Cafe Giraffe

Whilst hunting for food places to try for our Friday work lunch found this article on Cafe Giraffe:

http://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/directory/cafe/cafe-giraffe

So quirky looking - just had to go try it.  The front room is where food gets prepared (and where you order) with the back room being the room featured in the broadsheet article.  The tree in the back looks real until you have a close inspection but very cool.

There were also a bunch of interesting items around the room - such as a variety of salt and pepper shakes, a polar bear wine holder (which I have at home), and heaps more on shelves, on the wall and piled towards the back. The tree was also decorated with items and notes. I'd like to say I took this photo intentionally blurry to protect the identity of the people dining there... or y'know to be arty.



When we walked in we were handed 2 menus and told to order at the counter.  One ended up being the food menu, the other the drinks and dessert menu so they have quite a range.  It seemed a little odd that they had asian dishes and pasta but I don't think it would have been a traditional italian style pasta after having the lasagne.  The "kitchen" equipment seems pretty basic but they do a good job with it.

My work buddy ordered the shepherd's pie with salad, and I got the chicken lasagne with salad.  The shepherd's pie had a choice of salad or mash, which I thought was a bit odd as it's not shepherd's pie without the layer of potato on it.  But turns out the shepherd's pie with mash, came with potato on top of the pie, and mash on the side (as one guy ordered on a nearby table).  The contents of the pie seemed pretty similar to my lasagne in that it was grated vegetables and meat (not in obvious chunks).

The filling tasted sweet in both of our dishes.  Unfortunately my lasagne failed the "is it hot in the middle test" which a lot of places fail at.  But the staff were apologetic and quickly heated it up after I took it out to them. The salad looked and tasted very fresh and the iced mocha I got was nice.

I forgot to check in to Foursquare before my meal but the tips for this place include the chicken and vegetable pie, creme brulee and the chocolate pudding. The chocolate fondue sounded pretty tempting.  The staff here are very friendly and the food was cheap in comparison to other city venues.  I paid $8.50 for my lasagne and salad and was full after eating it.  If I went back I'd try something else though.  I wish they had some music playing in the back room.  It initially felt awkward carrying on a conversation as the room was so quiet - although that didn't stop the table next to us who proceeded to have a video chat with headphones on on their phone.  I missed that they had games available to play (just having re-read the broadsheet article).

Cafe Giraffe
302 Little Lonsdale 
Melbourne