Eating Melbourne

Mixed Business, 486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill

I’m going to come right out and say it: I love this place. I come here for breakfast once or twice a fortnight, have tried just about everything on the menu, and have never once been disappointed.

My favourite dish on their chalkboard menu is the poached eggs with pancetta, tomato and parmesan.

The eggs are perfectly poached (firm whites, oozy gooey bright yellow yolks), served on top of grilled pancetta and Dench multigrain toast, sprinkled with shavings of parmesan and basil leaves, and accompanied by a grilled tomato.

The thing I particularly like about it, in comparison to the usual eggs/bacon type breakfasts, is that all the ingredients are in the right proportion and complement each other so well. It doesn’t feel too heavy or too big. I can easily eat the whole thing and not feel Breakfast Regrets afterwards.

Other good dishes to try if you’re not in the mood for eggs: the muesli, which is home-made and served with rosewater strawberries and creamy plain yoghurt; the fruit toast (Dench, I think) with lemon and honey ricotta; or the wholegrain toast with hummus, tomato and sumac.

Great coffee here too. I often enjoy it so much I have to have a second cup, even though two cups of coffee in a row always make me feel queasy.

If this place has a failing, it’s that it can be next to impossible to get a seat on Saturday or Sunday mornings, and you’ll have to fight your way past the armada of prams and strollers. I usually come during the week when it’s not too busy.