Cumulus Inc.
Eating House Bar
45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne Victoria 3000
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www.cumulusinc.com.au — cool web site with all info but don't be impatient it takes a while to get in!
t +61 3 9650 1445
open Monday to Saturday 7.00am to 11.00pm and Saturday 9.00am to 11.00pm — breakfast cuts off at 11.30am (grrr!) but there is food all day and no rules other than that!
FOOD When chef gardeners Michael Voumard and Ali Cribb, of Rockford Stonewall Table and Krondorf Garden fame tell you how fabulous a restaurant is the urge to investigate is greatly heightened as they are harsh critics of excellence both in quality of produce and cooking skills. That they ate at Cumulus Inc. once as planned and returned to dine a second time before they left was recommendation enough for us. The review is based on breakfast but our sources confidently recommend food at any time.
Cumulus Inc is a class act. Many might wonder when Andrew McConnell is opening business after business just how long he can sustain the energy, ideas and imagination to deliver good experience after good experience. If Cumulus Inc. is anything to go by he is bound to be around for a long time. When you work in the industry is it possible to notice at a glance that the design of the room, bar and kitchen, refrigeration etcetera are the sum of years of practical experience running restaurants and not simply what an architect thinks will work in the space.
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Breakfast at Cumulus addresses just about every complaint we have had about breakfast in Australia and after living through a public holiday in Melbourne where it seemed every good barista must have taken the day off and being served one bad coffee after another at our most favourite coffee places including the European the morning started well at Cumulus will and absolutely excellent double short espresso.
Busy at 8.00am with people not wanting to hang around and as testament to their good coffee a continuous stream of take–away coffees were promptly and efficiently handled.
Coffee, so good second was immediately ordered Strawberry & watermelon salad with rosewater, mint pomegranate & yoghurt $11 was generous and delicious with a good smattering of rubies the pomegranate seeds that provided just the right amount of sharpness against the sweetness of the watermelon and perfume of the rosewater. Boiled eggs are so rarely seen on breakfast menus and butter, god a decent amount of butter. They were cooked a bit more than ordered, however they were fresh and definitely free range and on the gorgeous toast slathered with butter tasted excellent. Listed on their menu Madeleine filled with lemon curd $2.50 each (15 min.) drew the desired answer, they are baked to order and were utterly scrumptious. Small things sometimes count for a lot and you have to wonder why so many establishments get it wrong. Good bread, fresh butter, free range fresh eggs, fruit that hasn’t been cut days in advance, decent coffee, efficient friendly staff who anticipate requests and never need to be summoned. As an industry professional it is annoying to see people address everything that is wrong about an establishment with the wait staff. The criticism of badly trained wait staff, ordinary food etc., should be squarely leveled at the management of an establishment who have failed to manage, so they should be asking to see the owner or manager. The management at Cumulus Inc. must be brilliant because just everything works.
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Simple fresh quality food sums up Cumulus Inc. and only one criticism oysters in the off–season seem a bit odd when excellence in all other areas is tour de force at Cumulus Inc. To be fair, we noted they were on the menus of many of our favourite restaurants. Tsk! Why? They are still a bit spawny and we think at least another week maybe two before they will be worth eating (first week April will be a sure thing).
WINE McConnell’s establishments are always the complete deal and the wine list at Cumulus Inc. whilst not a tome shows great depth and breadth with a lot of interest that extends to their wines by the glass which is nicely punctuated with some excellent old world choices against first rate Australian wines.
CHEF OWNER — Andrew McConnell
