Brunch at Alimentari on Smith Street

26 Aug Brunch at Alimentari on Smith Street

At long last, I have made it back to Alimentari on Smith Street in Collingwood. It has been utterly transformed since the last time I sat down to eat here! They have gutted the takeaway section and turned it into a fancy gift shop and what used to be the restaurant is now an (overpriced) salad bar with all sorts of lovely Italian sandwiches besides!

I had checked out the menu before I came and had decided on a mushroom galette. However, that is the one menu item they don’t have, so I am having mushrooms on toast instead! Since the renovation they have had less breakfast type meals (although I just realised that they DO still have their silky scrambled eggs and grilled tomatoes for example) but they do still have the Alimentari favourites (for some) Eggs Benedict and the corn fritters with herbs, poached eggs and kasundi.

I am really enjoying the coffee that they served me this morning. It is a lovely oat latte and it has a little extra heat than I am used to, but which is nice.

They are playing an upbeat playlist of 80s and 90s era music and the kitchen is buzzing in the corner of this lovely ambience. They have kept the old bar shelves behind what used to be a coffee and drinks bar. And the colours and paintings are still the same. It makes me think about what used to be here, and what advantages the renovation aimed to add, as it seems like there are less seats than before if anything!

The renovation happened just after covid when hospitality business was struggling. So, hopefully it helped.

Alimentari was established in 1998! So it has become a wonderful fixture in the fabric of Collingwood and Fitzroy (they have another store on Brunswick Street).

The mushrooms, on toast was tasty, if somewhat filling for this time of the morning! I am always looking for egg free brunch and breakfast options, and this was a good one!

The only thing that I would say is that there is quite a good reason why I haven’t sat down to eat at Alimentari for years. The sticker shock. Brunch cost me $38.60, which was a bit of a shock to my system, I have to say!