Review: The Tamper Trap, Brighton

The Overview…

Occupying an impressive corner unit, the newly opened Tamper Trap Cafe is a fab addition to Brighton’s Bay Street.

Meal: Brunch

Food: Honey Hotcakes, Oreo Vanilla Panacotta, Cheesy Croquette Benny

The details…

Bringing 11 years of industry experience from some of Melbourne’s best cafes, you can tell the new owners of 181 Bay Street, Brighton are both nervous and excited about stepping out on their own. The beautiful glass fronted unit has changed hands several times, but looking at the steady flow of customers The Tamper Trap is already enjoying a mere three weeks into their venture, I don’t think they need to be too concerned about making it a success.

By far the biggest thing this cafe has going for it is the service. Helped by a great layout – which makes it easy for staff behind the counter to greet you as soon as you walk in despite being busy, with a covered outside area to hold their queuing clientele or those waiting for take away – the service I received in the first two minutes of arriving is probably better than I received anywhere in Brighton, period. It was chatty, speedy and friendly and their passion for the cafe is infectious. The food is amazing too (more on that in a min) but as far as first impressions go The Tamper Trap have nailed it.

With a curved glass front – which they’ve made great use of by putting seating all around, with beautiful turquoise accents – the cafe looks refined and is memorable. It’s such a gorgeous environment that it makes you want to go back. They’ve pitched it perfectly to Brighton clientele – it’s still cool enough for the endless teenagers to pop in for a catch up, but classic enough that brunching mums and young families can enjoy the space too.

So basically, even before the plates hit my table, I was in love – they could probably have brought any old crap over and I still would have gone back – but luckily they didn’t. This cafe really brings the full package. We tried the eggs benny, oreo pana and honey hotcakes. The benny is a rich dish, so it’s good to see it’s a fairly small serve. It’s a flavour sensation and has the most divine smell. Served with cheesy croquettes, chorizo and bacon it certainly leaves you full up and happy.

The oreo panacotta arrived with it’s beautiful plating and perfect wobble. The half an oreo hidden inside is a cute surprise, which also adds interest to the panacotta. It’s a creamy pana and the oreo flavour is quite subtle and well balanced with the vanilla. The chocolate shards and oreo added to the pana are perfect to bring a little richness to the dish without making the pana itself overwhelming.

Finally the honey hotcakes with honeycomb, chocolate vanilla mascarpone and rainbow sugar are a real head-turner too! The honeycomb had a nice crunch and the pancakes had a good flavour. One of the hotcakes was very slightly burnt on its base and we felt a little more fruit on the plate and a few less flowers would have given the meal more balance- but overall three solid dishes which left us more than impressed with this Brighton newcomer. Thanks for having us The Tamper Trap team!

Everything else…

Website: https://www.facebook.com/thetampertrap/

Address: 181 Bay Street, Brighton

Opening Times: 

Mon       6:30am to 4pm
Tue        6:30am to 4pm
Wed      6:30am to 4pm
Thu       6:30am to 4pm
Fri         6:30am to 4pm
Sat        7:30am to 4pm
Sun       7:30am to 4pm

Parking:  Parking is a little scarce on Bay Road itself, but you can easily find a park in many of the surrounding streets. We parked on Outer Crescent which was a 2 or 3 minute walk to the cafe.

Getting here on PT: It’s 5 minutes walk from North Brighton Station on the Sandringham Line, or the 219 and 922 buses both stop nearby.

Disclaimer: We dined as guests of The Tamper Trap, Brighton. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a restaurant won’t change (including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting)