The Bank, Yarraville

My last breakfast of 2006 was the Big Breakfast at The Bank, 13 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, Tel +61 3 9362 7222. And it was big. Not perfect, but big, with excellent crispy bacon. I just wish they'd chopped the stringy stems off the spinach. Stems-on is OK for baby spinach. But mature spinach really needs a good trim.



The scrambled eggs, sausages and mushrooms were all pretty good, but the toasted ciabatta seemed a bit stale, and the baked beans (which I had instead of tomato) were fairly bland and not quite soft enough for my taste. We also tried the eggs benedict, and it was fine, although they overlooked our request for hollandaise on the side.

As you may have guessed, The Bank is located in an old bank building, with dark fitout and high ceilings on the inside, and a handful of outside tables in the courtyard. The timber decking and smaller scale give the courtyard a more cosy feel than the main banking chamber.

My biggest gripe was the coffee. I had a cappucino and a latte, both of which were way too hot, and not at all enjoyable. I would have sent them back, but I had no faith that it would get any better second time around, so what's the point?

At least The Bank does all day brunch (where "all day" means "till 3pm"). We tried to get "brunch" at Fidama, and despite being almost completely empty, they turned us away. What kind of idiot rejects paying brunch customers at 2.10pm?

12/20 "nice deck"