HOT: Miss Marie, Rosanna

Miss Marie is a cafe with an inner-city vibe catering to the discerning suburban cafe set in Rosanna.

The first hint of its slightly left-of-centre sense of humour is in small shrub outside its entrance. The hanging child makes me take a horrified double-take before I gasp in relief to see that it is only a doll.

Inside the large room is decorated with interesting paraphernalia, including some giggle-worthy vintage advertising signs. There are bright floral arrangements and cheery yellow accents set within the timber tables and in the oversized pepper mills. On the speakers, some old-school tunes – Elvis, The Beatles.

The two page menu lists all-day breakfast dishes on one side and lunch on the reverse. The breakfasts are a roll call of cafe standards – eggs, muesli, toast, hotcakes.  The lunch options are more towards the bready variety, with a few departures into an omelette, pan-seared salmon and a salad on the specials board (or door – pretty nifty idea wall-mounting an old door covered in blackboard paint for listing the specials).

Although it is lunchtime during my visit I can't resist ordering the French toast ($14.50) consisting of Noisette brioche, maple syrup, grilled banana and bacon.

Look at the size of the serving! I am most impressed by the generous thickness of the brioche and the plate contains one more slice of bread than I was expecting for the price. That's the benefit of dining out in the suburbs :–)

As far as taste goes it ticks all the right boxes – sticky sweet syrup, cinnamon-y brioche, a smokey hunk of bacon and a nicely mushed ripe banana. I think the bread and the bacon could have benefited from more time in the pan/under the grill for extra crispness and crunch, but that's a personal preference.

The glass domes of home-made cakes and slices looks really tempting (especially the dark chocolate and walnut brownie $4.90) but given my sugary lunch I thought I'd better ease off on the sweets if I didn't want to fall asleep driving home.

Miss Marie is a great little local cafe for Rosanna residents and especially for parents with young kids. The facilities are fantastic, from the high chairs to the change table to the wide aisles for prams. As it's across the road from the train station I also expect that the pre-work crowd come in droves for their coffee and muffins. The coffee is made from 5 Senses beans using a Synesso and my sources tell me that it is fantastic.

Miss Marie, 45 Beetham Pde, Rosanna