Glory-Us to Walrus: Four new daytime venues with interesting brunch menus

There are plenty of places to get your smashed avo, deli sandwich or bagel fix. But if your daytime diet needs some spark, several new spots around Melbourne are going well beyond predictable breakfast and lunch menus.

Ondo

Ondo has been attracting Korean food fans in Armadale for nine months but is now generating lines on a tiny city block with its second location. Those in the queue are there for a unique mix of Korean comfort dishes, specialty coffee and Melbourne cafe atmosphere that co-owner and chef Levi Eun has created.

“Even Korean people say, ‘Oh, it’s very interesting’,” says Eun.

Spicy beef tartare bibimbap and mandu guk, prawn dumplings in a kombu-anchovy broth, are among the dishes served in the style of bansang: a typical Korean spread including rice, soup and small side dishes, such as kimchi or marinated seaweed.

There’s also dwaeji galbi, grilled pork served with lettuce for a ssam-style lunch, and buckwheat noodles with wild sesame and a boiled egg.

The 50-seat space has two large banks of windows, reeded timber walls and a kitchen more than double the size of Armadale’s, which means a more ambitious menu and even more ambitious plans for the future, including dinner.

For now, though, it’s all about daytime trade, with coffee by Reverence and exciting sweets such as Earl Grey cookies and mugwort cake, featuring a favourite Korean ingredient similar to matcha.

Open Mon-Fri 7am-3pm, Sat-Sun 8am-3pm, 115 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/ondo_melb

Glory-Us

A sunny corner cafe in Strathmore has an equally bright name and menu to match, now that hospitality pros Mike Byard (Pretty Little) and Tori Bicknell (ex Mulberry Group) have opened the doors to Glory-Us.

Poached eggs might come with tamari-roasted pumpkin or a chopped salad on Bicknell’s sharp and seasonal menu. But it’s not too virtuous. Caramelised banana completes caramel-filled slabs of French toast, there’s a beef brisket and horseradish roll and fans of the chip butty can rejoice − it’s finally on a cafe menu, with house-made HP sauce. Savoury muffins, egg and bacon rolls and mini hummingbird cakes are also made in-house each day.

Wedged between Pascoe Vale and Essendon, Strathmore is a cafe-hungry suburb, according to Byard, with young professionals and retirees providing a steady wave of customers.

The cafe is serving coffee by Rumble, which can trace each batch of beans to its source. Plans are underway for a private dining space upstairs and a courtyard with wood-fired oven for summer.

Open Tues-Fri 6.30am-3pm, Sat 7.30-3pm, 64 Woodland Street, Strathmore

Hot Bread

Hot Bread is a new venture from the Good Days crew, who opened their pho and noodle spot in Brunswick seven years ago, and are now bringing their provenance-first focus to banh mi in a bright and spacious shop.

“I feel like people are more ready for banh mi like ours,” says owner Nam Nguyen, pointing to the sandwich craze of recent years and the success of Ca Com, opened by chef Thi Le.

Fillings include turmeric-crusted Lakes Entrance flathead and free-range Bannockburn chicken, with extras like fried shallots made in-house. Baguettes come from N. Lee.

Going beyond the usual suspects, the menu of banh mi features a spiced tofu option with several types of beancurd pressed, rolled and crisped up to mimic a slice of pork. Confit duck legs get the char siu treatment, while a house-made pork terrine is the star in the roll of cold cuts. Vietnamese meatballs, xiu mai, in a tangy tomato sauce are another less common filling.

The sweets cabinet is a fun-loving ode to both Vietnam and Australia, with a vanilla slice that swaps custard for coconut cream and little eclairs in flavours such as pandan or Vietnamese coffee. That’s available, too, alongside drinks such as iced nitro jasmine tea − poured under pressure to give a creamy finish.

Open Tue-Thu & Sun 10am-3pm, Fri-Sat 10am-4pm, 644 Sydney Road, Brunswick

Walrus

The diners of America’s west coast were the inspiration for pals Miles Davis and Jack Shanahan to open their scaled-down version, Walrus, wedged into a row of shops on Sydney Road, Brunswick.

“I always wanted a place where you can sit down for a few hours unbothered, have your coffee refilled and you don’t feel gluttonous after the food,” says Davis.

They installed four generous booths and leather-topped bar stools, with lots of laminex, plywood and more leather to create the diner look in the 26-seater.

Just like a diner, every dish comes with plenty of optional add-ons. French toast with bacon, perhaps, or eggs on pancakes rather than toast, with a side of house-made breakfast sausage. Omelettes come filled with queso fresco cheese and pico de gallo (the Mexican) or chopped chorizo sausage plus zucchini and onion (the Walrus).

A lunch menu will slowly come into play, but for now it’s a tuna salad sandwich or all-day breakfast.

Fieldwork is supplying the beans for espresso, iced coffees and, naturally, filter with refills.

Open Tue-Fri 7.30am-3pm, Sat-Sun 8am-3pm, 312 Sydney Road, Brunswick