Il Fornaio's new Summer menu
You know Matcha Maiden loves to visit as many members of the #mixnmatcha family as possible, especially when there's something new and exciting on offer to tantalise the tastebuds! We are continually blown away by how creative and talented you all are, and when we discover some serious #mixnmatcha masterpieces we can't help but share them with you all!!
This week we stopped by our FIRST EVER matcha stockist, Il Fornaio, to celebrate the launch of their brand new Summer menu. We have always loved these amazing people for their delectable food, warm and attentive service and that endlessly attractive St Kilda vibe. For many years, we have kept coming back to this Melbourne treasure to enjoy a consistently delightful breakfast or brunch experience.
But even the best of us need a makeover every now and then and after our epic tasting session this week, we can safely say the new menu positively knocked our socks off! While we are, of course, biased towards the Mix N Matcha creations (which were unbelievably delicious and crazily photogenic), the whole menu is innovative, diverse, impeccably presented and beyond delicious.
Here's a run down of the dishes we tasted (but you should probably just get your backside down there asap to experience it for yourself!).What makes us love this place even more is its strong underlying principles in support of sustainability, local sourcing, high quality produce, and making many things (like their bread and cheese) fresh and in-house where possible. These principles have translated beautifully into the new menu and we can't wait to get back for more!!! Let us know if you're ever keen for a brekky date!
- The avo cuddle: toast of choice, lemon avocado, snowpea tendrils, radish, pickled shimeji mushrooms, crunch, chimmi churri (optional egg or bacon)
- Love you from my head tomatoes: olive toast, heirloom tomatoes, baby basil, organic avocado and ricotta mousse, dehydrated Mt Zero olives, puffed grains, dill, poached egg (optional egg or bacon)
- This is how we lobster roll: hot buttered brioche bun, W.A. lobster, rocket, artichoke chips, scrambled eggs, avruga caviar, leek
- Harry Styles' summer bircher: organic oat bircher, berry basil glaze, summer berries, pistachio, hydrated chia seeds
- Halle's Berry's: summer stone fruit and dark berry fruit salad, st ali coffee and hazelnut crumble, house buffalo yoghurt
- Mix N Matcha: protein granola, chamomile yoghurt rolled in matcha, summer fruits, strawberry chia, lavendar honey
We also had some epic smoothies:
- Olympia Valance: coconut water, spirulina, matcha, dates, psyllium husk, coconut oil nectar, LSA, protein and avocado
- Travis Burns: almond milk, dragon fruit, mango, banana, passionfruit
- Josh Gibson: coconut milk, raw cacao, LSA, coconut, psyllium husk, chia seeds, raw honey and banana
And with a nutella thick shake, the "middle aged man in lycra" the "Ari Gold beef burger" and many other options, how could you not stop in and visit!? Follow @ilfornaio1 to keep updated!
