Located on the almost-forgotten edge of the city is a café worth seeking out. At the front, what appears to be a little pocket sized café serving coffee and Matt Forbes treats. Out the back, a Melbourne-laneway style courtyard to relax with burgers and beers. Coming here on a Monday off, we hid out eating chipotle fries with a beer in the courtyard with the freelancer and creative crowd of Melbourne. It’s a great spot to enjoy the sun — and in winter they put up a tent and gas lamps to protect you from the elements. Coffee wise, these are the guys that brew the ‘Machete’ cold brew — an awesome refresher when you’re looking for a caffeine hit during Melbourne’s hotter months. Food wise — they do breakfast and lunch, with the most popular choice being their tasty burger menu. Come on time as the kitchen closes pretty early, but open later on Fridays if you’re looking for a knock off beverage and burger.
Rul A.
Place rating: 4 Shepparton, Australia
Looking from the front it’ll just look like an express coffee shop in which you can stand and envy other people who’ve come before you and took the one table that is already there. Well, go on the back and you will see a large wide open backyard(hoping it does not rain) full of seats and a portable kitchen. I came here for a few consecutive weeksmand each morning and lunch time, the staff became nicer and nicer as they became more accustomed to my orders, my likes and dislikes(i.e. coffee with no sugar or the infrequency of my orders) and just a nicer way of saying«good morning», I don’t know why but the tone in the pitch of those two words sounded nicer and nicer each day. This guys do breakfast and lunch. The coffee is beautiful. Please do try their«The Badger» burger as it is delicately delicious pieces of carefully put together beef patty, sauce, aioli, pickles, tomatoes and for extra add an egg. I love this place.
Danny B.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
I am a fan! I First visited this place on a first date! And when I arrived here I was not quite sure where all the seating was, and my hot date! However as I walked into this café I was directed out the back where located a hidden outside area! It looked amazing! The coffee here is great! I can see they pride themselves on the types of coffee they produce and why wouldn’t they, there are amazing! Burgers are also a well known hot topic around here! I have now come back to this spot a few times start with a coffee end with a burger! It’s amazing, burgers are full of flavour and just delicious! The burger game is a hard one to compete in Melbourne and as this may not be my favourite, but damn it’s good :-)
Henry L.
Place rating: 4 Burwood, Australia
Morning coffees here have been consistently good, music religiously east coast and evening drinks are great hidey hole from work.
Alex L.
Place rating: 4 Australia
Burgers, beers and coffee. A fantastic little hideout with some fabulous burgers and very decent prices. Hanging out the back in the pseudo outdoor terrace area with laneway access. Obligatory Melbourne Street art to boot. This place would get four stars for the coffee alone. Check it out.
Nikki B.
Place rating: 3 Melbourne, Australia
Had a great afternoon drinking session here drinking beer and sampling their DELICIOUS burgers. Would definitely head there again.
Cristian M.
Place rating: 5 Melbourne, Australia
Everyone before me has talked about the amazing coffee, the superb burgers, the beats and the cocktails on offer. I’m here to talk about the private function hire. And boy do I have some great things to say, and I will do my very best to not be verbose and keep it as simple as possible. I booked out the night of a Saturday in mid-November 2012 and it was one of the most pleasurable and fun-filled experiences I could ever hope for. Cosmo was absolutely lovely and very accommodating to our demands, so I’ll break down how the night went. We ran from 7:30pm to 1am, and even though you need to enter from the rear lane way entrance, not too many folks got lost. We needed to cater for approximately 60 guests, and as the backyard area is mostly filled with tables, the staff were only too happy to break down a few more tables to form a dance floor. The place looks like a good mate’s backyard in the Collingwood area right down to the roll-a-door at the back. At 11pm, they ran a lock-in for us to complete the feel. The venue hire was free in the end because everyone managed to spend $ 1500 at the bar, which is no small amount of money, but we did very well in the drinks department. For extra cashola, they’ll even cater for you! The food selections we had on offer were tasty beef sliders, chickpea patty sliders, and Chinese spoons filled with tasty bites. There was pork belly, smoked salmon and crème fraîche as well as some duck and hoisin. Everyone thought that the food was absolutely delicious, as did I. The drinks are cheap, too. $ 10 mojitos and not much more for some of the house cocktails on offer. Plus cool beers, ciders and wines. Not a huge selection, but they’re great nonetheless, and you’ll most likely find beverages that you don’t see in too many other places. For music, they have a Rane mixer and a couple of Technics 1200s, so for all you vinyl spinners out there, you’re all sorted. They were nice enough to let us bring an extra mixer and a couple of CDJs without too much hassle. The *only* downside to the venue hire, if you can call it that, is that the speakers aren’t great. I mean, it’s not a nightclub, sure, but there wasn’t much to work with in the sound department. This may be a deal breaker for you, but it wasn’t for us. Another minor sour note is that one particularly annoying residential neighbour isn’t too happy when you turn the music up too loud. But that’s not Badger’s fault at all. So yeah, this place gets five stars. Of course. It’s an amazing place to throw a party, and I can’t wait to see where this place goes in the future. Nice work, Cosmo — you’re to be commended!
Emma C.
Place rating: 4 Australia
In a corner of the city I don’t frequent that often, I discovered a gem! Badger vs Hawk epitomises some of the many reasons I love this city. Serving banging coffee with a simple but delish array of burgers on the menu and a glass /bottle of something boozy available if you please, there’s not really any reason you shouldn’t be bookmarking this venue and heading there soon! I was especially taken with the excellent soundtrack to my visit. Make sure you’re not put off by the tiny front area, out the back is a yard with plenty of room and sunshine on the right day!
Cris P.
Place rating: 5 San Francisco, CA
Amazing coffee using Proud Mary beans & light meals by day then great burgers and imbibing by night. Relax with a beer, tunes & friends in the under cover court yard out the back or order a take away burger and fries with chipotle aioli. I seriously love this place. They are always playing the best hip hop and obscure beats, leading me to ask the boys«Who’s this playing?», way too often. Be sure to like this place on Facebook so you can be in-the-know about their special events like beat battles between great local hip hop producers or Fashion Label clothing launches. A young hidden gem for Melbourne, especially for this segment of the city.
Tresna L.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
Well hellooooooo there! Isn’t this just the cutest nook of a café? That’s what you think before you realise there’s a whole freakin’ courtyard out the back! Can you say beers and eats in the sun? Why yes. Yes I can. Cosmo will make you a bangin’ coffee using Proud Mary beans and if you get there before the kitchen closes at 2pm you’ll be lucky enough to delve in to the menu. I got there at 2.25pm… Heartbreak. No burgers for me! Next time Badger, next time.
