Review: Station Grind Cafe, Fairfield

The Details…

While it looks small from the front, Station Grind opens out into a chilled out, spacious cafe. Tables are nicely separated and it’s a popular spot with young families who can enjoy brunch with little ones without worrying about the cramped hustle and bustle. 

On the menu there’s a good mix of snacks, brunch and lunch options. They also sell fresh bread and a range of take away snacks too. It’s one of those places that will easily creep into your day to day routine, whether it’s to stop off for a coffee and work on a weekday, get that loaf of bread to enjoy with dinner, or head in for your leisurely Sunday brunch. We were in a breakfasty kind of mood so we tried the big breakfast, chilli scramble and buttermilk pancakes. 

The first thing that you’ll notice is that the serves are huge! Station Grind definitely won’t let you go home hungry. There’s a nice feel through the dishes that most things are made in house and good quality ingredients are used throughout. We started with the chilli scramble which was full of bright pops of colour and a real hit of spice from the chilli jam.  It had tons of flavour, was well plated and very tasty. 

The big breakfast was huge!!! It’s a great value option and had a nice healthy balance to it with several large mushrooms and a tomato. It may seem like a big breakfast is just a big breakfast no matter where you go right? They shove a load of things on a plate and you leave full; but having tried many in Melbourne now it’s really not the case. It lays a lot of things bare. There’s no sauces or plating tricks to hide behind and it’s a fine balance getting that huge plate to be filling, yet not overwhelming. Station Grind have done this particularly well – an even more impressive feat as they’re relatively new to the game.

We finished with their buttermilk pancakes. A simple stack of thinner “home made” style pancakes, not the fluffier hot cake variety that are often around. They were so soft with lashings of maple syrup and a fruity compote. Adorned with fresh fruit they’re the perfect classic pancake dish. Again, the dish is done well, providing the sugary hit you’re looking for without straying too far into dessert territory! We were certainly impressed with Station Grind, and think they’ll become a real asset for Fairfield locals!