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I catch up with my mate Tim in Northcote, Melbourne. Tim tells me about two of his local favourites: a cafe called South Crescent and a bar called Kelvin.
Good vibes only conversations with people from all over about their ‘go to’ places for a drink or food.
The focus isn’t on what is fanciest or most impressive. It’s on what people genuinely enjoy and so go back for more.
Have a listen and try out the places if you can.
Jaz will also create bonus episodes to share positive food and drink experiences as she adventures through life. Don’t expect a formal review. Just descriptions of cool places with yummy food and drinks.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:00):
Hey there, listeners. Welcome to 'My mate in...'. This is a show where I have a chat to people that I know wherever they live about the cafes, bars, and restaurants that they like. It has to be something close by that they actually go to frequently. Can't just be something trendy in the city that makes 'em sound like, you know, this is, they're cool coz they like to go to this place. It has to be their genuine local favorite. Okay. So I'm Jasmine and today we're chatting with my mate Tim in Northcote, Melbourne. Hey,
Tim (00:33):
Hey Jaz. How you going?
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:34):
Good, thanks for coming to have a chat.
Tim (00:36):
Oh, I'm I'm here for it. Very keen.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:39):
Are we talking about a bar, a cafe or a restaurant today?
Tim (00:43):
I definitely have to chat about a cafe.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:44):
A cafe.
Tim (00:45):
Yeah, it has to be done.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:46):
Lovely. And the cafe is in Northcote.
Tim (00:49):
It is. Yes. I, well, I, it might like be on the very edge of Northcote cause I'm not quite sure there's another place called Westgarth and I'm not sure if it's in Westgarth or in Northcote or like where that boundary is, but it's close enough to say it's in Northcote, but it's also in Westgarth. So there you go.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:05):
Right. Cuz some people think that they're different things or talk about them like they're different and some people like, "oh no, that's just part of Northcote".
Tim (01:11):
Yeah. I have no idea.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:12):
Yeah. I me neither okay. So what is this cafe called?
Tim (01:16):
So it is called South Crescent. And it is, believe it or not on South Crescent. So it is aptly named.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:23):
like the street?
Tim (01:24):
Yes. Yes, exactly.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:27):
Amazing. What is it that you like about South Crescent?
Tim (01:30):
I think that when we first moved to Northcote, there's like, there's, you know, there's lots of cool cafes and stuff around and there's, you know, you look at them and you're like, oh, that's gonna be so fancy. That's gonna be cool.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:41):
Mm-hmm,
Tim (01:41):
You know, there's lots of hipster places around all this kind of stuff. So there's, there's a lot of cool cafes to kind of look at. But once you kind of, once, once we set all in and kind of had tried a few different cafes, it was that kind of more chilled out cafe, um South Crescent was compared to the others and I think I really like that about it. It's like no nonsense, super chill and just has good vibes. Really.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (02:04):
Yeah. Cool.
Tim (02:05):
It's not trying to be something that it's not and yeah, it's just a good time.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (02:08):
Lovely. when we've talked about it before, one of the things that you've mentioned you like is the doggos [dogs].
Tim (02:15):
Yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely. And, and to be fair, you probably get that at most cafes here in Northcote, but I do love that. We'll be sitting there, you know, having a coffee and you'll just see these like doggies out the window and you'll like have a peak. And then all of a sudden there's actually like, you know, a hundred dogs just sitting there and I will very happily just sit and sip a coffee and watch dogs all day. So yeah, it's kinda a win there.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (02:38):
Nice. What's your go to order when you go there?
Tim (02:42):
Yeah. so I think that I'm, I'm, I'm very much a creature of habit. I haven't even tried all the things on the menu and it's definitely the shakshuka, like it is it's nice and warm and it's just very hearty and delicious and I think we've ordered it so much that they, you know, sometimes they're just like bring it over without actually asking if we want it or not.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:06):
For people who haven't tried a shakshuka, can you describe what it is?
Tim (03:11):
Yeah. I mean, I don't know if it's like a traditional version of it or what, so I don't know how far it is from what a shakshuka actually is, but their version of it is like it comes in like a hot pan and it's got lots of tomato kind of stuff through it and there's haloumi in there and yeah, I don't know. I haven't really kind of dissected anymore than that, but it's tomato. Oh egg, of course. There's like, there's like eggs in there. And yeah, it's delicious.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:40):
So this is like a, a breakfast place for you.
Tim (03:44):
Yes, it is a breakfast place, but I will caveat that with the fact that I will have all day breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So it's an all day place, but yes, we definitely there for breakfast if I can be.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:57):
And what about drink wise? What do you order?
Tim (04:00):
So I'm, you know, I don't experiment very much with drinks. I latte. Yeah, their coffees are really good. So just, I just roll with that.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:10):
Nice.
Tim (04:10):
Yeah. I do know that the chai latte is delicious as well because I sneak some sips of that.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:17):
that would be my order.
Tim (04:19):
Mm-Hmm exactly.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:20):
Tim is my husband.
Tim (04:21):
Mm-hmm .
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:23):
Um awesome. I think it's important to maybe ponder for a sec [second] about what are the, the caveats that you might give to someone. So you might say like what's something specific maybe you look for in a cafe, but other people might not necessarily look for that. It's like, well, if you're not into this, you might not like it as much as I do. An example is like, if people have kids, they might say, look I'm looking for a place that's, you know, nice to have a family in.
Tim (04:51):
Yep.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:52):
Not to raise a family in, but to bring a family to. [laughs]
Tim (04:54):
Yeah, for sure.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:55):
Um or, you know, I'm vegetarian or whatever else.
Tim (04:58):
Mm. Yeah, for sure. There, you know, there's always lots of families and stuff there. I think that it's, it's not massive the, the location, but there are lots of the, you know, there's lots of different little spaces there and there's lots of space outside as well. There's a really big table. So I do see families a lot a lot there. So, you know, I think that that would be fine of course, coming from someone who doesn't have kids and whatnot. So I don't know what to look for in a cafe as far as that goes. But I think, I guess one thing to keep in mind is like, yeah, that it is super chill, you know, and the staff are super chill. And so, you know, if you're looking for something really upbeat, that's, you know, really, really happening and got all this stuff going on you know, it might not be the place, but I think that it's, it's pretty flippin' awesome.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:43):
Yeah. Sometimes you go places and the staff are a little intense or like always over at the table or really intensely like smiling and chirpy.
Tim (05:52):
Mm-hmm .
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:52):
These the team are really relaxed and they are kind of just let you do your own thing.
Tim (05:57):
Yeah. And absolutely lovely, but yeah. Super chill.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:00):
Yeah. Nice. Okay. So how would someone get there? How does someone get to South Crescent?
Tim (06:06):
Yeah. Cool. So as I said, it's like, if you, well it's, it's near Westgarth and near Northcote, so there's lots of public transport to kind of get there. So I, if you are in Melbourne, you probably know the 86 tram, the 86 tram goes right into Westgarth and it's like a, you know, five minute walk from there. You can also catch the train in Melbourne to Westgarth station. And that is like, again, like a two minute walk to that location. And then there's buses as well that are like a two or five minute walk from there. So yeah, they're probably the best, best ways to kind of get around.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:43):
Nice. And when people come this way to visit, is there anything else they should check out while they're here?
Tim (06:49):
Yeah. So I had to weigh up whether I was gonna do a cafe or a bar, cuz there is a cool bar here that I have to give a shout out to. So that would be in Westgarth again. There is this bar called, oh gosh, what's it called? Kelvin. And again, it is super chill. It's got like that open fireplace in winter. It's kind of, kind of a bit like dark and I was gonna say the word dingy, it's not dingy. It's just like, like, I don't know, again, just super chill vibes and there's like a whole vibe and aesthetic in there that's like really fun. But again, it's not like bright lights, there's not loud music happening all the time. Like, you know, it's very chill and just kind of like a, a good space to go and like have a drink and have a read or have a drink and have a chat with friends. You can actually hear each other and they've got all the, all the cocktails in the world. So you can like make a whole thing of actually trying those and yeah, really, really interesting drink list and, and again, the staff are absolutely lovely.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:48):
Yeah, absolutely. The the cocktail list is very impressive.
Tim (07:52):
Yeah.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:52):
Gradually working my way through it.
Tim (07:54):
Yep.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:55):
Um and one of the things that I love about Kelvin is that you can get Wagon Wheels chocolates.
Tim (08:01):
Yes, of course. Yes.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (08:02):
They don't have very much in terms of food. Like there's a cheese platter and biccies [biscuits] and, and a couple of things. But I think we were just loving the novelty of the fact that you can get a Wagon Wheel chocolate.
Tim (08:14):
yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. And I'm just conscious that I said the word dingy and I really did not mean that, but no,
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (08:19):
It's a vibe though, when you go past and you can't really see in it's really, it's really dark and atmospheric.
Tim (08:24):
Yes.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (08:25):
Yeah.
Tim (08:25):
Yeah. Cool. So yeah, there's little correction there. Not dingy at all.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (08:30):
Awesome. I guess in summary Westgarth is a good spot for breakfast, all day breakfast through to chill around and, and have some drinks.
Tim (08:42):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, we, we kind of moved to this area because we were walking around Northcote and we're like, oh, this is really cool. And then we moved here and, and then we're like, oh, actually like westgarth is like really cool, and we like never go into like up High Street anymore, but Hey, whatever, it's still good. Still a good area.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (08:57):
And we avoid a bit of a hill and we still have all the cafes and stuff.
Tim (09:00):
yeah. There's probably laziness. Just having to walk up that hill to Northcote It's like, no, we'll just go to Westgarth.
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (09:06):
Amazing. Okay. So we've got South Crescent in Westgarth, check it out and hit us up on Twitter or online and, and let us know what you think. Post some pictures and check it out, cuz it is a really great cafe. Yep. Thank you Tim.
Tim (09:23):
No worries. Thank you very much for having me.