A small space with a Mammoth heart

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A new place has arrived in Melbourne for good brunch and great coffee. Almost doesn’t sound news worthy anymore, does it? But you’re going to want to hear about this one. Mammoth, which has taken up residence in a gorgeous corner building in Armadale, has been put together by a café and design dream team.

Do the cafes Touchwood, Barry, and Hammer and Tong ring any bells? These are the venues the team previously owned or worked in. Owners Jamie and Loren McBride were part of the opening teams of Touchwood in Richmond and Barry in Northcote. And the Hammer and Tong connection is from the head chef Emma Jeffrey who used to be behind the pots and pans of that Fitzroy favourite. Now all under the one roof, what can we expect?

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The menu isn’t a reflection of any one venue. It’s creative, it’s different, and it’s interesting. It opens with a lavender bagel served with fresh honeycomb and whipped buffalo ricotta. Things move from there to avocado and pumpkin seed hummus with dark rye, coddles eggs, and native bush tomatoes, and The Benedict with duck sausage, orange and corn blini, pickled onion, fried egg, and smoked maple hollandaise. The extensive menu continues in similar creative fashion, but it’s worth stopping over at the sides and dessert section as well. Sides including the egg and bacon popcorn or the backyard-fried haloumi with house made HP sauce. And the dessert is a convincing Golden Gaytime panna cotta with honeycomb, sable biscuit, and chocolate coated popping candy.

Coffee is of course a focus. Either poured with any milk you fancy, or filtered, or even cold brewed. Pressed green juices and a range of teas keep you going if you’re avoiding caffeine. 

The space might be small but it has a lot of personality given a bright makeover by Techne Architecture + Interior Design. Think white painted exposed brick, blues filtered throughout, leather booth seating, and lots of windows for stunning natural light. The graphic design – signage, menus, websites, coffee cups etc – was crafted by Melbourne design agency Wildhen Design from Luke Henley. The blues and calming tone continue throughout his design and manage a striking finish.

With all these great elements, it’s no surprise we struggled to get a table on a Friday morning. We’d suggest go early and maybe avoid the weekends for a few months. Us Melbournians are going to be all over this one.

Mammoth
736 Malvern Road, Armadale
official website

About the author

Yoga teacher, writer, blogger, and marketing whiz – it’s safe to say Amy Collins is a busy little lady. Her idea of a stellar evening is yoga class followed by a glass of wine. Her favourite quote: “In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”

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