Digable brunch in Richmond

Digable
2 Amsterdam St (right near corner Church St), Richmond (map)
9421 0690
7-3 weekdays, 8-2 Saturdays

I first became aware of Digable's existence by reading a message written in chalk on the pavement of Church Street: "DIGABLE CAFE - GREAT COFFEE THIS WAY" (with a couple of arrows pointing helpfully down a side street). Maybe it was because the chalk message reminded me of so many I used to see in my uni days (eg "LSS BBQ 1PM TODAY - SOUTH LAWN"), but I was instantly charmed by the resourcefulness of Digable's advertising.


Digable is the only cafe I can think of off the top of my head whose website is a MySpace page (with some catchy beats playing on it). It made a bit more sense when I learned that the cafe is operated by local DJs and musos who promise to "ensure the music selections are of top quality, bringing you the best in Soul, Dub, Hip Hop, Funk, Jazz, Blues and world music to enhance your dinning [sic] experience". The facade of the cafe is adorned with street art and the changing breakfast and lunch menu features organic free range green eggs and fair trade organic Coffee Supreme. I worried the people running it may turn out to be slightly wanky, but the girl who served us was completely unpretentious and rather sweet and chatty, and the food was great when DJ and I went for a housemate brunch a few Saturdays ago.

My favourite feature in the cafe was the decorative row of hand straps once used by standing passengers on W class trams (just visible in the photo below along the top of the window). Actually, the shape and look of the interior of the cafe reminds me a bit of the old W class trams...


I ordered the Vege Eggs - soft-poached with avocado, mushrooms, slow roasted tomatoes and spinach ($12.50). The dish was a simple one and done well - the mushrooms had a slight tartness to them that I liked.


DJ ordered the Brekky Sanga - toasted ciabatta with two fried eggs, ham, tomato, pesto, cheese and spinach ($12). I think I would've toasted the ciabatta slightly more and maybe wilted the spinach a little, but DJ was very happy with it.


From memory, the lunch menu had a few nice-sounding burgers on it, amongst other items. One of the only downsides from my perspective is that Digable, like the Cherry Tree and so much else in Cremorne, is closed on a Sunday. But it's a great low-key brunch venue - next time you're brunching in Richmond on a Saturday and, like me, miss out on brunch at Pearl Cafe because they stop serving breakfast on the dot of 11am (I promise I'll stop whinging about this soon!), check out Digable - it's just around the corner...