Martin FrimetBlue Note Cafe is out of tune
April 2nd 2008 22:36
Melbourne is a city that seems to pride itself on having a certain cool rhythm for serving good food in a range of laidback locales, and the Blue Note Cafe seems like a place perfectly set to this beat. Set on a prime location on Bridge Road, a long thoroughfare famed for its clinking cafes and cool shopping, and with a clutch of tables that spill out into the lunchtime sunshine, it is at once an inviting proposition. Inside too, it is light, airy and with a fresh and young interior that seems artful yet unfussed at the same time. Staff approach you with honest smiles and the smallish menu of omelettes, sandwiches and salads is one that speaks of simple dishes prepared well. On the day we visited, the Specials board complemented the selection nicely, offering a tasty-sounding trio of risotto, schnitzel and salad and cheese and spinach pastries.
And yet, despite all that promise, the Bluenote seemed to be a cafe that was a little out of tune with what it should be doing. Thus, at the peak of lunchtime the place was woefully understaffed and, when we finally got to order, the schnitzels we had wanted had already finished at a little past 1 o'clock. Though the sandwiches we took instead were cheap, tasty and clearly made with good ingredients – rich avocado in one and properly pungent semi-sundried tomato in another - they came spartanly served on a large white plate without even a sliver of salad. In fact, the only green on offer was a sprig of parsley placed on top of each sandwich which looked more like an ironic joke than anything that would actually add to the pleasure of your meal.
Worse, the biggest bum note of all was still to come. The quality of the coffee can often tell the overall pulse of a place in Melbourne and, unfortunately for the Blue Note, that was very much true in their case. The coffees that we ordered took an age to arrive and, when they finally did come, tasted as forlorn and patchy as they looked; an espresso version of what had been a largely forlorn and patchy experience throughout.
Thus, the Blue Note Cafe looked and felt the part and seemed to have so much going for it, but for committing too many basic sins, it ended up playing a tune that was way out-of-sync.
Blue Note Cafe
226 Bridge Road
Richmond
And yet, despite all that promise, the Bluenote seemed to be a cafe that was a little out of tune with what it should be doing. Thus, at the peak of lunchtime the place was woefully understaffed and, when we finally got to order, the schnitzels we had wanted had already finished at a little past 1 o'clock. Though the sandwiches we took instead were cheap, tasty and clearly made with good ingredients – rich avocado in one and properly pungent semi-sundried tomato in another - they came spartanly served on a large white plate without even a sliver of salad. In fact, the only green on offer was a sprig of parsley placed on top of each sandwich which looked more like an ironic joke than anything that would actually add to the pleasure of your meal.
Worse, the biggest bum note of all was still to come. The quality of the coffee can often tell the overall pulse of a place in Melbourne and, unfortunately for the Blue Note, that was very much true in their case. The coffees that we ordered took an age to arrive and, when they finally did come, tasted as forlorn and patchy as they looked; an espresso version of what had been a largely forlorn and patchy experience throughout.
Thus, the Blue Note Cafe looked and felt the part and seemed to have so much going for it, but for committing too many basic sins, it ended up playing a tune that was way out-of-sync.
Blue Note Cafe
226 Bridge Road
Richmond
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