If you have a friend coming to visit you and they want a real ‘Melbourne breakfast experience’ (oh yeah, that’s a thing), walk straight into Uncommon, Windsor. The fit out, the service, the menu, the cold brew and all those amazing ferns (plant love) will have them in awe of your amazing life and breakfast opportunities.
(Side note, I haven’t had a snack in about 12 minutes, so that would mean I am hungry and you can blame these rambles and tangents on that.)
That ‘healthy’ breakfast thing usually supported by those wearing lycra is encouraged here, and you hear the murmurs of ‘I’m just going to finish my chia/acai/grain thing then I might go to bikram, or barre, or maybe I’ll just talk about the gym until it’s time for cocktails’.
But with Matt Kennedy at the helm, Uncommon provides a brilliant fresh take on this style of food and still throws in a brekky beef short rib for good measure. Yes they’ve got the Acai and granola but you are going to find a lot of other choices will make you want to try the whole damn menu. Trust me, you can bring your yogi, or your carnivorous friend, and they are both going to love Uncommon.
Chef Kennedy (no relation to J.F….as far as I’m aware) has created a menu that reads as well as it tastes. I’d dare say there would be a few pairs of teeny little food tweezers in that kitchen, and I am totally OK with that. I ventured to Uncommon a few weeks after it’s opening in December 2015 and it was already running like a well-oiled machine.
I’m typically indecisive when it comes to ordering, so I requested the assistance of the lovely top-knotted waiter in my decision-making. I really wanted to try the short rib, but the temperature outside was sitting around 559 degrees, so I will save that bad boy for a cooler day.
After much umming and ahhing, I decided on the market fish in coal oil, chickpea aioli, minted peas and broadbeans, 65 degree egg, coconut bacon and mustard nectar dressing. Yes, that is the fanciest sounding breakfast I have ever ordered. I felt I needed to court it before I consumed it.
1. I primarily went with this dish because it had the word bacon in it. Then realised after ordering, this was in fact coconut bacon. Nevertheless, I stuck with my decision and it was terrific.
2. The fish was Hapuka. Not to be confused with the ever amazing snow boarding destination of Hakuba. (Ah best times everrrr. Until I fell down and cracked my coccyx. That’s a story for another day.)
3. 65 degree eggs are a poach-lovers heaven on a plate. So much yolky goodness. Skills in that kitchen. Sk-ills.
My bacon loving breakfast partner in Crime, AB, went with (big breath) hand sliced salmon pastrami on pumpernickel (yes they make their own), soft herb scrambles, whipped honey, salted kernels and chili capers. Wowzer. This was a damn good looking dish and AB loved it. The house made pumpernickel looked epic. (Warning: wanky food lingo coming up… but every element was just prepared so well.)
Uncommon’s food is, you guessed it, a bit left field, and is not going to be found in every café…its uncommon. (Duahh). Matt Kennedy has created a gem in Melbourne’s breakfast scene and has recently entered the dinner realm. (Drooling already.)
The Industry Beans cold brew had me raring to go as well. Ok, I might have had two…(three). There’s also a great range of teas for those tea-lovers, a wattleseed chai which I will need to chai (haha…try/chai…) and a vanilla bean matcha latte for those who need to eat whatever is trending on Twitter at the moment.
As neither AB or I ever understand the meaning of being full/ordering too much, we knew breakfast dessert was absolutely going to happen. We are also those people who stare at everyone else’s meal as it goes past to judge whether we ordered correctly or whether we need to keep ordering other things. Yep, those people that just stop their conversation to inspect others’ meals. We know we do it, we know we may need to repeat the same conversation seven times, but we are totally ok with that.
I’ve never been a big fan of sweet breakfasts and would usually always choose the cheese platter (with all cheese options) instead of a sweet dessert, but these pikelets had my name all over them. (Well they didn’t have a badge exactly, but I believe they could be renamed in my honour. JP’s Pikeys. Hm maybe not.)
These little crackers were a 90% banana and flaxseed pikelets, accompanied with Yarra Valley strawberries, cherries, poached green pawpaw, pure maple and toasted milk. Yep I think they spelt heaven incorrectly. (Ermagherd). These were phenomenal.
Uncommon was one of the best meals/’breakfast experiences’ that I have had. Awesome, friendly service, cracking décor and the food, the glorious food. Definitely worth the trip and the parking chaos. Just dream of JP’s pikeys and go test out the menu for yourself.
UNCOMMON
60 Chaple Street, Windsor
(03) 9510 6655
uncommonfood.com
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