North and Eight
The Overview…
Food: Ferrero Rocher French Toast, Hong Kong Egg Waffle, Crispy Fried Chicken Okonomiyaki,
The details…
North and Eight is big and bright, with bare brick walls and pastel colours it’s a trendy eatery, popular well into the afternoon when we visited. There’s a covered outdoor seating area, and plenty of indoor seating – including a number of large tables to accommodate bigger groups, which we really liked and thought was quite unique.
We were greeted to a warm welcome, quickly seated and received excellent prompt service throughout our stay. Staff were so friendly and really couldn’t do enough to ensure their customers enjoyed their visit.
We tried the Okonomiyaki with crispy chicken, the french toast and the Hong Kong egg waffle. There’s a lot of Asian inspiration on their menu, which means you can find something a little different from your standard brunch if you want to.
The Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) was thick and soft. I was a little concerned about how generous the sauces were, but they didn’t overwhelm at all and blended well with the crispy chicken. The green onion and enoke mushrooms pulled the Asian flavours together and there was a nice tang to the chicken. I would have liked a little more crunch to the chicken, however it is a tasty, filling dish. There are plenty of options for toppings too, so you can enjoy the pancake with pork, crab or salmon if you aren’t in the mood for chicken.
The sweet dishes looked absolutely amazing. The french brioche is crazy indulgent and there was a lot of sweetness going on here with nutella, hazelnut mousse, praline, bacio ice cream and chocolate ganache – but it’s a well thought out sweetness and while it’s rich, it’s not sickly sweet.
The Hong Kong egg waffle is a little more refined, with a savoury balance to the sweetness, as is typical with Asian desserts. The waffle itself was perfect, and it was topped with seasonal fruit. There’s the chocolate flavours running through for the sweet but then I loved the sesame icecream, crisps and the pretzels which pulled back from that sweetness. One of my favourite sweet breakfasts without a doubt. We really enjoyed this one!
Everything else…
Website: https://www.northandeight.com.au/
Address: 285-287 Buckley Street, Essendon
Opening Times:
Mon 6:30am to 4:30pm
Tue 6:30am to 4:30pm
Wed 6:30am to 4:30pm
Thu 6:30am to 4:30pm
Fri 6:30am to 4:30pm
Sat 7am to 4pm
Sun 7am to 4pm
Parking: While the cafe is on a main road, there is plenty of street parking nearby, and we easily found a spot, despite the cafe being busy.
Getting here on PT: This one is a bit of a mission if you’re not local and ideally one to drive to. However, it’s on the 903 bus route, which you can catch from either Sunshine station (Sunbury Line) or Essendon (Craigieburn Line), or a 15 minute walk from Essendon Station. It’s only about 40 minutes journey in total.
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of North and Eight, Essendon. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a cafe won’t change including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting