Migrant Coffee — Restaurant in Melbourne

Overall: 4/5

Not sure which was the vibe - the staff, food or that hippy carpark/courtyard. Glad to know I can grab a bagel & coffee in the West.

You can really sense the value of family and togetherness in this community space that they have created. With many whose parents are migrants, such a purpose really proves their integrity.

Using your classic New York bagels but with a Filipino twist, using Filipino, Thai and Island flavours.

Their signature and top bagels are the Pastrami Mami and Bok Bok Manok (chicken salad bagel)

Pastrami mami (4/5): Get ready for this - probably my fave version of pastrami bagels. Compared to the other pastrami bagels in Melbourne, this was the lightest. The star ingredient was the atsara, which is a Filipino relish with green papaya, carrot, red bell pepper, chilli and RAISINS (what!?). Cream cheese and swisse cheese melted onto that nicely toasted onion bagel and complimented the smoky brisket pastrami. Unlike other places, the seeded mustard is less pungent and smoother, giving it that light refreshing kick which I prefer more. Bagel was fluffy, although wish it was a bit crunchier which I popped in the air fryer anyways.

Bok bok manok (3/5): came back for their popular chicken salad bagel but was quite disappointed compared to the explosive flavours from their pastrami bagel. A bit different from your average chicken salad bagel with their Filipino twist but still ticks off the basics for a refreshing chicken salad bagel.

Food: 4 Value: 4 Ambience:...

Migrant consistently provides good food and friendly service (and coffee ... I cannot forget the all-important coffee!). I'm yet to have a bad experience here.

Lovely staff who are attentive and offer warm, friendly service in a cosy atmosphere inside. The bagels are amazing (there are too many to choose from, so I always get the 'everything'!). If busy it can be a little cramped to sit inside, but there is plenty of space to sit out the back. The outside area is covered with a see-through clear plastic marquee to keep you nice and dry during the colder winter months, and there are outdoor heaters to keep you nice and warm. My only criticism (and this is well beyond Migrant's control) is that it can get quite hot and glary outside on sunny days due to the lack of shade (if you're planning on dining in during summer, remember to wear sunscreen or consider taking a hat and your sunnies, especially if you're pasty white and burn easily like me!).

Migrant also offer their own merchandise for sale - I love their designs, and their t-shirts are great quality - so if you're so included you can buy a t-shirt and help spread the...

A couple of weekends ago we visited Migrant Coffee to eat some yummy bagels in the sunny courtyard. It was a beaut day and there was such a bustling vibe. The pastrami mami ($17.5) was their take on reuben but with filo flavours and it was bloody fantastic. It has brisket pastrami, filo pickled green papaya (atsara), swiss cheese, seeded mustard and cream cheese. What a great combo and we loved loved the atsara which lifted the dish. We also tried the salmon ($18), which had the usual smoked salmon, cucumber, capers, onion, scallion & horseradish cream cheese. It was classic flavours but not as impressive as the pastrami. Next time, we'll have try the filipino chicken salad. Our friends got the Sunlight delight ($16) and Haloumi Dreams ($16) which were both solid vego options. The Thai milk tea was delicious too.

We love how two best friend started up this business to remove the stigma of the word migrant by showcasing their culture through the unique spin on bagels. You can tell that they are building their own community in this pocket of Footscray which was...