Focus Cafe – The Overview…
Food: Acai bowl, Salmon Croquettes, Spirit Salad
The details…
Take a seat in this well-lit minimal cafe and appreciate the intricate art work dotting the walls while sipping your latte, or move outside to the sun-drenched courtyard (there are shaded areas for the fair-skinned amongst you). Staff are chirpy and pleasant and will be keen to see you to your every need.
We loved the range of options on the menu, and the new menu items, while still retaining many classic Asian flavours and ingredients, are making more of a push towards the healthy end of the spectrum with fresh produce, fruit, and veg becoming more of a key focus. We started with the salmon and sweet potato croquettes, which come with a healthy serve of greens and poached eggs. The croquettes were so delicious, crispy and filled with soft, creamy sweet potato and salmon and a delicious lemongrass flavour with each bite.
We then moved on to the spirit salad. We added the chicken to this, and it made for a real filling meal. The salad was fresh and well varied, with sweet potato, green beans and tomatoes making for lots of colour. With the added huge chunk of haloumi on the side to add a little saltiness to the dish it was a great balance of flavours, and we loved the abundance of fresh veggies again in this one. While the chicken is served with the skin on, and obviously haloumi isn’t the heathiest thing, the dish managed to have a little indulgence while still hitting high on the 5 a day scale!
Finally we sampled the acai bowl. We loved the great little twist on this with the acai being served as a sorbet (perfect for summer) and it did change the dimensions of the dish, making it feel both fresher and more indulgent than a typical acai bowl. While it’s a little on the light side – there’s a decent serve of fruit, but not much granola – it’s not one for when your hungry, but it’s a creative and refreshing dish that we’re so glad we tried!
Everything else…
Website: https://m.facebook.com/focusmelbourne/
Address: 439 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn
Opening Times:
Mon 7am to 4pm
Tue 7am to 4pm
Wed 7am to 4pm
Thu 7am to 4pm
Fri 7am to 4pm
Sat 7am to 4pm
Sun 7am to 4pm
Parking: There’s plenty of parking just off Whitehorse Road. It gets a little busy but we found there was plenty of cars coming and going so it wasn’t too tricky to find a space.
Getting here on PT: The best option on PT is to take the 109 tram and alight at Balwyn shopping centre
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Focus Melbourne. 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.