Brothl

I’m probably going to have to agree with Tresna about the whole naming thing.
Call me an old fashioned conservative prude, but it is absolutely inconceivably mind boggling to me why, just why they’ve chosen this name. This is taking ‘Hipster chic’ a little too far. Once you’re over the brain hemorrhage of such a horrific name, even though, it may be pun based, it’s on to the food, or broth as it were/​is.
Tasty, filling, nutritious, wholesome and great. A little on the pricey side, but the chicken broth with vegetables, Kim chi and rice is excellent. Comes with bread and tasty salted butter. Small inside, but worth it, even more so if it’s a dreary dull cold night and soup is the rescue of your woes. Great staff and service though, that’s a definite wine.

After having a degustation dinner or two at the former Silo, it was exciting to finally make it to Joost’s new venture — Brothl. Operating on the same base values of sustainable and recycling, the restaurant has also mostly kept the same layout as its predecessor with a large communal table overlooking the kitchen, a series of small tables down the wall and a few outside tables.
The food menu is, as its name of the establishment suggests, all about broths. It is an intimate do-​it-​yourself affair with the choice of base broth — vegetable, seafood, chicken or beef — and a choice of additions, ranging from egg and vegetables to chickens feet and brisket. For the less creative or confused there are a selection of chef’s recommendations.
The broths themselves are cooked over long periods of time, 48 hours in the case of the beef, and made from the «waste» produce and bones from high profile restaurants Attica and Rockpool. Even the water is locally sources from rainwater tanks in the outer mountainous suburb of Monbulk.
My choice of the evening was the chicken broth with fennel, celery, ginger and poaches chicken (one of the recommendations) and an addition of house-​made noodles. The broth is served in a cute ceramic pot with a side of bread and churned butter. First characteristic of note is that the broth is hot. Be prepared to wait a little for it to cool by nibbling on the bread, unless you’re into that sort of thing. The flavours were intense but not overpowering, somewhat like a rich chicken stock. The recommendation of fennel, celery, ginger were great additions, with the ginger added a mild welcomed bite, along with the tender poached chicken building on the base broth flavours.
The simple menu and its contents may not be everybody’s cup of tea (or broth!) but Brothl is well worth a visit for something different, new and sustainable.

My friends have been going on and on about Brothl for a couple of months now. So its no surprise that I walked in there with super high expectations! Luckily, I was not disappointed. At all! Oh. My. Goodness. The whole experience was pleasure. The same setting as the original concept — Silo by Joost — with the same principles of reusing and not wasting. Sustainable. Healthy. Vegan/​Gluten Free/​Alergy friendly.
It’s a long, open kitchen, where you’re literally sitting next to where your food is being prepared, which I personally love (not that I’m fussy about my food or anything — what??) The staff were lovely, which I put down partly to the healthy broths they get to eat all day and the cool, relaxed atmosphere they get to spend their day in. I had a daily special (see the picture) of the cold vegetable broth, mixed with avocado and cucumber, with a fresh, crunchy spring salad on top and deliciously satisfying falafels on the side. PLUS they have almond milk (Almond Milk Co) with their coffee. I didn’t expect to be so filled-​up by broth! It’s healthy, satisfying, nutritious, sustainable, and like my friends have been telling me, a ‘must-​go-​to’ in Melbourne.

My friends and I stopped by here for dinner after catching a play. Arriving an hour before closing, the place had plenty of seating. Though it was a bit chilly outside, the patio was pretty full. I love the philosophy that goes with Brothl which is definitely eye-​opening. Absolutely love the idea of leaving no waste!
The broths offered was: Vegetable, 24hr Chicken broth, and 48hr Beef broth. You get to choose what you’d like to add to your broth, or you can choose their recommended. I chose the beef broth and added their house-​made noodles, mushrooms, a soft boiled egg and Jonathan’s bacon. Definitely a savory beef broth that you can tell has taken 48 hours to make. I did the error of not paying attention to my bacon which sat at the bottom because at the end, the bacon fully infused itself into my broth. Each bowl comes with some bread and butter. definitely a perfect generous portion size. I would love to try the other broths next time!

Excellent food, beer, atmosphere, service. You can’t go wrong.
Tonight I tried something different. Broth. In fact I had the seafood broth at Brothl.
Dining by oneself is never a fun thing when on a business trip, but from the moment I walked in, I felt like I’ve been here 50 times before!
The food is amazing. I will try anything once and I admit that this is the first time I’ve eaten at a restaurant specializing in broth, but I will be back!
Try the Stone and Wood Jasper Ale. Perfect accompaniment to the seafood broth and house milled sourdough bread that I was encouraged to add the home made chilli sauce to. Perfect.

Dear god. The name. Maybe it’s genius giving your new food venture a controversial name, but I just plain hate it.
But when it comes to food; nourishing broth, house made bread with cultured butter, ethically grown meat, vegetables and all manner or pickled and fermented things… well that is equally genius. I just plain love it.
It’s small and pokey inside around the massive communal high table, but eating here is comforting and friendly much like eating a meal at a packed family table. No, it’s not cheap. But this isn’t mass-​produced food and you can rest assured that your dollars are being directed to great farmers and in to the human energy that is required to simmer broth for 48 hours, ferment vegetables and make delicious drinks like the kombucha that is served here.
The menu is fairly simple. Choose your broth (Vegetable, chicken, beef or seafood) and then add in your extras like sustainable mussels, fermented rice, poached chicken, seasonal vegetables, mushrooms or house made noodles. If deciding a combination seems to difficult then pick one of the suggested combos, which will be equally delicious.

Brothl has gotten a lot of write up when it opened, because of the unique concept of using organic waste and turning it into something special. That might sound kind of gross, but I was interested upon reading up on this place that «40−50% of what is considered organic waste in Australia can be and should be consumed as nutrient rich food.»
Don’t think compost. Think the amazing bones and off cuts from the likes of Attica and Rockpool, bubbling away into a flavoursome broth.
The menu is simple and straight forward. Pick a broth base (vegetable, fish, chicken or beef) and add on anything you would like added in. There’s also some pre-​selected combinations and prices if you can’t decide. Some have lamented about the price for the portion, but I found it to be just right. Filling and delicious, this is no where near the cheap sugar-​filled garbage you would get for half the price, nor should it be compared to something like Phở.
I chose the chicken broth ($ 10) and added in mushrooms and poached chicken. I spied chilli and soy on the table and expected that knowing me, I would probably end up getting stuck into that, but I didn’t. The chicken broth itself was enough and the mushrooms were downright moorish.
The space itself is almost industrial, with the kitchen lining the large communal table — large vats and pots everywhere from the walls to the floor. It’s not a comfortable space to be, I didn’t enjoy the experience of dining there so much — but I would definitely return for the food.

It was obvious when we visited that the staff were still settling in to a new menu/​restaurant so service was patchy. The general ambiance is hipster-​modern with the currently obligatory drinking jars, uncomfortable but design-​cool stools and hanging twigs. If available, I recommend sitting outside as the cushioned crates are much more comfortable and much more conducive to conversation.
The food however was delicious! You choose your broth base and then the main ingredients that you want (similar to phở). I had the bone broth with chicken, bacon and winter vegetables. The broth was heavy on flavour and reminiscent of my nana’s winter soup — adding the bacon was the stand-​out.
The boys at the table thought the serving sizes were on the small side and they had run out of some ingredients by the time we got there (arrived at 1, seated at 1.35)
For a soup with a side of bread and what looked to be hand-​churned butter, it was pricey — $ 27 for soup and a lemonade probably makes it out of the price range of most except as a destination eat.

Perfect for a winters broth to ward off a cold, Brothl is a nice addition to the melbourne scene. I ate alone and was kept entertained by the cooking on display. The broth was very tasty and the offal (which varies by the day) was heart, which was delicious. I’ll be trying the chicken broth next time.

Long wait but the soup is nice if a little overpriced. They also ran out of a lot of the ingredients when I went. I would also want the serving size to be larger.