House Of Lulu White

The Verdict

Apparently, so local legend has it, it used to be schoolboy sport to sit on top of the high wall separating Yarra Street from South Yarra train station and applaud the gentlemen leaving the former Paradise Girls brothel.

House of Lulu White, the latest offering from the Tommy Collins Group—the guys who brought you Little Ox Café, Hawk & Hunter and Little Collins—takes this colourful past and references it tongue held firmly held in cheek.

The, menu runs with the fun too, throwing off the restraints of smashed avo and scrambled eggs to offer some playful options, with the most intriguing hanging out in the ‘naughty’ section.

On a particularly chilly Melbourne morn, our cockles were thoroughly warmed by the smoky bacon breakfast ramen. About as hearty a start as you can get outside of porridge, generously hewn pork belly and crackling swims in a restorative, three-day broth spiked with miso oil that’s a guaranteed to chase the sniffles away. Served with a runny egg, savoury sheets of seaweed, enokitake mushrooms and thick soba noodles, it’s the sort of solid brekkie foundation that will have you skipping lunch.

Image credit: Jenna Fahey-White