Eating Out | Red Door Corner Store, Northcote

The sun decided to pop its head back around the corner in Melbourne and my craving for sweet French toast hit a peak. After perusing the online menu for Red Door Corner Store (70 Mitchell Street Northcote ,Vic) I decided on the Brioche French Toast and made my way over with my best girlfriend in toe. RDCS is a place we hit up a few times while we were studying at university but the menu seems to have been updated since then, and the place was packed out when we arrived at 11am on a Sunday. There was a 5 minute wait for an inside spot, so we bit the bullet and headed to the garden round back to nab a table.

I love trudging along the faux grass path to get to the garden, which was full to the brim with hipsters sitting at nice little tables topped with potted succulents. The waitress was quick to drop off menus and a jug of water, which is always a good start to any meal. I studied the menu, despite already having decided on my choice, and was awfully tempted by the Housemade Crumpets (with Myrtleford butter, preserves, rooftop honey $9.5) and the corn fritters, but ultimately my sweet tooth won.

My flat white was pretty bang on, but the only sugar available was coconut sugar which I think polarized a few people as I heard whingey whispers from other tables over the course of our meal. I didn’t mind the caramel-esque taste it lent the caffeine though so I’m on board with the dark brown sweetener.

Adding brioche over regular bread immediately gives you the upper hand I think, and it was no different at Red Door Corner Store. It was basically a baked quince toasted sandwich with rosewater custard as the butter, and man that custard was divine. Sweet but not tooth-achingly so, it hit the spot for me and the sweet syrupy goodness drizzled atop the bread was the right balance when paired with the quenelle of cream hanging out on the plate.

It was actually my first time chowing down on quince and I must say – rather pear like? The praline was actually the most jarring thing for me, it was a bit of an attack on the tooth but overall the meal definitely needed a crunch factor so I can see why it was on the plate.  As you can see in the photo below, I demolished it so I can’t be too critical about these things.

Corn, Zucchini and Quinoa fritters ($16.5) came out rather unlike what I was expecting (I always think flat pancake style creations with a jumble of corn visible) and more like little fried parcels sitting around a rather large coleslaw salad. I liked the addition of the corn in the salad (always a good addition for me) but it didn’t quell my dislike for coleslaw in general so I didn’t munch on that. The spicy looking sauce was dairy -free despite looking quite creamy, and the burst of capsicum flavour was definitely needed with the kinda doughy fritters. My partner in crime loved the general gist of the meal and was delighted with the fritters so I think it was just my expectations that let me down a little bit. The addition of smoked salmon (an extra $5.5) was a surprising one with this meal – we were thinking of soft red ribbons of salmon (a breakfast fave surely?) but instead a huge and delicate pink salmon steak was perched aside the meal and was pretty much a meal in itself. A bargain but not something we’d add to the meal if we were to do it over as it was just too much!

For less than $50 including coffees, Red Door Corner Store served up a gorgeous spread that kept hunger at bay until dinner that night, which is definitely the sign of a good brunch! I'm definitely saving room for one of those delicious looking cakes next time I visit...
Emma x