aking up residence on the corner of Coventry and Francis Streets, Giddiup is the latest venture from the crew behind Richmond’s Amsterdam Street cafe.

It’s an interesting space: a slice of concept store RG Madden has been sheered off to accommodate the pared-back eatery, resulting in a slimline rectangular footprint lined by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Coventry Street’s passing foot traffic.

The focus here is on fresh food, fast. Part owner Kirbie Tate describes a cafe with a serious take-away bent – a place where the busy hordes of workers can duck in and grab-to-go without needless wait. In that mould, the menu design centres around simple, high quality food; perhaps slow-roasted lamb shoulder on olive sourdough with cucumber, tomato and minted yoghurt, or the mini ciabatta of egg, prosciutto and house-made tomato chutney that is the perfect brekkie bite.

And like the aforementioned tomato chutney, everything from the corn pickle on the beef pastrami sourdough to the strawberry puree topping yoghurt and sugared macadamias is made in the café’s own compact kitchen. Coffee is from Sydney’s Single Origin Roasters and is smooth, strong, and expertly pulled.

Of course, eating in is an option made all the more attractive by the minimal-meets-industrial aesthetic played out with bare floors, built-in bench seating and milk crate ‘tables’ topped with squares of plywood.

Get there at a gallop.

Giddiup Cafe
Corner Coventry and Francis Streets, South Melbourne

Hours
Mon-Fri 8am–4pm Sat-Sun 8am-3pm giddiupcafe.com