Review: Mammoth cafe’s lobster doughnut burger a hit with foodies
YOU’VE heard of the Nutella doughnut, the cronut, even the monut. Now there’s a new creation in town - and foodies are going wild for it.
Best of Melbourne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Best of Melbourne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
YOU’VE heard of the Nutella doughnut, the cronut, even the monut. Now there’s a new creation in town - the lobster doughnut burger. And foodies are going wild for it at a new Armadale cafe.
Could this be the cafe opening of the year? Judging by the queues and buzz online, that’d be a great big yes.
Visit Mammoth for a brunch less ordinary. Hospo husband-and-wife team Loren and Jamie McBride are behind the seven-week-old venture, their first solo outing since mastering the cool cafe brief at Richmond’s Touchwood (since sold) and Northcote’s Barry.
They’re conscious of ensuring Mammoth isn’t just a greatest hits of their previous venues, so, with chef Emma Jeffrey, they have created a playful but accessible menu to keep the brunch bunch on their toes, with ingredients such as pumpkin leather, a licorice and vanilla salad dressing, smoked maple hollandaise and lavender bagels.
Jamie McBride says the proliferation of health-conscious cafes of late is all well and good, but it’s all about balance.
“You’ve got to remember why people go out — to enjoy themselves,” he says.
Enjoyment is yours at Mammoth, from the road-less-travelled all-day breakfasts and lunches to the pastel-hued funky fitout.
It’s not the biggest space and things get tight when it’s busy, but it’s been well designed to eke out 66 seats from the triangular site. (There’s footpath seating for a further eight diners.)
The corner building has a strong food heritage. It was home to Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh’s The Big Group in the ’90s as well as various cafes and caterers over the years.
As for the Armadale digs, McBride says lots of diners had travelled to Touchwood from the suburb as well as surrounding Malvern, Caulfield and Toorak, so he jumped at the chance to open in the area.
FOOD
Jeffrey’s menu is fun, balanced and tasty. Having trained at Fenix, Matteo’s and Reserve, she comes most recently from Fitzroy’s Hammer & Tong.
If a new cafe has to have a gimmick, Mammoth’s is its lobster doughnut burger ($24.50). Within weeks, this bun alone has put Mammoth on the map and cemented itself as the Insta-dish of social media.
Does it live up to the hype?
Not keen on bandwagon jumping, I wanted not to like it, but its freshness and unusually pleasant pitch of sweet, savoury and tang was hard to ignore.
Succulent South Australian slipper lobster meat lands in a yeasty doughnut dusted with salt, pepper and sugar.
The owners worked with 5 and Dime Bagels on perfecting the bun over some time and the result is don’t knock it ’til you try it good. The zing comes from a juicy green mango and papaya coleslaw infused with lime.
NUTELLA DOUGHNUTS PUT CORNER STORE ON MAP
DOUGHNUT AND GELATI: OUR NEXT COMBO CRAZE?
A nod to the famed surf strip, the North Shore ($20) might just be the best dish involving ham and pineapple since the Hawaiian pizza.
A smoky ham hock hash is its centrepiece, a crunchy-crumbed croquette encasing a creamy mix of meat and mash potato. Arranged artfully around it is a torched ring of pineapple, two perfectly poached eggs and a crispy japaleno popper tamed by an inner of scamorza cheese. It’s tropical, tasty and one of the town’s prettiest plates.
They’re not mammoth dishes — it’s quality not quantity here — but each one is artfully and lovingly presented.
Those in the market for something sweet will snap up the cherry lamington puffed pancake with cherry jam and dark-chocolate ice cream ($17) or the Golden Gaytime pannacotta ($15) with honeycomb and chocolate-coated popping candy.
At weekends, get a salted caramel or raspberry doughnut from Yarraville’s Cobb Lane to go.
DRINKS
Coffee is from Five Senses, while juice is freshly squeezed oranges served with a slice of grapefruit or a bottle of Finn Cold Press. A liquor licence is pending.
SERVICE
Warm, attentive and swift service. Waiting times for tables here have been well documented but staff clearly have dealing with numbers down to a fine art.
Food came out pronto despite the busyness, with the right amount of time given to peruse the menu. Depending on your timing and the cafe’s level of occupancy, you’re likely to eat elbow to elbow with fellow diners. They pack them in. We shared a table with a group of five and when a waiter sent one of their waters flying while handing us our meals, their coffees were comped. I’m sure it happens often.
X-FACTOR
Mammoth is housed in a handsome building that’s light, airy and grand. An architect fitout has resulted in an up-market Scandi feel, with dining in two rooms over two levels.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
It’s Armadale, darling, so expect to pay a buck or two more than at your average inner-city cafe. It’s worth the outlay, though, for the Instagram pics you’re guaranteed to post.
VERDICT
Style and substance have landed in leafy Armadale.
With a menu taking brunch and lunch way beyond the classics without making matrons clutch at their pearls, Mammoth is the kind of place you could return to time and time again and never get bored.
One of the hottest brunch openings of the year? The queues can’t be wrong.
MAMMOTH
736 Malvern Rd, Armadale
Ph: 9824 5239
FOOD
Mod cafe
HOURS
Mon-Fri 7am-3.30pm; Sat-Sun 7.30am-4pm
CHEF
Emma Jeffrey
BOOKINGS
No
TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING
10 minutes
PERFECT FOR
Impressing a dining date
DESTINATION DISH
North Shore
NOISE FACTOR
Lively
ONLINE
PICTURES
Norm Oorloff
REVIEWS ARE UNANNOUNCED AND PAID FOR BY WEEKEND. RESTAURANTS ARE NOT REVIEWED IN THE FIRST MONTH OF OPENING
Join the conversation
How to plan a post-lockdown Great Ocean Road getaway
The regional border has lifted, which means we can plan a trip to the Great Ocean Road. Here’s where to eat, stay and play.
Read more
‘I wouldn’t even s*** that’: What you missed on Wentworth
Wentworth does WikiLeaks in the third episode of the new season, as the Foxtel drama welcomes a new face. And there’s drama for Reb and Lou. Warning: Spoilers.
Read more