Hello Fellow Foodies!
Welcome to Cards and Cafés!
Second Wife is the sister café to Dosage in Burwood and The Foreigner in Ivanhoe. I’ve been to Dosage in the past and enjoyed my time there, so I wanted to give Second Wife a go.
This little café is located off Whitehorse Road and is near the old Spotlight store and the KFC.
I went to Second Wife with my two friends, Beth and Kate, for a quick breakfast on a Saturday. The café was pretty quiet when we arrived and therefore we didn’t have to wait for a table. But as the morning went on, the café became quite busy. I would recommend getting here before 10 am on the weekend to avoid waiting for a table.
FOOD & DRINKS
The menu at Second Wife is quite different to what other cafes are offering, but I’m sure you’ll find something that you will enjoy.
The café also has a great kids menu.
The coffee blend that Second Wife uses is the Industry Beans Rose St. House Blend.
The following menu photos were taken in October 2017 and it might have changed since.
Beth ordered a chai latte and was surprised that there was an option between spiced or powdered chai. She picked the spiced chai, which had a smooth consistency, silky froth, and a generous serving size.
Chai rating: 3/5 
Kate ordered a matcha. She said it was average and not as smooth or flavoursome as other matchas that she’d had in the past.
Matcha rating: 2/5 
I ordered a cappuccino, which I thought it was pretty good. It was nice and hot when it arrived at the table, and it had a rich and creamy consistency that went down a treat on that chilly morning.
Coffee rating: 4/5 
For breakfast, Beth ordered the Okonomiyaki, which is Japanese cabbage pancakes with spring onion, smoked salmon, kewpie mayo, and Japanese fruit and vegetable reduction, topped with a poached egg and finished with freeze dried seaweed, straw pickled ginger, and katsuobushi flakes.
Beth was so excited to see this on the menu. She has been to Japan in the past, so she wanted to give this dish a try.
The cabbage was quite chunky and had a terrific crunch to it. She loved the sauce and the katsuobushi flakes, which added a nice smoky flavour. The egg was cooked perfectly.
Finally, Beth said she wouldn’t miss the ginger and smoked salmon if they weren’t there. In the end she didn’t eat the salmon, as it’s not her favourite.
Kate ordered the Smashed in Japan, with fully bashed avocado, Danish feta, mint and fresh lemon juice on toasted sourdough with a poached egg, served with grilled Yakitori mushroom skewers and finished with a shichimi togarashi spice.
The dish was delicious and very flavoursome. However, she wasn’t a huge fan of the mushrooms, but that’s because she doesn’t normally eat mushrooms.
She thought that the serving was a bit small for the price, but she would most likely order the dish again.
Finally, I ordered the Moroccan Eggs, with poached eggs in a sizzling red capsicum sauce, fresh parsley, sesame seeds, with a side of hummus and toasted herbed sage Afghan bread.
I don’t normally eat this type of food, but I’m glad I did. It was great! The capsicum sauce was flavoursome and the poached eggs added an extra element of richness.
I was a little confused with the addition of the hummus on the side, but thought that it had a great flavour.
However, I would have liked more bread, as I finished it too quickly.
ENVIRONMENT & SERVICE
Let’s be honest, the staff at Second Wife are fantastic! They have to be some of the friendliest café employees that I have come across. They welcomed us with warm smiles, were informative about their menu items, and checked on us a number of times to make sure we were happy. The table service was great and we received our drinks and meals in a reasonable time.
Just be warned that the café is small and they only have a handful of tables inside and a few outside.
Second Wife has the most beautiful décor. The large windows around the café allow the natural light to flood in, which added warmth and made the place look bright and clean.
The marble-looking tables were fantastic and gave the café a pop of elegance.
We enjoyed sitting on the bench seats and loved their selection of cushions, which made it even more comfortable and cosy.
Finally, we liked the painting of the café’s logo, which added character to the place and gave us something to look at and chat about.
We loved the relaxed feel of this café and even though it’s a small place, you don’t feel pressured to quickly eat your meal and leave for the next group.
OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT SECOND WIFE
Address: 8 Wellington Rd, Box Hill, Melbourne, (Vic)
Map: here
Phone: (03) 9973 9481
Facebook: here
Operating Hours:
Monday –Friday –7:30 am- 3:00 pm
Saturday – 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday – 8:30 am – 2:00 pm
CAFÉ RATING = 7.5/10
Have you visited Second Wife 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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