Code Black Roasters - North Melbourne

One of the many things that Melbourne does better than Sydney is their coffee. For whatever reason - Melbourne coffee is mostly smooth and creamy and delicious, whereas in Sydney, getting one of these creamy rich coffees is like winning the lotto. So it was a no-brainer that we would be hitting a lot of cafes whilst we were in this wonderful city.

We visited Code Black Roasters which is a few blocks away which is a few blocks away from the Queen Victoria Markets. The place was hipster - you could tell by the bearded employees and the crowd that's here (mac-books galore). As predicted - coffee was AWESOME. Rich, aromatic, creamy, hits the spot.

Foodwise, I ordered the hot smoked salmon and hubby ordered a 'T-rone' steak sandwich. The toasted sourdough sandwich had thin porterhouse steaks cooked medium (or a bit more medium-well) with thin haloumi slices, iceberg lettuce, a jalapeño mustard and tomato sauce. It was tastier than I thought. The steak slices were more tender than expected and the haloumi and mustard complemented the meat well.

My hot smoked salmon was cooked through and a bit tough and rubbery. I would have much preferred it loads more pink. Likewise, my poached egg was overdone and un-runny which was a let down. I liked the crispy herb potato hash and of course, the avocado (which you can't really get wrong). The hollandaise sauce was also OK. All up - it was OK... just not great.

So I guess that the coffee was amazing but the food may need to be refined a bit.

Ratings:
Food - 6.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 26/40

Code Black Roasters
119 Howard Street
North Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9381 2330