Cafe Culture: Hardware Societe, Melbourne CBD

I’ve never been into the whole “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” thing. Heresy, I know. It’s just never worked for me, and forcing myself to eat when I’m not ready is never a cute look.

But for certain breakfasts, I’m more than happy to make an exception. And if Hardware Societe is going to put the words ‘lobster’ and ‘benedict’ in the same sentence, well, now they’re just twisting my arm.

Lobster Benedict, $25

And what a glorious breakfast the Lobster Benedict was. Chunks of perfectly cooked lobster sit on buttery brioche, and form a luxurious bed for oozy poached eggs and a cozy blanket of hollandaise. It’s like every luxurious ‘treat’ ingredient came together and decided to have a beautiful magic baby. I had to stop myself from finishing ALL of the brioche, because I ordered a second breakfast.

Steak Tartare, $25

Yes, you heard me right. For someone who doesn’t do breakfasts, I ordered TWO. I never do things by halves. The Steak Tartare was indeed lovely – with finely chopped beef flavoured with a capsicum based romesco sauce rather than the usual mustard/caper/shallot mix. Good, but not as good as the benedict, and so faded into oblivion, a.k.a the recesses of my memory.

Matcha Latte, $4.50

Besides the photogenic food, the drinks are also beautiful to behold. The barista even has a super cool instagram account dedicated to latte art! How the f**k did that swan get in there?? HOW IS THIS BLACK MAGIC POSSIBLE?!

And just as a kicker, I also took a photo of the food on the table beside me. I’ve no idea what this is or how
it tastes, but it sure looked pretty!

I just absolutely fell in love with the relaxed atmosphere at Hardware Societe. I didn’t feel judged at ALL for ordering two breakfasts, in fact other than a small moment of embarassment on my part when the server said, “are BOTH of these for you?”, I felt right at home with the hilarious, warm staff and people who let me photograph their food.

A must-go when I next go back to Melbourne. Breakfast has never been so cool.

This meal was independently paid for.

The Hardware Societe
118-120 Hardware Street
CBD Melbourne, VIC
Phone: 03 9078 5992