RMB Cafe on Degraves Street

RMB Cafe

Melbourne’s best caffè latte? That’s a big call, but it’s one that I’m prepared to make for RMB Cafe on the character-filled Degraves Street. One of three cafes – the others are in Plenty Valley and Geelong – RMB on Degraves serves up some of smoothest and tastiest elixir in the city, along with desserts to die for, tasty salads and an almost all-day breakfast.

Early each morning the cafe opens with manager and barista Raj at the helm, and the day picks up quickly as office workers start rushing through the atmospheric street. With one serving window facing on to Degraves Street for take-away service, and glass facing out on to the vehicular Flinders Lane, RMB is strategically located on a corner in the heart of the busy Flinders Street Station precinct. Early morning also brings out the jet-lagged, the homesick and the intrepid from local hotels and hostels, in search of a hearty breakfast delivered by multilingual staff under the umbrellas. Completing the social tapestry are locals who stroll in for a bite to eat – maybe a croissant or muffin – along with their morning sip.

Using the smooth coffee beans from Melbourne-based Veneziano, the barista mixes the perfect brew with silky milk to achieve the perfect, piping hot cup. The paper take-away cups are thin, so get very hot on the fingertips, but there’s something sensually pleasing about being so close to the comforting warmth of coffee on a bitterly cold winter morning. At $2.80 for a small, and $4 for the large size, it’s possibly the best value take away coffee in town too. Have-in lattes are served in a small glass – as they should be! Pastries are available too, and restaurant fare with everything from fruit toast to a big breakfast (containing pork) is on offer, with a couple of healthy

Melbourne’s atmospheric Degraves Street

options thrown in for good measure. T2 teas and hot chocolate, including the decadently thick Italian hot chocolate, are on hand for non-coffee drinkers.

At lunch, breakfast is still available (because, really, who would eat breakfast at ‘breakfast time’ if given the choice?), and from 11am the day menu fires up, featuring a host of Mediterranean dishes. Choose from risottos (including the interesting duck risotto), salads, pastas, grills, focaccia, sandwiches and lasagne. Of course the trusty Melbourne cafe standby – chicken parmigiana – is also on the menu. Finish up with dessert – and there are sticky date puddings, cheesecakes and homemade tiramisu.

On the downside, the outdoor seating is quite cramped and there’s not a lot indoor seating if you need to escape the sometimes blustery laneway. After a major overhaul a couple of years ago, RMB went slightly upmarket and seemed to attract a whole new clientele, while still retaining its core customer base. However the one thing that hasn’t changed is the coffee. While there are more glamorous-looking cafes elsewhere on Degraves Street, and ‘cuter’ places on the nearby grungy Centre Place, it’s RMB which keeps serving up consistently awesome coffee, morning after morning after morning.

One of RMB’s smooth, smooth lattes.

Details

Food: 8/10

Ambience: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Cost: A caffè latte is $2.80 for take away, $3 to have-in; other drinks are similarly priced. Meals are all generally between $5 and $20, with some of the steaks slightly more. Desserts are all under $9 a plate.

37 Degraves Street, Melbourne

Monday – Sunday: early – late

www.rmbcafe.com.au