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This cafe is caffeine's answer to the Apple store

Larissa Dubecki
Larissa Dubecki

Veneziano Coffee Richmond's slick, schmick coffee counter.
Veneziano Coffee Richmond's slick, schmick coffee counter.Jason South

Cafe

What happens when a coffee brand gets tickets on itself and decides to morph its HQ into an all-conquering roastery, tasting house and cafe? If the answer is anything like Veneziano, it's a damned good thing.

Since opening in August last year, the enormous red brick warehouse in backstreet Richmond has become caffeine's answer to the Apple store: a glossy-surfaced paragon of design where coffee is king, but the food doesn't get left in the third-wave shade.

The space

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The 'barista breakfast' coffee flight.
The 'barista breakfast' coffee flight.Annika Kafcaloudis

First impressions count, and at Veneziano you can almost imagine coffee nerds muttering, "the eagle has landed". The working roastery sets the pace on the way in, with a smelter's worth of stainless steel and worker bee hoo-ha sequestered behind noise-squelching glass.

There's a dedicated cupping space, too, but there's no beating the democratising appeal of the central counter, where solemn baristas ply their trade and ringside seats are the cafe equivalent of a restaurant chef's table.

The fitout by Techne embraces the huge proportions of the double-tiered warehouse and come up trumps with a well-spaced, calming room.

Eggs benedict with smoked salmon, rosti, ricotta and mustard hollandaise.
Eggs benedict with smoked salmon, rosti, ricotta and mustard hollandaise.Jason South
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Food

A friend recently floated the theory that eggs benedict is the mark of a cafe, and the version here is pitch-perfect, with a crunchy potato rosti supporting whipped ricotta and stickily good smoked salmon ($22).

Fat buttermilk pancakes ($18.50) unapologetically bring dessert to breakfast with white chocolate and caramel, while pan-fried barramundi ($24) brings refinement with smoked bacon dashi broth. There is a wagyu burger ($22), naturally, and it's a good one. Ditto for the parmesan-crumbed chicken schnitzel ($21).

Buttermilk pancakes with white chocolate, caramel, passionfruit and yoghurt anglaise.
Buttermilk pancakes with white chocolate, caramel, passionfruit and yoghurt anglaise.Jason South

Slightly rubbery grilled calamari ($20) lets down its bandmates of a pesto-like broccoli studded with roasted pepitas and a salad of wild-looking greens that could have been plucked straight from a Richmond nonna's garden.

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Dessert? Head straight to the glass cabinet to choose a brownie or escargot.

Coffee

Pan-seared barramundi in smoked bacon dashi broth.
Pan-seared barramundi in smoked bacon dashi broth.Jason South

File under "spoilt for choice". Pro tip: opt for the "barista breakfast" ($12), a triple-flight of house blend Bond St milk coffee (a two-bean blend of Colombian and Ethiopian that makes a mouthful of silky toffee), with beans for espresso and filter and cute cards with tasting notes. Or hit the reserve flight for $20.

Drinks

Strike one for the return of retro drinks with the Ovaltine milkshake. The only juice is cold-pressed orange, while organic soft drinks come from Melbourne Soda Co. It's also an excellent idea to see one-litre pitchers of organic sparling cordial in flavours such as apple with ginger and rosella or ruby grapefruit and lemon aspen. By the way, there's no booze.

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Larissa DubeckiLarissa Dubecki is a writer and reviewer.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/veneziano-coffee-richmond-review-20190205-h1avvt.html