True North — Restaurant in Melbourne

An unassuming street frontage doesn’t do justice to what’s inside. Located on Munro Street near Sydney Road, this funky cafe has something for everyone. Co-owner Brett delivers his kinda food, with his kinda decor and his kinda music. Even the menu is riddled with musical puns ode to the good days of Blat Sabbath. Haulin Oats or Fermental as Anything. The wooden booths are cosy for four. You’re surrounded by old pin ball machines, 70’s rock paraphernalia, neon signs, plants, clocks, cans and other ephemeral pieces from times gone by. The menu is comprehensive whether you’re here for breakfast, lunch or one of their evening events. They are licensed so I’ll have to return and check out the $12 espresso martini and $3 arachini balls on a Thursday night. I ordered a Hash Pipe with an extra side of halloumi. The mix of flavours and textures were incredible. Layers and layers of savoury bombs with each bite. The hash was perfect and the halloumi soaked up the pepperonis, tomato and chiminchuru nicely. Visually one of the most appealing dishes I’ve had in a long while. My son had the Blat Sabbath with chips and my daughter had the Don’t Fear the Reaper. Portion sizes were large and generous fillings. See photos for a cross section of the filling. Big shout out to Brett and his staff who have created a place that represents them, their personalities with no shame or bowing down to modern day norms. Refreshing! Notes: wheelchair accessible. No disabled toilet though. Kid friendly. No high chairs. Parking is pretty good. Dietaries are very well...

I really want to like this place but every time I've been here has been a big disappointment. The vegan options are plenty and the chefs do quite a good job but like many others have said, the serving sizes could be better for the price (breakfast with a couple coffees each left us with a bill of $70 and my partner left hungry). Overall though, the only reason we've returned has been because of the food. We've had the same staff member serve us each time we've been and each time she seemed hostile and rude. It would seem to be the same staff member others have mentioned who appears to be completely disinterested in not only being there, but interacting with customers. She accidentally placed the wrong order for one of our meals and when the food came out we mentioned this. She immediately pushed back and became defensive saying that we were in the wrong. It wouldn't have been a big of a deal to us but we had specifically ordered our meal because it was similar to what we had the time before and had enjoyed it; what we received was a completely different meal. Asking for the correct meal seemed to be an annoyance to her as the chef brought out the meal himself, even though the cafe was not busy at the time. Her attitude has made us feel uncomfortable each time we've been so I don't think we will...

Went for breakfast. Table sticky. Waiter brought water glasses that had old lipstick and grubby prints all over them. (this is why your staff should polish glasses...and perhaps look at the glassware they are putting on the table.) The coffee came, which was very good - Soy milk was heated perfectly by the barista, which is rare as it tends to have a lower burn point than regular milk. The saucer was also very grubby like it hadn't been washed properly in a long time. We got the veg and non-veg corn fritter options. They were very small servings and the slaw was very old as the cabbage and carrot in it had that chalky white, dull look that it gets when its been in a bag in the fridge for a week. If I'm paying upwards of $50 dollars for a breakfast for two, I don't think fresh salad and a bigger serving of fritters (not really fritters, just a handful of squash-ball sized lumps.) is unreasonable. Great music playing and nice set-up inside but if it's gonna be sloppy diner fare then lower...