Aye, aye, Captains of Industry!

In my opinion, good cafés around the city are the ones hidden in little laneways. I've passed by this café before when heading to Little Mule the other time, and I've read about it too.

Captains of Industry
Level 1, 2 Somerset Pl, Melbourne VIC
03 9670 4405
http://captainsofindustry.com.au/
Mon - Sun, 9am - 5pm, Tues - Sun, 24 hours advance booking required for bistro dining.

This café is more than just a café: it's a barbershop, a tailor, a shoemaker, and it's a bistro as well. I like how some of the cafés in Melbourne have other elements to their store.

The deco around the area was really old school. A few of the tables had these little old school, grandma's era sewing machines, and there was a really antique looking piano in the far corner too. 

Quite honestly, it felt as if I stepped into the 1940s/50s when i stepped into the café. The vibe, the deco, and even the staff donned haircuts worthy of the era. I kid you not. There was one customer who had his hair cut there, and it looked pretty good. 

(I think his name is) Matt, with the menu board he brought over to our table. The staff there were really friendly, and I think Matt over here was a really good marketer. He made us feel like ordering everything on the menu!

Soy latté and strong latté, $3.50.

The coffee was pretty average. The crema on the coffee was completely wiped clean off the glasses, and according to Jason, that means the beans weren't as fresh. I honestly thought it tasted pretty okay, and that the milk was frothed pretty well. Guess that's the difference between one who knows about coffee and another who doesn't.

Pork belly with red cabbage and apple, $19.

When Matt described the dish, Jason was pretty sold. But when the dish was placed on the table, we were both so shocked at how small the portion of pork was. It was about 2.5x2.5 inches. The crackling on top was slightly chewy, and the slaw was rather average. We were pretty disappointed, to be honest.

Steak sandwich with aged cheddar, onion jam, tomato and lettuce, $14.

In contrast, I really, really liked the sandwich. The bread was excellently toasted and it was amazingly crunchy. There was a good portion of steak that was cooked well too. The onion jam, tomato and the cheddar really complimented the sandwich.

Look at all that cologne and shoe polish by the counter! Gosh. It's such a man's shop. 

Overall, we both had pretty mixed feelings about the place. On one hand, the sandwich was a real bang for your buck but on the other, the pork was a real disappointment. I guess this shows that cafés with really good food can have their little hiccups too.

Food: 7

Coffee: 6

Ambience: 7.5

Value: 7

Staff: 8

I'm starting work at Virgin Active's V-Café on Tuesday. Yay to familiarity!
may.