In every city I go, there is at least one place where I will go back and back and back until my friends are sick of me hearing of the place. The Green Refectory is definitely one of the top contestants for my Melbourne hang out... if I could ever get a place to sit. 

Right by a tram stop, this is the first cafe I had my eyes on in my new neighbourhood. I got off the no. 19 tram, lifted my head up and saw the red Illy sign, and told myself I need to come here one day. Didn't even know the name of the breakfast/lunch/dinner place, because you can't really find it anywhere. I thought it was Green at first, but now you know, it's the Green Refectory.

The Green Refectory is always, always crowded. 

After my first shopping trip to the Barkly Square shopping centre, flatmate R asked if I had seen the cool cafe across the road. I thought he was talking about a different cafe at first, but the more he described it, the more familiar it sounded. It's that same Illy place!

Today after the Camberwell Market trip with another flatmate, K told me she would take me to a cool cheap(-ish) vegan place near our house on the infamous Sydney Road... the same place. Obviously my flatmate are frequent visitors to the Green Refectory, but they aren't the only ones. 

The cabinets are crammed full of sweet and savoury choices. The blackboard menus are so stuffed with their offerings and prices, that in the huge incoming and outgoing crowd it is quite hard to just stand and take the time to stare and study them in length. I got a salmon, asparagus and mushroom tart and a small beetroot salad to take away. I actually wanted to get another salad as well, but it wasn't named and I'm not sure if it was quinoa or not... Pretty sure it wasn't risoni/orzo, though. Hmm... I'll find out soon.

The good thing about the Green Refectory is that they open late on weekends, so hopefully the crowd will die down later in the day. I might want to come for dinners on nights I feel too lazy to cook. 

K showed me all these cool drinking places along Sydney Road as well, and think I have decided on my running route. Excited for the new week :)

The Green Refectory

115 Sydney Road, 

Brunswick VIC 3056

Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

Sat/Sun 8am-8pm