hookturns.com - a weblog about MelbourneCheap » hookturns.com - a weblog about Melbourne

Little b

jedro — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:43:51 +0000

If the falafels at Little b are not the best in the Melbourne CBD, I’ll go he. The hero – if you’ll excuse me for using that wanky term – of their falafel wrap is the pickled radish, which provides both flavour and texture.

Playing strong supporting roles are fresh, soft pita bread, nicely cooked falafels and a perfect amount of tahini. Bit parts are played by lettuce, …….

Melbourne's best falafel?

What’s more, they cost a paltry $7, making them fantastic value and earning them a spot on my lunch in the Melbourne CBD map.

It’s a small cafe, but despite being just around the corner from the mediocrity of Hardware Lane, you’ll generally be able to get a seat relatively easily in my experience, and what’s more, the staff are very friendly.

Little b
390 Little Bourke St
Melbourne

1000 Pound Bend

jedro — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:15:02 +0000

1000 Pound Bend (361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne) occupies an impressive and massive space, and I suspect this is going to come in handy fairly soon, as this place is destined to become very popular by summer.
One of the drawcards is very reasonably priced food. The handful of fairly basic, but well executed, dishes include Indonesian chicken curry and chille con carne, which are around the $10 mark. There’s no reason why other CBD cafes can’t offer such good value food, but very few do.
The service is laid back, friendly and efficient. You order at the bar, and somehow your meals find their way to you, despite no table numbers and the lack of any discernible system.
It’s a nice, relaxing place to sit around, with a couches and arm chairs scattered around, in addition to some small dining tables, and sunlight streaming in.
All in all, a very deserving new addition to my cheap lunch in the Melbourne CBD map.

Griff’s Wine Pub

jedro — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:57:10 +0000

Another week, another attempt to track down a really great cheap meal experience. We headed down to Griff’s Wine Pub (166 Johnston St, Fitzroy), which offers half priced bar meals on Wednesdays. Plenty of other people were taking advantage of the cheap meals, with most tables in the bar already taken, and the kitchen backed up and not taking orders immediately. This wasn’t ideal, but it was a good sign.

When our orders were taken, I opted for the veal schnitzel with parmesan, lemon and chips, which unfortunately had just sold out. My fallback choice was the Black Angus burger with chips and salad. Despite the wait to order, it didn’t take long for our meals to arrive.

The pattie was thick and juicy, and perfectly cooked. Instead of sauce or relish, it was served with mustard, which gave it an interesting flavour, but left the burger a little dry. The chips were cooked to the right level of crispness, and generous in quantity. At $9, it was great value. Other dishes, including some interesting sounding specials, are priced a little higher, but will still leave you with change from $15.

There are some good local beers available, and an excellent and reasonably priced wine list, including a few by the glass.

Builders Arms Hotel

jedro — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:02:02 +0000

Despite my disappointment with the cheap dinner at the Rochester Castle, I was fairly confident that my half price dinner at the Builders’ Arms Hotel (211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) was going to be less of a compromise. And it was. I ordered fish and chips, and despite seemingly being downsized to reflect the $11 (normally $22) price tag, particularly the fish fillet, the quality was still there. The fish tasted fresh, and the batter was perfectly crisp.
My girlfriend ordered a beetroot and feta salad ($8), which wasn’t up to the same standard. The feta didn’t to be particularly good quality, and the flavours were not particularly interesting. You can certainly get better at Alimentari down the road for a similar price.
Another thing to watch out for, the half priced offer (Mondays only) only apply to meals priced $22 or less, which rules out some of the more interesting and substantial offerings.