St Ali North @ Carlton North, VIC – Melbourne’s “Coffee King” Heads North

By On January 11, 2013 · 28 Comments · In Bar, Coffee, Tea or Other Beverages, Breakfast, By Cuisine, By Location, Carlton, Food Reviews, North Melbourne

“What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening? What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening!” – Apostles to Jesus (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1971)

Every time I hear that a new cafe has opened up somewhere, this chorus plays in the background of my mind. It’s quite fitting, no?

St. Ali North opened up late last year. Sharing the corner of Nicholson Street’s Velo Cycles, St Ali North has quickly garnered attention from all in that area.

Fondly called “North” by locals alike, the Boy and I arrived last weekend to see just what the buzz was about.

stAliNth_front

When we got there (around 11.00am) there was a crowd gathering on the lawn outside. Bicycles were parked neatly on the stands provided and people were seated all around on the benches provided and under the green lace umbrellas outside.

It was a lovely day to wait in the outdoors in these surroundings. I couldn’t imagine standing here in the middle of winter with no shelter though 0_0 I would freeze!

With a superstar line-up of talented chefs and baristas in the back room with hand-picked coffee padawans (from coffee master Matt Perger) and experienced chefs Shaun Quade (Duchess of Spotswood, The Brix, Royal Mail Hotel) and head chef Chris Hamburger (Anada and The Aylesbury).

This isn’t so surprising when you note that Jesse Gerner is Salvatore Malatesta’s co-owner and partner in crime for North. With big names like these, we couldn’t help but expect big things from North.

stAliNth_lattes

Completely different in its fit-out, look and feel from South Melbourne’s original St. Ali, North has escaped the warehouse feel so popular these days.

Instead you get large open windows (including a “drive-thru” window for cyclists and passers-by to get their cup of take-away coffee), white washed walls and large open spaces.

I absolutely loved it.

We ordered the usual suspect drink of lattes (the Boy wasn’t too keen as he’s not a fan of St. Ali coffees) but we were both pleasantly surprised with the smoothness of the coffees served.

stAliNth_baconSausage1

The Boy didn’t know what he wanted to eat, so as the good wife I am, I pointed him towards the House Bacon, Bean Ragout, Pork and Veal Breakfast Sausage, Poached Eggs ($19.50).

For obvious reasons you will see :)

stAliNth_baconSausage2

YOLKPORN!! Oh yeah! Bring on the #yolkporn #eggporn delight! See how much I love you guys!

The dish itself was “alright” on the side of things. Nothing really stood out and only one of the eggs were poached perfectly. The other, unfortunately, was overcooked.

stAliNth_mexicanCousin1

I, on the other hand, tossed between the corn fritters and bone marrow dish. In the end, my internal argument won and I had the My Mexican Cousin ($21.50) - Fried Sweet Corn Fritters with Kasundi, Halloumi, Greens, Tomato & Poached Eggs.

OMFG! Ladies and gents, I have an announcement to make.

Throughout all my research of compiling the list of best corn fritters around Melbourne Cafes, I have finally found it.

I may have found The Corn Fritters of all time!

stAliNth_mexicanCousin2

It was light, it was fluffy and it was crispy on the outside. My heart stopped, and started again. It wasn’t until I was on my last fritter that I realised my dish was a vegetarian dish (what?) and I hadn’t had any bacon!

If you need corn fritters in your life, I would suggest you pay North a visit.

Beware of the wait time. It could be because it was the first weekend after the long holiday and they were understaffed, but it took about 30 minutes before we were shown to our seats and another 20 minutes for our coffees (and a further 20 minutes for our food) to arrive.

So either go on a weekday (if you can) or come really early to grab a seat. Whilst the sun is out and the good weather remains, the crowd will be buzzing about.

*Disclaimer: All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

Food/ Cuisine: Breakfast, Lunch & Coffee
Dining Style: Cafe
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 6.75/10 (8.5/10 for the corn fritters)
Restaurant ambiance: 8/10
Service/ Attitude: 6.75/10
Value for money: 7/10

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday, 6:00am to 6:00pm
(Menu starts 7:00am till 5:00pm)

Address:
815 Nicholson Street (Corner of Park St & Nicholson St)
Carlton North VIC 3054

Tel: (03) 9686 2990

Website: http://www.stali.com.au

Twitter: @ST_ALi

How to get there:

St Ali North on Urbanspoon

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28 Responses to St Ali North @ Carlton North, VIC – Melbourne’s “Coffee King” Heads North

  1. Hannah says:
    January 11, 2013 at 11:56 AM

    Iiiiiiii don’t know how to loooooooooooooooove him!!!
    Hannah recently posted..Nutella Puppy Chow

    Reply
  2. JDP says:
    January 11, 2013 at 4:07 PM

    Interesting that you loved the corn fritters, i had an awful experience with them last week.

    Burnt brown with no toast, eggs completely overcooked! I was devastated after hearing such good things.

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      January 13, 2013 at 3:46 PM

      Oh boo! I didn’t think any of the other things we had were great though, but those corn fritters were certainly something else!

      Reply
  3. dave says:
    January 11, 2013 at 8:41 PM

    “The corn fritters of all time” sounds like worth a visit.

    Reply
  4. Daisy@Nevertoosweet says:
    January 11, 2013 at 10:16 PM

    You beat me again :) i visited St Ali before I came back but hehe haven’t had time to blog about it ~ I really enjoyed the dishes here as well! Damnnn you didn’t have any sweets?

    The cakes are SO damn GOOD! :D
    Daisy@Nevertoosweet recently posted..Spoilt by Jeffrey Lebon – Dot Cod Seafood Restaurant

    Reply
  5. Ferzeen says:
    January 12, 2013 at 12:53 AM

    Can’t believe you never tried these fritters at the South Melbourne cafe…they are absolutely divine! I agree, the very best Melbourne has to offer!

    Reply
  6. Agnes says:
    January 13, 2013 at 2:14 PM

    The best corn fritters are at Shellie’s house, Hazzie! ;)
    Agnes recently posted..The weeks in brief: 24 December 2012 – 6 January 2013

    Reply
  7. Sarah says:
    January 13, 2013 at 5:55 PM

    Those are some great photos! Shame about the long wait and the overcooked egg – hopefully those were just early-day jitters and they’ll sort themselves out! :)
    Sarah recently posted..Salted Peanut and Milk Chocolate Blondies

    Reply
  8. penny aka jeroxie says:
    January 13, 2013 at 6:09 PM

    So much egg porn that I almost wet myself! LOL
    penny aka jeroxie recently posted..Mango and lime frozen yoghurt

    Reply
  9. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:
    January 13, 2013 at 6:58 PM

    Hehe I love it! Yolkporn should be a trending topic on twitter! :P

    Reply
  10. Ames says:
    January 13, 2013 at 7:24 PM

    I LOVE the close ups!! Totes gonna visit soon for those corn fritters :D

    Reply
  11. Bryan says:
    January 16, 2013 at 4:04 PM

    Lovely pictures, especially that stunning yolk porn shot! I am also very keen on trying the corn fritters, the photos look so inviting!
    Bryan recently posted..Casa Ciuccio

    Reply
  12. Iron Chef Shellie says:
    January 17, 2013 at 2:06 PM

    bahaha Az, I think these fritters look better than mine! Better start deep frying mine too :P

    Love that they cater to the hipster crowd with the drive through window.
    Iron Chef Shellie recently posted..Chicken Meatballs & Vegetable Quinoa Salad

    Reply

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