Code Black Coffee

Interesting, you really have to do a bit of an investigation on the first time here. Code black itself maintains the look of a metals workshop, or a wholesale tradies warehouse supply centre. Also interesting that Toby’s estate has pilfered the image of this café by painting it’s building black. Anyway on to coffee. Hoorays for; take-​away, their retail section, and filter coffee.
Nays; uncomfortable seating, likely designed by a physio as a subvertive way to get more cilents in. Those sippy baby cups for sale. Popular with zero (f) ducks about anyone else hipster parents. The weird industrial front door entry.
Aside from these, the menu is pretty decent, the stick beef roll is quite filling, and other good options of all meal times maintain the menu well. Do get the house made tater tots, they are pretty good. No, it isn’t the frozen stuff, though those are pretty good too on occasion. On the mark service, and generally not too long to wait for foods/​coffee. Does look like the place would get steamrolled (non stop busy) quite often, so factor this in for your next visit.

Love Code Black, it’s a bit of an all weather café.
I say this because code black has communal table inside, some booth type seats and single tables too although music can get a bit loud inside.
Outside, there’s tables under their big roof shelter. So it’s easy to sit here even when it’s a bit wet or scorching. Then there’s makeshift tables with milk carts around the outdoor seating area when it gets very pack and weather is fine.
Inside in the dessert cabinet, there’s Butterbing cookies and other yummies. Breakfast and lunch menu always satisfy and I’ve always enjoyed my visit here.

Excellent food and a killer Bloody Mary, but unfortunately the service – despite being extremely friendly – was very slow.

Great place for coffee and breakfast. Partners crumpets were light and fluffy and the coffee is perfect.
Such a big place when you walk inside — love the warehouse industrial look. Makes the place feel unique.
Service was quick and efficient. Love the fact that the potato tots are made in house and not the frozen kind. As i always create my own breakfast as I do not eat eggs ordering a grain toast and adding sides is good and simple and perfect.
If you’re in the area make sure you drop by for coffee and breakfast :)

Loved the industrial feel to this café and the coffee was top notch! I had the House Made Crumpets with ricotta, berries and cinnamon infused maple syrup. This place is worth the short train ride out of the city, some of the best coffee I’ve had.

I’ve been meaning to check this place out for a while but the problem is that I don’t get down to Brunswick all that often when the coffee shops are open. However one Saturday morning I happened to be down here so I decided that I would go and check it out. As it turns out this place is really, really popular. In fact it was literally packed to the brim. Mind you I did end up getting my coffee pretty quickly, though there wasn’t really any place to sit down. Not only do they have their own branded coffee but they also do breakfast as well (which I didn’t have time to sample). As for the coffee, well I have to say that it wasn’t bad, but then again I’m not really one to be able to judge a good coffee.

Located conveniently at across the road from Barkly Square shopping centre.
An old warehouse that has been refurbished/​re-​purposed. Smartly designed.
Ordered a flat white & shared a Ploughman’s Lunch — both good. Also tried a smoked salmon bagel — not so good as it was rather bland.
The table layout in this popular café seemed a bit tightly packed in.
Overall — enjoyed the experience.

Superb coffee and lovely food. Nice surroundings too. We went for breakfast. I had the bacon sandwich which was excellent. Lovely really tasty bacon. Nice egg on top. Really gorgeous little rocket salad too. Terrific breakfast that I enjoyed immensely. The coffee was very nice too. Lovely tasty and creamy. Exactly what you expect in a coffee Mecca like Melbourne. A real delight actually. Service was good. Brisk and pleasingly efficient with a couple of nice smiles. If this is where hipsterville is, I’m very happy to be part of it.

One of the most creative and wondrous brunch joints in Brunswick. The coffee is decent, and the space looks fantastic. Lots of space and lovely nooks to settle into.
Highly recommend trying the Brunswick ploughmans lunch, despite being almost too hipster to function it was crazy delicious.

Had lunch here today and didn’t feel like the flagship café of a major player in the Melbourne coffee scene.
Sitting out the front, the waiter came out with water and glasses to take our coffee order and whilst talking to us, placed the water on someone else table. Came back with menus but no water for us. Menus are a bit too long and takes some time to read through it.
I had the chilli glazed bacon and chicken roll, delicious. right amount of heat, nicely balanced flavours. Still makes my mouth water. My only issue with the dish, side salad seemed out of place. grated carrot and few other things. Maybe something creamy to balance against the spice? Pickles? The food is delicious but 90% there.
Coffee. Fantastic but when i ask to know what single origins are on, i want to know more then ‘its from Kenya’, there is a lot of coffee from Kenya, tell me what it tastes like so i know if i want it. Very disappointed with the lack of communication about coffee from a coffee roaster.
Staff weren’t very friendly. Sat there for about an hour after finishing our meal and wasn’t asked if we wanted anything else. Everyone just seemed short in conversation and grumpy.
My other problem, smoking. My friend had her baby, too noisy and crazy inside, and the sun was nice outside, why should we have to smell other peoples bad habits. The outdoor seating is in front of the entrance so you will get a face full of smoke just walking in. Very bad move and you shouldn’t be accepting it.
Good coffee, but ill just stick with Code Black Howard Street.

Been in here for coffee a few times and love the décor of the place. The coffee is always good too. This time came in for breakfast as i knew they had some decent vegan options. I ordered the Quinoa, chia and goji berry pudding with saffron
poached pear, baked rhubarb, spiced nuts & coconut yoghurt. It was delicious! Much bigger than i expected and just so tasty. Normally my only breakfast options are avo on toast, so nice to be able to order something so fresh and delicious. The staff were friendly and the service pretty quick. However, we were there on a weekday, i believe it gets pretty busy on the weekends. I will definitely be back to have breakfast/​brunch again.

It’s just not enough anymore to have a good ambiance, great coffee and delicious food! If the service is below average then they don’t deserve any stars! I’ve been here so many times but this time I get ignored when I walked in and had to find myself to a table. I then had to wave a waiter down for a menu and then had to wave a waiter down again to order my bloody good! Not to mention I got attitude over that! This is melbourne, plenty of choices and this will not be one of them for a LONG TIME! We pay to much to be at a café these days to receive shit service!

Love it, finally a place to compete in my heart with «Wide Open Road». The food was absolutely gorgeous. I had a leek and goat cheese croquette salad and he had the crab and bacon burger thing. Both of us were very impressed, the size, taste and presentation hit the spot and the staff were good.
The coffee was good but not great — it had a sour note and even as a double shot didn’t quite punch through the milk enough but I’m starting to think no place can beat «Coffee Supreme» in that regard.
Will deffo be back!

I’ve been here for an hour and all I’ve had is coffee that was served 20 minutes after we ordered it.
Meal came after 45 mins and it was a completely wrong order (for both of us).
Extra 15 mins for our meals.
I understand it’s busy. I’ve never had a bad experience here.
Also we just happened to get the rudest waitress. Everyone else was lovey.
Offered to pay for our coffee we had before our meal and 2 free after.
I’ll be going back there because the food is to die for.

If you’re in Brunswick, this is THE place to go for coffee.
The food is AMAZING. Seriously. I got a classic avo and feta brekkie, and was blown away. It was priced low for the incredible value they give you, and everything here is a unique version of a great Melbourne breakfast dish. This is one of my favourite food joints in Melbourne.
The coffee is definitely the best in Brunswick, with really friendly baristas. I didn’t work here, but I did some training here, and the back of house roasters and quality control staff are very talented. And unlike a lot of Melbourne, they are open minded to making the coffee the best it can be, instead of sticking to strict traditional (and outdated) rules. I was blown away with their knowledge and talent, and I learned a lot from the staff here. The baristas are really friendly, too, and take their time to perfect each drink while still getting them out quickly.
The espresso on its own is really good, but served in an odd size. I forget the exact amount, but it’s a very large double shot, and taste great but is so big you’d think it’s a long black. If you’re looking for a shortie, make sure to ask for it.
Really nice retail space, too. We bought some Bonavita scales here and have been eyeing up the Kalita gear for a while.

The first impressions of Code Black are pretty spectacular. From what looks like a pretty humble warehouse out the front, you instead walk into a very sleek, dark yet inviting café, store and roastery. Being a coffee nut, Code Black was one of those café/​roasters very high up on my places to visit, and I’m very glad I made the trip out to Brunswick to check it out.
We went there for lunch, however made sure first of all to try out some coffees. One long black and one latte was ordered. Both were great in there own right (which surprisingly many cafes cannot get both right), full of flavour and justifying its lofty expectations it has.
For lunch, we ordered a muesli as well as the chickpea and potato salad. The menu on the whole was fascinating, with many unique dishes, making choosing what to eat very difficult. Both the dishes were very enjoyable, leaving us full and very satisfied.
The other part of Code Black is the coffee equipment they have on offer. You can by pretty much anything you need for home, from beans, to jugs, to everything filter, to high end espresso machines. Very fun to look around thats for sure!

One star of sadness happening here. So much caffeine induced potential. Such great coffee and such a die hate fan. Perhaps that’s where I want wrong? Too high expectations from the fabulous treatment I am served at the new Collins St branch.
First bad move– Water glasses (latte style) turn up complete with bright pink lipstick.
Secondly when did flat whites become to replacement latte? Now I know as a society we have moved away from bouffant high fluffy cappuccinos and rolled into a more sophisticated delight. Well this didn’t happen here. Two flat whites turned up under the illusion of lattes. The waitress even proudly announced to our table TWO LATTES. An investigative dig into the lattes revealed their true identity– flat white of doom. Surely the white ceramic flat white /​cappuccino vessel would have alerted the staff to this travesty of coffee plagiarism. Alas no.
To put the icing on the flat white my latte was exactly that. Flat like a teenage boys first day of school.
With so many other great places around here perhaps Code Black can run a secret barista boot camp and learn the lesson of the latte.
So why one star? Well the waitress was very excited to deliver our lattes and it’s always nice to reward people for their happiness and a job well done!

Brekkie/​Brunch has become massively popular in Melbourne nowadays, which means that cafes have had to lift their games and give their menus a revamp because otherwise they’ll get nailed to the cross… A bit harsh but that’s the reality of it these days. If your menu is boring, well you won’t make it.
I don’t think Code Black have to worry about any of this. Their coffee is good, they offer a comprehensive menu to suit different palates and the food is amazing. Alright yes, some would say it’s pricey but you can’t have it both ways. For the quality you get from them, I think it’s worth forking out a few more bucks.
You’ll find these guys in Brunswick just off Barkly Square (my local) which makes it very convenient as you can park there for 3 hours free of charge. The place is cool, open plan layout, the staff are nice with some of them sporting arm length stickers (I can’t explain why but I find this quite attractive on members of the opposite sex), coffee connoisseurs have the option of buying coffee related bits and bobs and the the hipster crowd contributes to the chilled and relaxed atmosphere.
My flat white was quite good but the French Toasted Brioche Sandwich that I had was amazing. If you have a look at the photo, it might look more like lamb chops but it’s not! I loved it — big portion size and lots of flavour. There’s so much more on offer and I can’t wait to head back and have a crack at the Mushroom 3 Cheese Melt or even their Summer Club Sanga w/​smoked salmon, dill & Prawn Aoli.
I generally stick to my neck of the Woods i.e. Brunswick East aka the Paris end of Brunswick as I like to call it but I’m willing to venture to the dark side for Code Black.

You’d think the best thing about this place would be the coffee, right? Well it’s not. The coffee is fine don’t get me wrong, but it’s not out of this world amazing and it pales in comparison to the food.
The menu here is epic. Positively huge, with so many options and variations. Want standard eggs and bacon? No worries. Fancy something healthy and green? They have it sorted. Want something to pick at and share? Yup, they have that too.
We shared a zucchini, green bean, white fish, avocado and pomegranate salad along with the «Ploughman’s» which instead of the usual cured meats and cheese featured pickled vege, middle eastern dips, olives, flat bread and other bits and pieces. Perfect for sharing, mixing and matching and terrific for those of us who occasionally want to eat something that doesn’t feature bread.
I love the fit out here, the music and the big tables perfect for newspaper spreading. Service was a little inexperienced and hesitant, but I was able to look past that as soon as my brunch appeared.

New kids on the block & spitting distance from Barkly Square (not that we Unilocalers are spitters) Code Black Coffee is already a hit with the hipsters & long beards & tattoos prevail. It’s family friendly though (hipsters have children too) & there’s a selection of offerings for ‘the little peeps’ with everything for $ 5.90 (great for the picky & oft wasteful child).
Coffee is roasted on site & though I wanted to I did not love my Costa Rican house blend long black — the vibrant tones where masked by a bitterness that was disguisable.
Hung-​over, I opted for the ‘Old Faithful’ with my eggs poached on (buttered — yay) sourdough with a side of roasted field mushrooms. It was excellent & totally put my unsettled stomach at ease. My guest had the crushed avocado with goat’s curd & was equally pleased. Portion sizes are excellent too & prices mid range.
There’s a selection of beans & gadgets available to purchase for the budding coffee connoisseur.
On the whole I think it has a lot of potential & will definitely return.