FUSION FRISSON
IMPECCABLE COFFEE, decorative steel girders and STRIKING Asian-fusion dishes define one of the BRIGHTEST STARS in Melbourne’s BRUNCH constellation. Clare Acheson visits BRUNSWICK’S Project281 in search of a TWIST on avocado toast.
MELBOURNE’S VORACIOUS APPETITE for trend-led brunch spots precedes it and from the moment I step into Project281 Cafe, I understand why. Packed to its exposed steel rafters on a Saturday morning, the converted warehouse space houses almost a hundred seats and every one is occupied. Squeezing past greenery growing out of huge concrete supports, stacked like sugar cubes by the doorway, I jot my name onto the waiting list and befriend another eager diner, ready to greet the weekend with a plate of something special.
The brainchild of Sarge Michael and Connell McGrath (two Melbourne cafe moguls who rose to success with neighbouring venue The Glass Den), Project281 is their largest venture to date.
Occupying a disused printer’s warehouse situated off Brunswick’s main Sydney Road strip, the popular all-day spot serves colourful fusion dishes that blend Japanese and Korean flavours with herbs grown in the venue’s indoor veggie boxes. The coffee is roasted on site (and sold to those keen to take a bag home) and for those looking for an uncaffeinated alternative, ornate hot chocolates, smoothies and sharing cocktails should suffice.
Distinct influences update traditional dishes and make for a diverse menu. I’m dining with friends, and we settle on a sliding scale that ranges from the lean and healthy soba salad to the condiment-drenched grilled prawn okonomiyaki, laden with kewpie and bonito flakes.
There is no shortage of visual entertainment. Project281’s interior brings together brazen industrial features with cleverly reappropriated fixings. Architectural lacework becomes glossy black light fittings and steel wall supports are transformed into decorative dividers that cordon off the mezzanine’s herb and tomato planters. A majestic coffee bean roaster sits encased behind glass, flanked by a table that often caters to the weekend overspill, and acts as a totem to the venue’s signature brew.
Of course, Project281’s dishes are designed with visual appeal in mind, too. The whole-wheat soba salad comes topped with yolk-yellow charred corn on the cob and ripe cherry tomatoes, tossed in a light sesame dressing. Not unsubstantial, the garden pea fritters with pea shoots, mint and grains are set into a swathe of labne and olive oil. The size of a dinner plate in its own right, the okonomiyaki combines the texture and sweetness of fresh prawns with spring onions, bird’s-eye chillies and pickled ginger that cut through Japanese mayonnaise. Plates are scraped clean and whisked away by staff who are upbeat and efficient, with one eye on the teeming waiting area.
Rich, generous and backed by sustainability credentials that deliver an all-round stand-out experience, Project281 could have easily become a soulless brunch factory pumping out Eggs Benedict. Instead, this north-side gem is worthy of a visit from even the most established brunch aficionado, be they a seasoned local or an interstate wanderer.