True North

I’m inspired! Coming here was a random decision and it was the best one ever! From the staff (who is practically my bff now) to the menu and amazing food, everything was inspired and most importantly delicious. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed Cafes that surprise me! And I was surprised and excited and I felt 21 al over again!
It wasn’t fancy food, it was food Ol’ honest cuisine! And I want to go back. Again and again. The specials were what grabbed our eye today as well as a trusty bagel! And I was jealous of everyone’s meal and they were jealous of mine, and it was really how brunch should be! FOOD ENVY everywhere!
Look forward to seeing you again True North! You’re worth the trip!

Just the best.
Consistently friendly and accomodating.
Makes me wish I lived closer in Coburg rather than Brunswick!

Love this place!
The funky décor was the first thing to catch my eye from a street where most surrounding shops are an eyesore. Hopefully True North can cause them to up their standards! So far I have visited 3 times to have their delicious toasted sandwiches. Super filling, reasonably priced and a little bit different — I like that each side comes with a few corn chips, cute touch.
Coffee is excellent, my favourite by far on Sydney Road. Would have no hesitation in recommending this place to family and friends.

True North feels like the northernmost outpost of the inner-​north. It’s very welcoming, from the Vulcan greeting to the «these premises are protected by Wu-​Tang Clan» sticker. Beyond lays Bell Street.
Their sandwiches are American-​inspired and most can be made vegetarian or vegan. I enjoyed the Reuben, with vegan meat sharply cut with mustard, but preferred the chicken on fresh wholegrain. All come with a side of corn chips.
There’s enough hot sauce for you to feel at home. They even sell Nordic Frost Burn: «grim sauce» made from Coburg-​grown chillis.
Pies from Blackberry Belle wait on the counter beside cookies and gingerbread. My favourite was the maple pecan.

I love this place, because it’s right in the heart of ‘broburg, and it’s just tiny and adorable and one of the best of a slew of new cafes opening up in the creeping northward awesomeness that is coburg.
The staff are amazing, super friendly and the coffee is delicious. The menu is plain, with lots of bagels and lots of hot sauce. I’d say stick with a sandwich (as opposed to one of the more ambitious dishes such at the huevos rancheros) and a pastry, as the kitchen is only tiny.
Overall, True North is great for the coffee, vibe and just overall feel. It’s lacking in the food, but still worth a visit if you’re in the area and keen for some stoop perching and people watching in one of the best most underrated suburbs of Melbourne.

I took an immediate fancy to this cute pocket sized café right off Sydney Road: They’re going for the American vibe here, with polished wooden booths and matching lunch counter dressed with hot sauce bottles. Add that to a bagel heavy menu and I was feeling the love.
The clientele is a sea of tatted hipsters in black hoodies hunched over cups of excellent coffee and avo dressed bagels. So far, things were good: The place looked cool, the coffee was awesome, and there was hot sauce everywhere. Unfortunately, the menu left a lot to be desired: First off, True North is a bit ambitious. They don’t have an actual kitchen, just a prep area behind the counter with a toaster oven and tiny stove top The teensy area shares space with the cash register and coffee machine. This is simply not enough room to cook a plethora of bagels, egg dishes, and assemble sandwiches, and the «kitchen» staff is none too nimble: It took over thirty minutes to get a veggie sandwich and a plate of huevos rancheros, both simple dishes that don’t take a whole lot of time to throw together. My sandwich was fresh, but a bit bland and the addition of a pinch of feta for an extra two bucks was a bit rich. The sandwich should have come with it in the first place and what did arrive was barely worth 50 cents. Not impressed. My friend ordered the huevos rancheros, and sorry, these weren’t. They are supposed to be smothered in cooked salsa but these huevos only came with a raw chopped tomato and avocado. This is traditionally a wet dish, but what we got was dry. Not really what we North Americans expected but maybe they can get it over on the Aussies.
We entered on a five and left on a two for the grand total of an so-​so 3. It’s a shame, because the coffee and the vibe is good. The food however, needs attention.