Proud Mary
Proud Mary was my first experience of a cult-rep Melbourne cafe/coffee roaster with lines out the door and a waiting list to get in. Not that we needed confirmation, but this is a true sign (for any international readers) that Melburnians take their coffee very seriously and are willing to wait for the best brew.
Usually when we're in Melbourne we're fitting in brunch around schedules/meet ups & footy. But somehow this morning we had time on our hands...not to mention two very enthusiastic caffeine connoisseurs in the group...and no-one was opposed to waiting for our name to come to to the top of the list. The name Proud Mary had kept jumping out at me from social media (and a very reliable source) for a long time so I just had to find out why.
Let's also be honest...I knew that the ricotta hotcakes with caramelised mandarin, dark chocolate fudge, whipped mascarpone & hazelnuts was on the menu at the time...and if that's not a drawcard I don't know what is :) My sister had the bircher muesli with rhubarb, burnt orange yoghurt & toasted hazelnuts and it was ranked as one of her favourites in a long time...and she takes her muesli as seriously as our guys take their coffee.
With high ratings on Urban Spoon and Bean Hunter, you know the place is going to be buzzing and if you're arriving at peak times you have to be willing to wait for a table...but to be honest if all kind of contributes to the atmosphere. We didn't feel super rushed to eat, drink and leave which was great considering how action packed the vibe is. So if you're after someplace where the coffee menu is as comprehensive as the food...I think you'll appreciate Proud Mary. Their video below is well worth checking out...it goes into more detail about the care they take in finding quality sources for their coffee.
For a trip down memory lane, here's the video I posted last year on the same trip we hit up Proud Mary (can't believe it took me this long to post about it!). You can catch the Proud Mary bit at 2:00...
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