G’day fellow café lovers!
Welcome back to Cards and Cafés! After stumbling across Uncle & Jak on Instagram and after looking through all their photos and reading their menu, I knew that this café had to go on my must try café list. So my friend Beth and I went out one Wednesday morning for our weekly breakfast catch-up. We found parking in this area quite challenging as most of the street parking was taken, so we had to park in the Coles parking lot along Brunswick road and walk back to the café.
Uncle & Jak has quite a spacious interior, but only have a small number of tables so I can imagine during the weekend periods this café has a line outside their door of customers wanting a table.
FOOD & DRINKS
Uncle & Jak have quite a small menu, with only 12 options on it. The menu contains a number of savoury options with just a few sweet dishes. So if you area looking for a café with more options, this might not be the one for you. I really wished that I had tried their Beet Red Velvet hot chocolate, as it sounds quite interesting and it is something I’ve only seen at Kitty Burns. So if you go there maybe give it ago and let me know what you thought.
The following menu photos were taken in October 2016 and therefore the menu might have changed.
I ordered a latte and thought that it was pretty good. I thought that it reasonably strong and had a rich and creamy constancy. It arrived at the table in less than 5 minutes and it was fairy hot when it arrived. I would definitely order another coffee and Uncle & Jak.
Coffee rating: 4/5 
Beth ordered her favourite drink, which is a chia latte. She said it was a spiced chai, but the flavour wasn’t too strong. But she said that it was nice and hot when it arrived at the table. She said she would order another one from here, but she wouldn’t rush back.
Chai rating: 3/5 
Beth ordered the Uncle Benne, which was served with smoky BBQ pulled pork, poached eggs and harissa hollandaise sauce on multigrain toast/loaf.
We both thought that the dish looked quite delicious when it arrived at the table. She said that the eggs were cooked perfectly and loved that the yolks were soft and runny. She said that the smoky BBQ pork had a fantastic flavour and definitely added something special to the dish. The pork was a very generous serving and Beth didn’t feel as if she would run out and be stuck eating dry toast.
The hollandaise had a great flavour and wasn’t as rich as others she’s had in the past, and there was the perfect amount.
Finally she said that the toast was a little over cooked as she found it quite difficult to cut through.
I ordered the banana bread French toast, with bacon, almond parfait, fresh berries and mascarpone.
When looking at the menu, I thought that this dish sounded fantastic! I love banana bread and I thought what could be better than banana bread French toast?
I thought that the dish looked ok when it arrived at the table. I personally felt that it looked very busy and that there were too many elements on the plate that it ended up looking very messy. I personally think that the fresh berries or the almond parfait didn’t need to be on the plate, they should have picked one or the other.
The banana bread French toast had an incredible flavour, it had a slight crunch on the outside and the inside was fluffier. The mascarpone (the pink blob) had an interesting flavour, as it was slightly different to others that I’ve had before. I assume the mixed some of the berry juices in to change the colour and add a slight sweetness.
The almond parfait was very different and I personally didn’t like it. It had slight almond flavour, but I didn’t like the texture as I found it a bit gritty. I found that it made the French toast a bit soggy and it melted quicker than I could eat it.
But at the end of the day this is just my personally opinion and you might enjoy it. I properly wouldn’t order this dish again. But if you love French toast and are looking to try something different, then you should go for it.
ENVIRONMENT & SERVICE
There are only a few tables inside the café itself, so you would want to get there early during the busier periods (the weekends), to avoid waiting for a table. Uncle & Jak also have a few tables outside along Johnston Street, which would be perfect during the warmer months or if you have your fur baby with you.
I thought that the café itself was decorated beautifully. I loved the exposed bricks with the white wash, as I thought it looked cleaner than other exposed brick walls I’ve seen before. I loved the black chairs and bench seating and thought that the colour contrast was eye catching. The simple artwork on the wall just added to the character of the café and it was exactly what the wall needed.
The employee’s at Uncle & Jak were all quite friendly and were quite welcoming when we came in. The service was relatively quick and we didn’t have to wait very long for our drinks or our food.
OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT UNCLE & JAK
Address: 30 Johnston St, Fitzroy, Melbourne, (Vic)
Map: here
Facebook: here
Website: here
Operating Hours:
Monday –Friday –7:00 am- 4:00 pm
Saturday –Sunday – 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
CAFÉ RATING = 7/10
Have you visited Uncle & Jak before? Tell me what you thought of it. Do you have any suggestions of cafe’s to visit?
Comment down below, I’m always looking for somewhere new to try.
Until next time,
Happy eating
-Kim
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