Golden Coffee & Toastie

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City dwellers and office workers alike will appreciate this new addition to their midweek lunch rotation. Helmed by Jackie Middleton (Earl Canteen, Dame) and Hakim Halim (Ripe Cheese), Golden looks out to the “Paris end” of town through floor-to-ceiling glass windows within the lobby of Collins Place. Leaning into Melbourne’s obsession with alternative caffeinated drinks (see: matcha, Mont Blanc), an entire specialty drinks menu – coined “alt-caffeine” – includes both regular and limited-edition drinks that will rival the classic iced latte or cold brew as your usual.

Matcha by Hello Matcha, sourced from Uji, near Kyoto, is served over ice and oat milk with strawberry foam, while cold brew is layered with boba, cream cheese and chocolate powder in a creamy tiramisu cheese latte. Not a fan of sweet drinks? The Aerocano steams double espresso with ice to create a frothy, aerated black coffee with a heady foam not dissimilar to a freshly poured Guinness. Golden’s signature espresso blend is roasted locally by Industry Beans.

But the stars of the show are the crunchy, golden (pardon the pun) toasties – ideal for a grab-and-go lunch between meetings. The popular Fire and Fig number flanks smokey chicken between sweet spiced fig jam, mayo and chilli oil, plus plenty of cheesy goodness in a mildly spicy, slightly sweet, protein-packed sanger.

There’s also a riff on cacio e pepe made with hard-boiled eggs, pecorino and a healthy dose of Pep pepper; plus a truffle-mushroom tapenade and gooey triple-cheese toastie packed with truffle triple brie, mozzarella and cheddar (in winter, add freshly shaved Kinglake Ferrier truffles for $12 while they’re in season). A cabinet filled with Penny for Pound pastries rounds out the offering.

Good to know: Add a tomato soup cup – piped with fluffy, boba-style cream-cheese foam – or a side of rainbow slaw salad to any toastie for just $4.

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