http://www.auctionroomscafe.com.au/
This post starts along the same vein of my rambling here where I talk about how impressive it is the number of Melbourne restaurants I've managed to cover in just a few trips. Most of these are around the CBD so imagine my surprise in seeing that I got taken to one in North Melbourne that I've already tried before.
Marc's friend Bakon who lives in Melbourne claimed that brunch was his favourite meal of the day. Happily, it's also mine. I was looking forward to see which venue he was taking us to. When we pulled up at the worn brick building, I got a distinct feeling that I'd seen it before. Lo and behold, it was where Mochi took Nina and myself during my 2012 Melbourne trip as our last meal before coming home. Coincidentally, this would again be my last meal before boarding the plane back to Brisbane.
I decided I would blog Auction Rooms again because it has been 2 years since my last visit and the menu is completely different.
I don't recall there being such a long wait last time we came to Auction Rooms but I suspect that might have been on a weekday. This time, 20 or so minutes passed before we were finally lead to our seat.
Flat white and apple and strawberry juice
These days I'm trying to cut back my coffee intake so I ordered the watermelon and strawberry juice instead. It was light, fresh and sweet without being too sweet, which is what I had feared. Everyone else ordered coffee.
White bean cassoulet - with confit duck leg, ham hock, pork and fennel sausage and roast root veg
It was now encroaching on midday and we hadn't had breakfast that morning so I was desperate for food. I chose my meal based on what sounded the heartiest and to me, that was the white bean cassoulet. I was pleased with my order because it was a large size and very homely and warming. The confit duck leg added a restauranty feel to the dish and overall, the flavours were good.
Smoked beef brisket sandwich - with cabbage and fennel slaw on Auction Room's brioche bun, with German potato salad
Marc and Bakon both ordered the beef brisket burger. They were expecting the brisket to be slow cooked like pulled meat but it could barely be classed as cooked at all. I tasted a bit and it resembled corned beef to me. Meh. I also wasn't a fan of the brioche bun because I think it's too dessert-like. There was a serve of potato salad on the side. Due to dietary restrictions, Bakon requested what was in the potato salad but... the waitstaff never got back to us.
Auction Rooms cinnamon fruit toast - with espresso butter and jam
Bakon also ordered a serve of fruit toast with espresso butter. I couldn't believe how fruit-laden the toast was. It looked more like a patty of fruit with pellets of toast scattered throughout. I didn't try any but it looked too sweet to me.
I had a mixed experience at Auction Rooms this time round. We had a different table and I really liked the look of the cafe from where we were sitting. In particular, the sunny courtyard looked amazing with its rustic wall. It helped that the weather was uncharacteristically beautiful that morning. My meal was nice but not outstanding and the brisket burger was a plain disappointment.
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