The Hardware Societe @ Hardware Lane, Melbourne

Having been in Brisbane for 3 weeks now, i can't imagine time flying past so quickly. The fact that i have still got places i like to share about Melbourne either means i am finally doing some constructive during the day, leaving me no time or either that i have eaten out way more than i should have in Melbourne. 

The Hardware Societe is one of those breakfast places i wanted to go since the first visit to Melbourne in February. I remembered the morning before i left, i was looking out for breakfast places and sad to say many don't open on Sundays. With that in mind, it was the day after i gotten the job offer, a nice cooling Saturday morning, we decided to treat ourselves to a good breakfast and where else to try then a place you wanted to try since February.

The place is not terribly big, with seatings not exceeding 20-25 pax, so either call to book or prepare to wait a while. Our indicated wait of 10 minutes was infact close to 25 minutes but oh well.

The Mocha was served in 2 cups, a nice mug of hot chocolate and an espresso shot. An ingenius way to allow someone to choose how strong or weak of a mocha you want. Comes with a small doughnut as a sweetener too!

The Tea came with a cute teapot holder which was otherwise quite standard.

I thought i only had problems ordering a ristretto latte in Brisbane, either they don't serve one or they give me a ristretto. Looks like the Hardware Societe didn't finish hearing my order.

The Baked Eggs with Jamon Serrano sounded delicious on paper but if you are into soft silky poached eggs with a runny yolk, well this might not be for you. Instead you get a rather hard texture akin to boiled eggs but the sauce makes up for it. 

I still prefer my eggs poached, so it was, served in hollandaise sauce, smoked salmon with a frittata and tomatoes. A simple recipe but well made and satisfying.

The Sweet Tooth a.k.a me, made the wrong choice in ordering a dessert for breakfast; the Fried Broiche. With a layer of chocolate in the middle, stewed blood orange and cream, this was so rich that after a while, i was eyeing the eggs instead and offering half of this away. A better choice as a dessert to share after your breakfast meal.

Sweeth teeth never learns as a final piece of macaron with a pistachio filling ended the meal.

Having eaten this close to a month ago, i remember prices being in the region of AUD 15-20 with coffee being the standard prices of AUD 3.50. A good cosy place for breakfast situated in one of the quieter lanes of Melbourne CBD.

Address and contact details:

120 Hardware St

Melbourne, 3000

Tel: (03) 9078 5992



Verdict: 4 stars out of 5 stars. The breakfast was generally satisfying and good coupled with the ambience, its a winner.