On a cold and windy morning the first thing that struck me as I entered The Little Man Café Seddon was the bright airiness of the decor. Pushing over the door was like basking in a dose of Scandinavian sunshine – the kind that illuminates the sky for 22 hours in a day. It made me feel happy to be inside, away from the gloom of the grey day.
The Little Man Café is housed in the old Seddon post office and all of the drab red Auspost insignia has been replaced with whitewashed walls, creamy mellow turquoise tiles (with matching coffee cups and saucers stacked on the Synesso).
The small space was set out with a soft white and blonde wood colour palette, somewhat reminiscent of an IKEA display – we have those white chairs in our house! I particularly liked the high communal table which afforded an expansive view of the Victoria Street landscape.
Parents should note that the café was narrow but there was enough space to push and park a pram. There was a spacious disabled toilet where you could take your pram to change your baby too. And there were multiple high chairs for little ones.
The breakfast menu was 50% eggs and 50% everything else, with most of the usual suspects. We ordered sweet corn fritters with smoked salmon, ricotta zucchini salsa and pine nuts ($16) with an added poached egg ($18.50) and the mocha brioche French toast ($15).
The presentation of both dishes was very artistic. My plate contained two fluffy pancakes with sweet corn studded within, topped with a large heap of salsa sandwhiched by a thick slice of smoked salmon. It was a vibrant and well-balanced dish in terms of flavour though the temperature of the salsa was uncomfortably stone-cold. I suspect that it’d been pulled out straight of the refrigerator and thus created an unappetising cold blast to the tongue after the warm fitters. The salsa would have married better with the rest of the plate if it’d been served closer to room temperature.
The mocha brioche with caramelised nectarines, a smattering of candied hazelnuts and marscapone was a better dish in terms of combination of flavours and textures. The brioche was soft without being soggy, with just a subtle hint of espresso in its dough. A generous serve too for the price.
Parents will be happy to know that it’s one of the few cafes in Melbourne I’ve come across that serve FREE babycinos (not that I begrudge cafes $1-2 as a ‘sitting fee’ for my kids), which are served in those beautiful green cups with some mini marshmallows.
The kids menu consists of soft boiled egg and soldiers ($6), Nutella or jam crepe with vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice-cream ($8) and a Little Folks burger ($12) from 11:30 at lunchtime. However, we opted for a serve of Noisette toast with butter and homemade preserves ($7) which were a hit with both Lady AB and Baby 2.0.
The Little Man Café also serves coffee is by Five Senses, tea by Chamellia and bread and pastries are from Noisette.
The Little Man Café was a lovely space and I’m sure a welcome addition to Seddon’s café’s strip. The ambience was calming, the service friendly and the food was standard café fare done well. They’re welcoming of families and the free babycino is a nice touch. Hopefully they will be bolder with more experience and expand their menu to include more adventurous dishes.
The Little Man Café 158 Victoria St, Seddon (03) 9687 8881
Mon, Wed-Fri 7am-4pm
Sat, Sun 8pm-4pm
