“We’re determined to create as much good as possible with every mouthful you have at STREAT. For instance, there are currently twenty-four ways we can create good through a cup of coffee. Our team works to create a whole dining experience while providing training opportunities to young people who really need a hand.”

Autumn mushrooms with soft white polenta, kale, and truffled sottocenere cheese; Madame Hortense’s syrniki (Russian cheese fritters with frozen honey cream, poached pear, and pomegranate); and local rhubarb and rosewater Danish.

People, planet, and place are at the forefront of this epic café housed in a grand 1860s manor and run by STREAT, a social enterprise that trains over 300 young people experiencing homelessness each year.

It’s worth a look for the real estate alone – a stunning renovation incorporating an eighty-seat cafe, coffee roastery, bakery, catering and events company that utilizes cutting edge green technology and ecobuilding principles, and a courtyard that’s a lush oasis in the urban jungle.

The food, too, holds its own among the competitive Melbourne café scene. Come for the coffee – speciality beans sourced from Karambi women’s collective in Rwanda and roasted on-site – and stay for a holistic menu that sees used coffee grounds fertilize mushrooms which are then served swaddled in a polenta blanket with kale and truffle-infused Italian cheese.

“The aromas of freshly baked bread and croissants drift across the courtyard long into the morning.” Broadsheet