rarat Avakian is undoubtedly a jack-of-all-trades. The Armenian descendant and former owner of 80 Spaces in Windsor has just opened new cafe Olie&Ari, and his fingerprints are all over the space.

Operating on Brighton’s Were Street, Olie&Ari was renovated entirely by Ararat and cousin Sevan. The industrial style fit-out features raw, exposed brick walls, caged pendant lights sourced from Japan, a cosy courtyard complete with modgrass floor (perfect for warm summer outings), and beautiful, wooden hanging lamps by industrial designer Sevan.

Currently open for breakfast and lunch (with plans to expand to dinner in the coming months), the menu offers such delights as brioche French toast with citrus salad and orange blossom crème fraiche; Armenian breakfast pizza with pastirma, kasseri cheese and egg; hot pressed flat breads filled with lamb and pistachio meatloaf or roasted pumpkin; and a range of delicious baguettes, soups and salads.

The Olie&Ari team also operates a small retail space in the café filled with Spacecraft products, as well as a soon-to-be-opened function space for intimate dining events.

Olie&Ari
133–135 Were Street,
Brighton
(03) 9592 2929

Hours
Mon to Sat 7am–5pm
Sun 7am–4pm