Clean machine:inside the converted butcher's shop.Justin McManusAnyone who has worked in a restaurant knows that a dirty apron is best avoided. Clifton Hill newcomer Dirty Apron is the exception to the rule,despite it's unappetising yet memorable moniker.
First-time owner and frontman George Tsagouris,who cut his teeth at his uncle's Box Hill cafe Fifty Birds,took over the abandoned butcher's shop late last year. It's now a smallish square dining room of 25 seats with exposed brick walls,a coastal-green trim and spruced up tiling (c.1970), that's been humming away since mid-April.
Tsagouris has brought in George Smyrnios,of Carlton's Vertue of the Coffee Drink,to head up a lengthy all-day menu where most of the savoury options are egg-based,but there's orange-soaked bircher,blueberry hot cakes and burgers,too.
Potato and quinoa fritters with zucchini ribbons and poached egg.Justin McManusYou won't go astray with a plate of"super greens"– sweet crescents of Japanese pumpkin,steamed rather than roasted,served with lightly sauteed silverbeet and a splendidly magenta beetroot puree,a combo that would be just as happy next to a Sunday roast as two poached eggs.
A herby chimichurri sauce gets a good workout. We first see it on a dish of sweet potato and quinoa fritters (a generous serve of three soft torpedos with a crisp crust,topped with pickled zucchini ribbons and a pair of poachies) and again with thyme-scented mushrooms and feta on multigrain (unbuttered – why would you give anyone unbuttered toast?)
Tasty,yes,although those mushrooms would have been more impressive whole,instead of sprinkled about the plate in wedges. On a side note:the poached eggs here are pitched as"green",referring to the luminous pea dust sprinkled atop and not the Ararat-based egg farm.
Go-to dish:the 'super greens' combo.Justin McManus Sweet tooths will be tempted by the cake cabinet. Tsagouris'mum makes an impressive display of retro treats (go for a Cornflake cookie) and your hazelnut spread obsession will be sated by Nutella-stuffed cruffins from Fitzroy's Eat a Scroll. On Saturdays there are Nutella-filled doughnuts,too.
There's good espresso from West Heidelberg's Gridlock Coffee Roasters but no specialty offering … yet. I'm holding out hope – unlike the rest of the inner north,Clifton Hill isn't awash with great cafes,but Dirty Apron is helping to fill that void.