The Premises

I had a conversation with an interesting person recently about the change in the way coffee in Melbourne tastes.  No, I'm not talking about instant versus espresso but rather the coffee flavour and the milk consistency have undergone some sort of slow mutation.  I remember when I first started drinking coffee, a latte was $2 and would often come with a serviette origami-d around it, I guess to protect your hand because it was so hot.  Now in trendy cafes, the coffee is barely lukewarm and the milk has a silky consistency so there is almost no distinction between the froth and the coffee at the bottom of the glass - kind of like a coffee milkshake, as this person correctly opined.

The actual taste of the beans varies from the classic "espresso" taste of Genovese or other big name brands to very unusual flavours from the micro-roasters.  The Premises in Kensington is very much this newer style of coffee.

I love the space - two shops have evidently been joined so that The Premises has two street frontages, hugging the florist on the corner.  The aesthetic is gorgeous with old wood, school-type chairs, lots of open space and light.  The staff are all lovely - no 'tude here.

Delicious, perfectly made coffee using Seven Seeds.  The beans have a strange, almost smoky flavour though.  It's almost like you can taste the oils on the beans.  It's not unpleasant but gives the coffee another dimension.

And what of latte art?  We used to love Flavours of Lakhoum in Richmond where the barista would draw women's faces in the froth, sometimes apparently trying to resemble the drinker.  It seems a bit naff now but it was so sweet at the time.

A good ole bacon and egg roll, this one with homemade BBQ sauce.  It was enormous, football-shaped and half was plenty for an adult.

Free range egg with "Newmarket bacon" (not sure what butcher or supplier this is?) - the bacon was sensational, really smoky and meaty.  I do wish the roll was toasted, though, as there was a lot of bread and some textural variation would have been nice.

I wish I could give you a spiel about how "I always choose the bacon and egg roll/caesar salad/spring rolls to give me a benchmark of how good a place is", but I can't.  Sometimes you just want what you want.

More great local coffee at the original "best cafe" in Kensington, Fruits of Passion.  Their food is a bit stuck in the 00's but the coffee (Vittoria) is unreal.

The Premises

202 Bellair Street, Kensington (map)

Phone:  9376 7565

Closed Mondays