Joy Coburg — Restaurant in Melbourne

I can't afford to eat out very often, but I was running out of breakfast food when I went to pick up a package nearby and was pretty hungry. I had been here before briefly to pick up something, I can't remember what, and remembered liking it, so decided impulsively to pop in and order some food, as this is one of the few cafés on the Gaffney strip that serves full meals.

Now, I've lived in the Brunswick Coburg most of my life, my Mum is a coffee snob, and I've been going out with her and on my own to cafes for years. I would say I'm fairly discerning to quality when it comes to cafes, as I've ordered my fair share of too foamy coffees, meagre meals, all along with bank-breaking prices.

I ordered the avo toast, a Northern suburbs staple, and as a native, I fit the stereotype in that I can't resist it no matter the price (especially given this was $18, and I've been conditioned to expect a $20-25 price tag for most cafe meals these days.) I almost always regret it, however, being served a quarter of avocado on a slice of store bought wholegrain toast is a common enough experience in this area that it has warded me off ordering this particular item almost everywhere I go.

However, just as I was pondering how I'll probably regret falling to temptation, one of the kindly servers brought out a suspiciouy large plate. On top of this precious dish, lay the thickest slice of bread I have ever seen. I picked at it, assuming it must have been two separate slices and served to me in some sort of odd deconstructed sandwich style, though even if it was, the bread was so soft and thick I wouldn't have minded. But no, this was a single, huge, slab of bread.

Atop and surrounding this monstrous slice, lay chunks of avocado, like icebergs around a mysterious island. Laying atop this island, nestled amongst the chunks of avocado, lay a mountain of feta. As I tucked in to my unexpected feast, I realised this feta was veritably drowned in the avocado, and excavating the mountain only revealed more and more precious feta, more than I thought was possible to serve.

Despite this already feeling like a unique and rare encounter I had stumbled upon, I kept finding more to gorge my stomach on. I'm not sure what type of seeds were sprinkled across this meal and cooked in to the soft and delicious bread, but they were nutty and felt like a perfect compliment. With my latte was served a small pot of honey, and in my splendour, I discovered some of the remnants of honey made a flavourful addition to the leftover avocado chunks after I had demolished my slab.

I was left more full and satisfied than I have been since I was served a meal at the Gimlet. This is what I feel I SHOULD expect from a $20 avocado toast, and it's a shame that even cafes who may not have such wonderful cooking talent aboard are so stingy with their portions.

I was already going to write a glowing review, and I'm glad to see others agree, but I want to reiterate that I would highly recommend, even as someone who can't afford to eat out very often.

To add, I'm not really a coffee snob as I can't really consume coffee, but my matcha latté was...

What a JOY !

Today my partner and I went to a new local café called JOY for lunch, and it turned out to be a real treat.

The café is situated in Gaffney Street, Coburg and there is ample parking all around. The place is new with much emphasis placed on attention to detail. The interior of the café looks fresh and inviting with a number of small tables scattered around to giving it a cozy, relaxed and warm feel.

At the back, there is a lovely courtyard, and on a nice day, I guarantee you there is no other place you would want to chill with a nice coffee and delicious desert.

If you like real coffee or if you are a coffee snob, then this is the place for you. We had a soy and a turmeric latte to go with our lunch. Very nice indeed. They also brought out a carafe of water with glasses as a matter of course – which we thought was a nice touch.

Mamma mia, the food, yes the food! We had not had breakfast, so we were famished. Well, we ordered the cauliflower frittata, the sweet potato & lentil salad, the meatball sandwich with cheese, a slice of pizza and the carrot cake.

Everything is made fresh in their kitchen. The servings were plentiful and on the bigger side. My meatball and cheese sandwich was cut in half and did not fit my mouth – and that’s saying something. The food was beautifully presented, and you knew it was going to be good because you could see it was fresh and had a beautiful aroma.

The taste of the food was out of this world and easily restaurant quality. The carrot cake (gluten free) was undoubtedly the best carrot cake we have ever had. Just try it and you will agree.

Look, if you include nearby Brunswick, there must be hundreds of cafes around the area. But this café was built from the ground up by Even the owner, who has worked in the hospitality business for many years and wants café goers to experience the very best in café food and coffee.

Do yourself a favour, grab a friend or someone you love, and take them to JOY for a real treat. I guarantee that they will love...

I recently visited Joy Coburg for brunch and ordered the baked beans with feta on sourdough, two poached eggs, and sides of bacon and mushrooms. To drink, I had a latte and a berry smoothie.

The baked beans and mushrooms were excellent, but I was quite disappointed with the rest of the meal. The bacon came as four very small, thin rashers for $7, which felt overpriced given both the portion size and quality. The poached eggs were also overcooked, with no runny yolk at all.

The drinks were a mixed experience. The latte was fantastic, up there with some of the best I’ve had. But the smoothie was lukewarm and dominated by ginger, masking the berry flavours.

The outdoor seating area felt cramped and a little uninviting, though the staff were very friendly and attentive, which was a definite highlight.

Overall, I’d return here for a quick takeaway coffee, but sadly...