and new owners in Andrea Brook and Kate Campbell when their friend Bronwyn Tomkins, who named the cafe after her late grandmother, passed on the baton.
Brook brings more than three decades of hospitality experience to Albert Park. She’s been behind a string of successful businesses, including Elwood’s Wild Organic cafe and GB Espresso in St Kilda, and currently owns The Owl & The Baker, her Middle Eastern-inspired cafe, bakery and catering store in Bentleigh. She also has the catering contract at the St Kilda Life Saving Club.
FOOD
House-made is the mantra here — from sausage rolls and croissants to the mayonnaise and a cracking ketchup that diners can soon buy in bottles.
All Priscilla’s fabulous sweet treats and pastry items are made on-site at The Owl & The Baker, while breads are supplemented by Bakery Lievito.
The corn bread reboot ($18) is a triumphant take on avo on toast. Its star is the chunky avocado, cherry tomato and preserved lemon salsa, which tops two slices of excellent (read: non-dry) corn bread, plus sour cream and crisp strips of kaiserfleisch. It’s a flavour fiesta.
Ditto the firecracker poached eggs ($18) dancing with a good amount of harissa heat.
The chilli spice adds punch to two poached eggs, but is tempered with yoghurt, snow pea tendrils and two tiles of chargrilled halloumi cheese for salt and squeak. It’s all served on pillow-soft, crisp-shelled house-made Turkish bread for the win.
Lunching? Go the chicken leek burger ($18) stacked with bacon, tomato, pickled cabbage, provolone cheese and that ace ketchup warmed with Kampot pepper.
A decent kids’ menu includes chicken goujons ($10) and HCT croissants ($7), while doggie visitors can enjoy baked treats ($3) and puppy chinos ($3.50).
Brook will soon introduce take-home, ready-made meals.
DRINK
Creamy caffeination comes from Allpress. There are also Chamella teas, freshly squeezed juices, smoothies and a small booze list.
SERVICE
Sweet-natured staff ensure all is on track.
X FACTOR
There are 40 seats inside this rustic space, and just as many under a covered, soon-to-be heated courtyard, with blankets for laps and water bowls for hounds.
Homely vibes abound at this pleasant spot, also available for functions.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
With home-style servings and name-checked ingredients, all dishes under $20 represent good value, especially in this part of town.
VERDICT
With country warmth, city smarts and cheffy flourishes, Priscilla Jones is one of bayside’s best in show.
READ MORE:
JAPANESE-STYLE BRUNCH AND LUNCH IN MELB
BLOOMS AND BRUNCH AT CARLTON NEWCOMER
Priscilla Jones
21 Graham St, Albert Park
9682 8255
HOURS
Mon-Sat 7am-4pm,
Sun 8am-4pm
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