• Pillar of Salt (Church Street, Richmond)

Pillar of Salt is inconspicuous.  That is until you drive past on a weekend morning and see it hemmed by streams of people.

Whilst we waited for our order, I calmly observed the crowd of ladies as customers, matched by males as eye-candy staff.  The café was started by two brothers, Kael and Matt Sahely.

Coffee is taken seriously and whilst I was not up for a caffeine hit this morning, my coffee fussy and loving friend confirmed: “it’s really good”.

She had the omelette with zucchini slithers and feta.  She enjoyed it.  I enjoyed my forkful taste too.  The zucchini appeared to be raw.  The eggs were attractively moist, but the dish would have been lacking in flavour if it were not for the feta.


The Mexican toast, that I ordered, was done with delicious seeded bread.  This had been slightly toasted and then dolloped with Mexican inspired ingredients and flavours.  It was mainly avocado, ripe and hot with jalepenos and tabasco, tangy with lime.  Throughout were bright yellow corn kernels, slices of red onion and black turtle beans.  The green mound of mash was holding a perfectly poached egg, garnished with finely grated and extra salty ricotta, and fresh coriander.  As an aside were fresh heirloom tomatoes, which were impressively like the ones in our garden.


I love having some heat in my breakfast, but usually I resort to homemade kasundi with most cafes opting for blander morning flavours.  This meal was surprisingly delightful.  Not only was it healthy and fresh, but also flavoursome.  With the plethora of try-hard Mexican restaurants around, it was brunch at Pillar and Salt that succeeded to remind me of the delicious mushrooms and corn I had eaten at the market in Mexico DF.

We had arrived before 9:30am, easily finding seats.   At some points the clipboard accessorised man wrote names and gave directions for tables, but most of the time there was no wait for those arriving.  There was, however, a queue around the corner for take-away coffees.

Pillar of Salt
541 Church St
Richmond 3121
03 9421 1550
www.pillarofsalt.com.au

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