The Bell Jar (Melbourne, Australia)
Jul 14th, 2010 by Rosanne
When a funky little café opened up at the end of a friend's street, we just had to check it out. How convenient! On our first visit, they weren't yet set up for credit cards and had nothing you could call gluten-free. After negotiating a breakfast without toast and explaining everything very carefully, I thought I'd never go back. But then I realised that here was an opportunity to shape my local. My most recent visit there was delightful.
Apart from listening to me on which gluten-free soy milk I preferred, they'd gone out of their way to find a truly superb gluten-free, dairy-free bread from local artisanal bakery Fatto a Mano. The poached eggs with smoked salmon are perfect. The house-baked beans were a little under-done, but the sauce was piquant. The specials are also probably good when done as designed; however my attempt to get the green eggs and ham (pesto eggs) with soy instead of cream made them a tad odd.
The owners are aiming for excellent coffee and have a few single origin options. It's certainly one of the better coffees I've had in Clifton Hill recently.
The café is one of those rustic places where hardly any of the chairs match and every room has a different feel. The building is a classic Victorian terrace where the downstairs is the café and the upstairs is still living space. The front room is all old school tables and mis-match; the centre-room has a huge wooden table done beautifully with autumn leaves and stools around it, just right for lazing at and reading the Saturday papers or good for a large group; and then there are a few tables outside, next to a fabulous mural and poky garden with little pots and a square of lawn.
There are still a few too many dishes you'd have to alter to call the place gluten-free and the kitchen is so tiny that service can take a while, but the staff are delightful and the produce is ultra-fresh and high quality. Can I just gush about that bread again? Best gluten-free bread I've ever had at a café.
Rating: 
The Bell Jar,
656 Smith Street
Clifton Hill, 3068
03 9482 7980