Crabapple Kitchen @ Hawthorn, Melbourne

Having come back from Malaysia earlier in the year, it took us weeks of eating Asian before we decided we needed a good ol' Melbourne brunch to get us back in the swing of things. However having not eaten out in almost two months, my head was blank, with the usual task of choosing a place. Whether it was by chance or the randomness of reading about Crabapple Kitchen somewhere, I decided that this was the place to catch up with a friend and break that spell of eating Asian.

Small and cozy, this place was packed during Sunday lunch. It didn't help that the back end of the cafe was booked out for some function and which made noise almost an issue. Luckily despite it being full house, we got a table in 10 minutes and got served by a rather chirpy lady (almost too giggly).

We were starving at this point and quickly put our orders through. Now, if you were looking for a quick meal, you would have complained about the wait because food was coming out slow (probably the function at the back) but since we were catching up with a friend, it was a good place to be able to chat and chat without having people stare at you, waiting for you to leave. 

Whether it was the name of the place that sparked the creation of this dish or the components of this dish that inspired the name of this place, the crab and apple slider gets a lot of mention online. While it was good, I would have prefer a little more crab so that I could get that burst of seafood instead of the apple sweetness when I bit into it. 

Remember the rather happy lady? After she convinced the Wife to order their  mushroom soup special, out came a lunch steak sandwich. Yes, they got it wrong but at this stage, the Wife wasn't going to let them take it back and instead dug in like a carnivore. The "gribiche" sauce was amazing, a boiled egg mayonnaise according to Google and nothing can really go wrong when a steak sandwich comes with cheese and onions too. Luckily it tasted pretty good, else the Wife would have deducted a star or two for that mistake. 

It looks like they change their menu quite often with the crab pasta already off the menu as I write this and it couldn't have been more than a month since we ate here. Well what I did want to write based on a bite from my friend's plate was it was the bomb! Full of crab flavour, just from one bite, you could clearly taste an explosion of the meaty crustacean in the mouth. Although listed under the dishes that are meant to be "more substantial", the portion was rather small and I could have easily polished off two. 

Another item that doesn't look like its on their menu (online) anymore, a lamb and gnocchi dish. The lamb was slow cooked but had a bite, the jus was delicious and well seasoned and though the gnocchi look rather sad and were a little small, it was delicious. 

To finish it off we were meant to share but I ended up having most of the Chocolate Pot (almost like a chocolate fondue pot, minus the things you dip it in), rich, rich and rich.

With most lunch items priced in the $20s, it wasn't too expensive and the combination of food and atmosphere should likely see us return again pretty soon (hopefully the wait wouldn't be too long).

Address and contact details:

Verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. Good food and vibe, hopefully the long wait for food was an one-off. Can't wait to return.