Review: Bluff Town, Sandringham, brings inner-city smarts to end of train line

CAFE culture in the ’burbs just keeps getting better, with bayside Bluff Town the latest bar-raiser on local lips.

Clare Hu is the owner of the Bluff Town cafe in Sandringham.

CAFE culture in the ’burbs just keeps getting better, with bayside Bluff Town the latest bar-raiser on local lips.

Clare Hu is behind the corner spot, which comes three years after she opened The Resident cafe in Ashburton. As well, she’s a property developer, is opening a cafe, food store and cooking school in Shanghai and is studying for her master’s in risk management at Monash University.

Hu has fingers in lots of pies but not at the expense of quality.

She entrusted first The Resident and now Bluff Town to Mornington chef Janita Connelly — and it is trust well placed.

The licensed cafe brings inner-city smarts to the end of the Sandringham train line with a smallish but intelligent menu jam-packed with cheffy all-day breakfasts and lunches, some with a healthy skew.

Cauliflower hummus chia crackers with fried kale chips, beetroot cubes, fennel slices and feta.

FOOD

The menu pushes cafe fare in interesting directions, making the most of mainly Victorian-sourced produce.

Half the dishes will change with each season, but firm favourites, such as the salmon rillettes on a celeriac waffle with a poached egg, pancetta curls and chive buttermilk dressing ($18), will stay put.

The cauliflower hummus ($16) showcases trendy #cleaneating without being dull. Shards of chia crackers stand house of cards-like over a jumble of fried kale chips, beetroot cubes, still-crunchy fennel slices and feta. It’s all bound with the hummus, a creamy mashup of white beans and cauli, for an elegant take on chip and dip.

Also virtuous is the vanilla bean yoghurt whip ($12), three splodges decorated with poached rhubarb and pear, along with and toasted seeds, nuts and coconut.

It’ll look fab in your Instagram feed.

A little more indulgent is the ginger-glazed pork belly sandwich ($14), taking glistening free-range pork from central Victoria and a fragrant sesame-spotted carrot and apple salad and putting it between the sheets of a Bakery Lievito bun. It’s a good bite, with a happy bread-to-filling ratio.

The duck salad ($19) — a warm tangle of tender meat, red cabbage, herbs, whole hazelnuts and cumquat sherry relish — is crunchy and luxe, while the cassoulet ($18) of Toulouse sausage, braised pork and beans brings bistro to the breakfast table.

You’d be happy to be a nearby worker with the $15 lunch box, a wooden bento with a bun, salad and sweet treat that changes daily.

Most dishes can be altered to suit vegetarian and gluten-free diets, and there’s a four-item kid’s menu.

 

DRINKS

Coffee is from Five Senses, juice is a fresh squeeze of apple, orange and/or grapefruit, and Prana Chai takes care of the spiced lattes.

From a compact but well-chosen wine list, seven of the eight vinos are Victorian and all are available by the glass or bottle for $45 or less. There are also two cocktails — a plum and cinnamon-tinged bellini and an espresso martini.

 

Bluff Town offers top-notch value with restaurant-quality meals at cafe prices.

SERVICE

Service was a little wishy-washy and non-assertive. Can we move a chair from another table so one of our party doesn’t sit on a stool head and shoulders below everyone else? You tell me if that’s doable.

Do you want us to move the high chair out of the walkway so you guys don’t trip on the leg? You tell me. I’m happy to accommodate. This is your workplace, take control.

Female staffers look snappy in spotty Gorman aprons and pink gingham shirts.

 

X-FACTOR

Bluff Town sounds like a ski resort but actually name-checks Sandringham’s original moniker.

The place oozes X-factor with a creative, contemporary and highly covetable fitout.

Its 40 seats are divided between booths, the bar, benches, a communal table and tables for two.

Footpath seating is imminent; prized spots in summer, no doubt.

Hu took over the corner site as a shell two years ago, enlisting Foolscap Studio to bring the narrow space to life.

Floor-to-ceiling windows give drama, while the cafe’s epicentre is the concrete bar — yes, concrete — which sounds soulless and cold, but really works. Wood, greenery and the clever use of colour in artworks and pots add warmth. It’s gorgeous.

 

BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Top-notch value with restaurant-quality meals at cafe prices, minus the inner-city mark-up.

If only Bluff Town were open for dinner, too.

 

Vanilla bean yoghurt whip with poached rhubarb and pear, toasted seeds, nuts and coconut.

VERDICT

Bluff Town looks the goods and serves the goods.

A suburban hangout to suit solo diners, women who lunch, hipsters and everyone in between.

And once service becomes more assured, it’ll be a complete package.

You can already picture the bi-fold doors opening to a bay breeze come the warmer weather.

IN SHORT

Bluff Town

1/18-34 Station St, Sandringham

Ph: 9598 2727

FOOD

Cool cafe

HOURS

Daily, 7am-4pm

CHEF

Janita Connelly

BOOKINGS

Weekdays only

TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING

12 minutes

PERFECT FOR

Anyone who appreciates a great cafe fitout

DESTINATION DISH

Cauliflower hummus

NOISE FACTOR

A happy hum

REVIEWS ARE UNANNOUNCED AND PAID FOR BY WEEKEND. RESTAURANTS ARE NOT REVIEWED IN THE FIRST MONTH OF OPENING.