The Bell Jar (656 Smith Street, Clifton Hill) is a new cafe that has popped up in a part of town that is relatively poorly serviced in terms of cafes – the part of Smith Street where Clifton Hill meets Collingwood.
It’s a good location, so long as they get the formula right, and from my first impressions, they’re well on the way. The coffee is well made, the prices are reasonable, and the food is promising.
I had the poached eggs with spiced tomato and beans ($12), which was a good dish without being amazing. My eggs were poached almost perfectly, but the toast was sliced a little thinly, and a bit burnt around the edges. The beans were a little watery, and thin in flavour.
My girlfriend had the confit tomato on toast with goats cheese ($10). While there was only one slice of toast, the ingredients were very good quality, which is important for such a simple dish, and it tasted great apparently.
Given the staff actually know how to make coffee, The Bell Jar shoes promise, and with a few tweaks could be a great cafe.
