Xpressomondo

Off to breakfast with my girlfriends family, the morning after a big night I was keen for a big brekky.
We’ve headed down to DeGraves to one of the swanky cafes in the inner city.
Xpressomondo isn’t dissimilar to the rest of the cafes on the street with a very small interior and then half a dozen umbrella’d tables.
The food wasn’t particularly impressive — tasty but I’ve paid similar/​less money for more food, nice coffee but the service is average.
DeGraves st is so highly touted but our first outing was pretty dissapointing

I had Sunday brunch here with my parents yesterday. I had the Big Breakfast, which is always my go to. It had all the components of a good big brekky, but it was disappointing. I tucked in as soon as it landed in front of me, but nothing was hot — most of it was quickly cooling or already cool. I still enjoyed the hashbrown — my favourite thing on the plate — but it would have tasted better hot. The bacon was tasty, the eggs fine, but the spinach was totally bland, just a lump on the plate, and the mushrooms weirdly overcooked into chewiness. The half a tomato was a standard, grilled tomato. And the lot was sprinkled with large chunks of parsley, which I like, but would prefer in a sprinkle rather than a clump.
Sounds whingy? Well, I am. I love my big brekkies, and while $ 18.00 isn’t a huge amount to pay, it’s still enough to expect a hot breakfast and basics done well.
I know Sunday brunch is a crazy difficult time for a café, but it’s also the time you need to be getting this stuff right.
Other reviews have raved about the coffee, but again, I’ll be contrary — I don’t like the coffee, it’s too strong and bitter for my taste. Admittedly though, I prefer smoother coffee; those who prefer a bitterer bite might be happy with it.
My mother opted for the french toast with maple syrup and bacon, which was a good price at $ 11.50, and a smaller portion size, which was just right for her. My dad went for a simple two eggs on toast with bacon, which seemed a bit over-​priced at $ 12, especially given they initially forgot the bacon. I mean really, forget the rest, but don’t forget the bacon!
The staff were friendly enough but not very on the ball. It took time to get someone’s attention to ask for glasses and water for the table, and when the waitress first came to take our order she forgot her notepad… little things like that don’t bother me normally, as long as the food is good. In this case though, it all added up to being a very average experience.

Went there for dinner after a work event. It is in a very nice little alleyway just in front of flinders station so quite useful.
Haven’t tried the coffee so can’t comment on that — but instead had the meatball pasta. It was good but not amazing. A lot of my spaghettis were still «glued» together in a straight line — so they must have speeded up the cooking process.
Staff was friendly.
They don’t accept Amex and they don’t split the bills.

Really good coffee here. Being in Melboune that’s pretty easy to find I suppose. Service a little slow but the breakfast was great having the big deal of grilled tomato, spinach, hash brown, sausage and bacon. Located in an alley loaded with shops and cafes.

This place is tucked away down a little alley with other cafes. Very nice chicken curry! Atmosphere is great here — had a nice lunch, relaxing and enjoyable.

Just had the most awesome cappuccino at Xpressomondo.
Degraves St can be a hard place to get a coffee — not because there isn’t any, but for the opposite reason — there are so many good places there it can be hard to choose. My usual place was closed so tried Xpressmondo at random.
It is only a small ‘hole in the wall’ place but there is seating out front under the umbrellas. Service was quick with out being pushy and the coffee was the best I have had for awhile.