This part of the city used to be a high-walled prison called Pentridge which was built in 1851. But now it has changed into a residential area. This is where we found “The Glass Den Cafe” for our brunch today. When we arrived there were already several customers sitting inside including a few groups of Muslims. We chose a seat a little further back so we could view the interesting room decor – full of plants and a few knick-knacks. The waiter immediately gave us a menu while asking if we wanted to order a drink first, while choosing from the menu. Thumbs up for this kind of service. Of course, we wanted to drink strong Melbourne coffee while looking at their menu. My choice was the Pulled Beef Benedict. I liked the ribs and the beetroot sauce, but had a bit of trouble with the crispy bread. My daughter ordered the Avo Rose which looked interesting, but the combination of the savory flavors of the kale and avocado felt at odds with the sweetness of the lychee and pomegranate. Actually we wanted to order dessert but our stomachs couldn’t take anything else – their portions were apparently too big for us. Maybe next time we might go just for coffee and to try their desserts.

Daerah ini dulu dikenal sebagai lingkungan rumah tahanan yang bertembok tinggi dengan nama Pentridge yang didirikan pada tahun 1851. Tetapi sekarang berubah menjadi perumahan penduduk. Disinilah kita menemukan ” The Glass Den Cafe” untuk brunch kita hari ini. Ketika kami tiba sudah beberapa pembeli yang duduk didalam, sebagian mereka adalah muslim. Kami memilih tempat duduk yang agak kebelakang agar kami bisa menikmati dekorasi ruangan yang penuh dengan tanaman dan sedikit pernak pernik.  Pelayan langsung memberikan kami daftar menu sambil menanyakan apakah kita mau memesan minuman dulu sementara memilih menu. Aku suka pelayanan begini. Tentu saja kami ingin sekali minum kopi sambil melihat menu-menu mereka.  Pilihanku jatuh pada “Pulled Beef Benedict”. Aku suka daging iga dan saus beetrootnya, hanya aku sedikit kesulitan memakan roti yang garing itu. Anakku memesan “Avo Rose” kelihatannya menarik, hanya perpaduan rasa savory pada kale dan avocado terasa berlawanan dengan rasa manis lychee dan pomegrante. Sebetulnya kami ingin memesan dessert tapi perut kami sudah tidak bisa menerima apa-apa lagi, porsi mereka rupanya terlalu besar untuk kami.  Mungkin nanti apabila kami kesana hanya untuk minum kopi saja dan mencoba dessert mereka.  

Details

The Glass Den

15 Urquhart Street Coburg Victoria

Monday to Friday 7:30 am–3 pm

Saturday 8am-3pm

Sunday 8:30am-3pm

Vegan and halal friendly (@theglassden on Instagram)