Melbourne’s Best Baked Eggs Mission – I’ve been (nearly) everywhere man!

Piano Piano – Nicholson St, Brunwsick

• Enjoyed the Shakshuka baked eggs with chilli, capsicum, and a tomato Napoli (plus added green leaf salad and mushrooms); it did come with turnips, other pickled veggies and tahini
• One egg was cooked perfectly, the other a bit over done; napoli sauce was yummo
• Cannot recommend the staff at Piano Piano enough – super friendly, willing to alter accommodate dietary requests (even with the tiny kitchen!), and were seen given the little ones high fives in the midst of a very busy morning
• Mostly wheelchair friendly (one little step at the front)
• Am curious to know where the name of the cafe comes from – any insights?!

Axil – Burwood Road, Hawthorn

• Axil is another Melbourne Cafe institution and you will have to wait to get in here
• Staff are friendly and the place has a nice humming vibe
• Naturally coffee is top notch
• Loved the addition of dukkah and chilli to the eggs; eggs were slightly overcooked though
• A little on the small side for Napoli sauce; what I did have was delicious
• Was happy that both mushrooms and spinach could be added as sides, and no fuss was made with dietary requests
• Wheelchair and cyclist friendly

Eden Espresso – Glenferrie Road, Malvern

• It’s always nice when you know the owner of the cafe, and Jed makes people feel welcome from the word go until they are saying adieu
• A down-to-earth cafe with coffee made from 5 Senses beans, these guys know how to make a good cup
• Great amount of tomato Napoli sauce and side options are available; being the chilli lover that I am, would probably add a dash
• Eggs were cooked perfectly and veggie juice is available
• If you head here on a sunny day, these guys have a courtyard out the back to help you take some time out; parking also available at rear

Bluebird Espresso – Johnstone Street, Collingwood

• Had heard great things about Bluebird from a variety of sources; I think I need to learn from past experience not to get my hopes up too high!
• A few things went awry, mostly from my side of the fence – forgot when ordering that it was Good Friday, and hence no red meat. As such, half of the baked eggs that came with chorizo had to be left uneaten.
• We had a mixed bag with service, some staff were lovely and others needed a hug; it did cause a few dramas to not have things included in the baked eggs option
• Unfortunately my eggs were over-cooked; however, two of my friends who also had the same dish had perfectly cooked eggs
• Loved the bike paraphernalia scattered around
• The cafe is named after the car who holds the wheel-driven, land-speed record

Strozzi – Collins St, Melbourne CBD

• Located on the beautiful Collins St in Melbourne CBD, parking is naturally quite interesting (there is a 2hr disabled park across the road if you have a sticker!)
• With a beautiful dark, wooden interior, Strozzi is both an Italian Cafe and Ristorante
• A few ups and downs with the baked eggs – loved the carmelised onion that it was cooked with (asked for sans cheese) and was happy with the side options. However, the eggs were quite rubbery (and hence overcooked), and no napoli sauce
• It would also be great to see some ‘white’ tea on the menu, as opposed to ‘English breakfast with milk’; yes, did have a bit of a chuckle at this one

Oasis Bakery – North Road, Murrumbeena

• Ok, so a word of warning – this is a bakery folks and not a cafe. As such, order and pay at the counter, as well as expect your buzzer to go off a number of times as coffee/tea/food is ready (and as such, expect a number of trips; interesting when in cycling cleats)
• Not very glamorous, but one should not expect glamour as this is a bakery plus Middle Eastern supermarket
• Again, had heard wonderful things about the food
• Very sorry to report that my dish was lukewarm, eggs were overcooked, and didn’t really enjoy the experience at all.