Eat. @ Providence

497 Rathdowne Street, Carlton 3053 ph (03) 9240 7055

Providence is the new cafe on the block in Carlton, from the dynamic team behind The Grainstore in the CBD and Hero Subs.  Their newest project sits on Rathdowne Street, on the Ground Floor of the brand new Australian Unity Building.  Recently I was invited to attend their launch event and try out some of the items on their menu.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the building is now home to Rathdowne Place Aged Care which has marvellous facilities for retirement living. I work in health care and it's so refreshing to see an aged care facility that caters so well for active senior citizens, with a theatre room and swimming pool amongst the many facilities to keep their residents happy and active.

We were greeted with a selection of drinks, including a delicious berry smooth and deliciously fresh blood orange juice.  

And of course a coffee!

Mini versions of their menu were served up for us to try, during which time both the lovely owners and some of the providores for their locally sourced goodies including Gundowring Ice-Cream and Gamze Bacon and Smallgoods.

One of my favourites for the morning was the Smoked trout, served on bubble and squeak potatoes topped with a poached egg.

The Breakfast Salad was an excellent choice for a healthy breakfast and my favourite part was the slightly caramelised grilled avocados.  

The Egg and Bacon pies were cute and was quite filling even in its miniature version size.

The pumpkin and lentil fritters pack quite a punch with its aromatic herbs.

And of course there is the sweet breakfast berry clafoutis.  A slightly naughty sweet dish with a berry filled pancake topped with some Gundowring rhubarb ice-cream. A crowd favourite!

There were also lots of other goodies available from the counter, good for a quick "grab and go".

We were treated with a goodies bag, and a coupon to check out the local farmer's market at Carlton Primary School.  

Inner suburb markets are such treasure troves of goodies and artisan items, I love having a wander through and checking out what is on offer.  The vendors are often passionate about their wares and are so knowledgeable in their craft, it's such a pleasure to experience!  I eventually used my voucher on some baked goodies from Cannibal Creek, which of course went down well with the family!

Providence is a lovely cafe in this area of Carlton which still has relatively few cafes of its kind.  The Australian Unity Building has opened up my eyes to what retirement living can be like - the food blogger in me will no doubt insist I retire somewhere with easy access to good food!

Disclaimer : I attended the Providence launch event by invitation and courtesy of the team behind Providence Cafe.  Opinions are my own.