Batch Espresso
| Where | 320 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, 3183—View map |
Contact | 03 9530 3550 |
Website | — |
Open | Monday to Friday 8.00am to 5.00pm Breakfast until 12.00pm |
Payment | — |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
Kiwiana meets Balaclava
Clare Marshall 7 December 2007
It's hard to be different on a street where you can find sushi, traditional bagels, fish and chips and a Jewish delicatessen all in the space of 50 metres, but Batch Espresso has managed to stand out from its first day of opening. The NZ-themed café is both a home away from home for those from across the Tasman, and a popular haunt for locals.
Much of the hype surrounding Batch is due to its unwaveringly excellent coffee, which has won the café several awards. Owner Jason Chan uses Coffee Supreme’s Victoria blend; a rich, earthy Brazilian roasted at the Kiwi company’s Melbourne base in Richmond. Long blacks are served DIY-style, as a double shot of espresso in a cup with a jug of boiling water on the side. The fern-like finishes on lattes and flat whites make them almost too pretty to drink.
The café’s beverage list is made up of entirely New Zealand wines and beers, as well as Supreme coffee, Phoenix juices, and the full 42-Below Vodka range. Eagle-eyed expats can also find NZ lollies such as K-Bars, chocolate fish and Perky Nanas lurking in the wine fridge.
Batch runs separate breakfast and lunch menus on weekdays and an all-day brunch menu over the weekend. The menus rely on fresh, seasonal produce, so are changed fairly regularly. The kedgeree, an Anglo-Indian dish of curried rice, flaky smoked fish and fresh herbs, is one brunch item that never goes off the menu. The other is a seriously hearty spinach and potato hash, with crunchy cornichons, a runny poached egg and optional chunks of juicy corned beef. Lighter options include an avocado and feta mash on ciabatta, boiled eggs with toast soldiers, and a delicious selection of stone fruits poached in star anise with saffron mascapone.
The café itself is a warm, organic-looking space, with wooden shelves reminiscent of NZ’s west coast driftwood, 1950s science text books as menus and ever-changing floral installations by local artist Joost Bakker. The pace gets pretty hectic on weekends, when it’s not uncommon to see a queue of customers out the door, so if lingering is your thing come on either side of the lunch rush.