Café Notturno

Address: 179 Lygon St, 3053 Carlton, Melbourne
Phone: +61 03 9347 8286

Café Notturno is a place where you can meet with your friends for a drink in the afternoon, a lunch, or dinner. The place is located near the gardens between Lygon and Cardigan St. When I got there it was almost noon as usual and the place was not really crowded, then I easily found a place to seat. I had a look at the breakfast menu and I noticed that there were a lot of choices and differently from the other places there were a lot of cheap (and lighter) breakfasts.


I decided to go for the Queen Breakfast: eggs (two), tomato, salmon, spinach on crusty Vienna bread with spinach and hollandaise cheese. Being a lover of bacon I got a bacon add-on for only two more bucks. After my order I got my usual cappuccino back very quickly while I had to white a while for the Queen Breakfast.... then it finally came... and it was good...

Price?.... this place is cheaper than the other ones and you have a variety of prices and breakfasts to choose from... I spent 14 .40bucks for the Queen Breakfast (actually 12.40 + 2.00 bacon add on) and 3.20 AUD for a cappuccino.

University Café

Address: 257 Lygon St, Carlton, Melbourne
Phone: +61 03 9347 2142
E-mail: bookings@unicafe.com.au

This is one of the most crowded places in Lygon St. At any time you pass by in the morning there is a lot of people on the dehor, and the more you get near noon the more time you have to wait for finding a seat outside. But if you are fine to stay in the inside... well there's generally room for you. The place is really big - one of the biggest I've been so far - and also has some space at the first floor. There are many waiters working and you get served pretty quickly...
This time I went for the Eggs Benedict: fried eggs (two) with tomato, spinach, and salmon along with a cappuccino as usual... It was the first time I tried Eggs Benedict, so I cannot really tell if they were really made properly or not.. but I really enjoyed them.... The service was moderately quick and good. While I was waiting I saw a couple with a baby sitting for lunch and the waitress soon brought to them the special chair for babies..... . The only point against the place is that it took me a while to get my change back but the place was really busy.
Price? The Benedict Eggs where about 13 Bucks and the cappuccino 3.20 as almost everywhere around in Lygon St.

Enoteca Oggi

Address: 237 Lygon St, Carlton 3053, Melbourne
Phone: +61 03 9349 5500

I got to this place after I was hanging around Lygon St. late in the morning - as usual on Saturdays and Sundays - and looking for a breakfast after noon. I found this place that was not really attractive from outside: there were only few chairs and some tables outside... but man, they serve you breakfast till 3 pm! Then I said, ok let's try it and get inside.

At first I suddenly noticed the difference between the inside and the outside, the internal room is tidy, clean, and comfortable. After I took seat the waiter soon me brought the menu and gave me a glass of water while kindly attending for my order. I had a quick look at the breakfast menu (yeas the place is also a restaurant) and finally I decided to go for poached eggs, tomato, sausage, and bacon along with a cappuccino. And I really think I made the right choice.

The food was fantastic the eggs were beautiful and the boiled tomato was something I never tried and was a delightful surprise. The service was quick, the place nice, and waiters ok! I truly recommend this place....

oh... price? in line with the other cafés/restaurant: 14 bucks the egg stuff and 3.20 AUD the cappuccino.

Zingarella

Address: 189 Lygon St, Carlton 3053, Melbourne
Phone/Fax: +61 03 93481414
Email: zingarella@optusnet.com.au

I dropped by this place really late in the morning today.. I was looking for a place where they still serve breakfast at noon and I stopped at Zinagarella. The place is located near the corner between Grattan St and Lygon St... in the heart of Melbourne's Little Italy. Zingarella opened only last year in May and it is run by two Italians which have 20 years of cooking experience and worked in many Melbourne restaurants before opening their own restaurant.

Since it was morning (well actually not... but for me... still..) I ordered the Zingarella breakfast, which basically is eggs (fried | pouched | scrambled) with bacon, sausages, tomatoes, spinaches, and mush rooms accompanied with bread, and a cappuccino. When I got served the dish was really inviting and well prepared, spinaches were fresh, probably cooked with some butter and made them very smooth and good. The sausages were well cooked and the 2 slices of tomato were not bad. I was really full after finishing breakfast and I can consider myself satisfied with the meal. Oh yes... what about the Cappuccino? well I think the ones i got in other Lygon restaurants were better (Street Café and Stuzzichino).. but this is just a little negative note to the place which makes really well prepared courses (I got really impressed by some dishes that were passing by me and were directed to other tables.... :P)

What about the service? You got served at the table, there were only two waitresees, and the place was medium crowded... It took a while to get seved but to be frank it wasn't really a long waiting time...

Price? 17.20 dollars: the Cappuccino was 3.20 AUD and the Zingarella breakfast 14 AUD. Inwould say in range with all the other similar places I tried.

Draculas's Cabaret Restaurant

Location: 100 Victoria Street, Carlton Victoria 3053, Melbourne
Web link: http://www.draculas.com.au/melbourne_victoria/index.asp
Phone (booking only): +61 03 93473344


Well this is not properly a simple restaurant but a theater were you go to attend one of the most awarded shows in Victoria. Then the food is not the main event of the evening... but anyways it is worth to notice what you have while you go there.

Let's talk about the show first. Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant is a chain of restaurants located in all Australia, mostly one for state where you enjoy dinner while attending actors performing. The main setting is gothic and tends to be really scary with bartenders and waiters like zombies and vampires... but if you like this stuff is really cool. After you enter the theater you pass jump on a ghot train that takes you to the theater /restaurant... The show is really an event in Melbourne and the the teatrhe is full, especially on saturday night then you have to book for a seat. As soon as the theathre gets crowded the shows starts and the dinner is served while the actors are playing and between the breaks.

You got served a three course meal the food is really good. You can have a look at the menu here. My personal choice for the main course has been Hell's Honey Chicken Breast and I was delighted by the main course and the dessert which was a chocolate coffin with a very light cream inside.. really fitting with the whole environment.

This is not a place where you go only to eat but is a theatre were you spend a evening... we (me and my flats) enjoyed 4 hours there without being bored for a single minute.... both a food and the show were very good than I definitely suggest to drop by at Dracula's.... price is only 65 dollars and it absolutely worths.

Bismi's Goldan Fork

Address: 380 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
Kitchen style: Mix Indian, Chines, and Singaporean Cuisine

I had a stop in this place at Easter for a quick lunch with my colleague Anthony. At first sight the place does not look really nice, the floor is carpeted which is not the best option for a restaurant. There are small tables and a very large space with a TV running Indian movies. It really reminded me the entrance of a bus station...

By the way... we went there for food then let's talk about this... you have a wide choice of very different dishes: Chinese, Indian, and Singaporean food. There is no table service but you go to order at the cashier and got a number... after 5-10 minutes you are served and collect your meal at the desk. We went for the Indian food and I got a Murtabak Chicken , which is a sort of frittata with chicken and vegetables inside, and a coke. My friend got a Briyani Chicken and a glass of water. We shared the dessert that was something called Gulab jamun and was really sweet. Both of the two meals were really big, medium spiced and prepared at the moment.

The meal was generous in quantity and tasted good... the price is really affordable and it is good option for a quick lunch... if you do not mind too much about the environment.