Kings & Knaves Espresso

The Verdict

The humble piece of toast. It’s not usually the part of breakfast that gets us frothing, although Vegemite and a good inch of salted butter on crusty sourdough is still probably 15% more fun than anything cooked up by Walter White in a lab.

If you’re a closet toast fan, you’re in luck, because CBD cafe Kings & Knaves are doing for toast what Michael Jordan did for basketball. Knaves is the city’s brand new dedicated toast bar: a cafe that celebrates what happens when you take bread and apply heat.

What does this mean exactly? It means an encyclopaedic bread menu, courtesy of Noisette. It means premium toppings like smoked salmon, St David’s Dairy crème fraiche, house-made berry compote, crushed pistachios and Rooftop Honey (not all on the same piece of toast...) Look out for the sweet options too, especially the 99th Monkey vegan hazelnut spread on sourdough, topped with ripe banana, sea salt and maple syrup. Bloody YUM. All Press Espresso are handling the coffee situation, and there’s even an epic hot chocolate on the cards, thanks to the team at Mörk, Melbourne’s ethical chocolate maestros.

Now the whole concept of a ‘toast bar’ might ruffle a few Melbourne feathers, especially those feathers who feel the city is one avocado-latte away from becoming an international joke. But give Knaves a chance. This isn’t London’s cereal cafe: the idea isn’t to gouge customers by marking-up a breakfast they can make at home. It’s about taking Victoria’s finest ingredients and whacking them on a breakfast staple we usually overlook. We’ll toast to that any day. 

Image credit: Kings & Knaves Espresso