Matilda Mont Albert

Jacinta Price opened Matilda in 2021 with mates Luke Pantalone and Andrew Carrazzo, drawing inspiration from her travels to France. The cafe and corner store is in a sleepy suburban pocket of Mont Albert North in Melbourne’s east, serving a mostly vegan menu of sandwiches and treats in a cute dusty-blue dining room (or outside under a line of yellow umbrellas).

There’s a variety of bagels to choose from – egg and bacon, haloumi, and smoked salmon – alongside a classic ham-and-cheese toastie; the Matilda toastie, which matches roasted pumpkin with kale, vegan feta and onion jam; and a baguette of the day.

In terms of treats, batches of apple cinnamon scrolls are made fresh each morning, with brownies and cakes (the hazelnut espresso cake is a bestseller) baked later in the day.

In the main dining room, you can order from Matilda’s main menu, which includes overnight oats with blackberry compote and coconut crumble; breakfast toast with soft-boiled eggs, lemon ricotta, dukkah and cherry tomatoes; and the Take Me to Paris set, featuring a mini bowl of oats, a croissant, jam and cultured butter, washed down with fresh orange juice and Inglewood coffee.

The rest of the cafe houses homewares from local makers such as Robert Gordon pottery, Make Scents of It candles, Emma Kate Co planners, vases from Marmoset Found, and Alignment affirmation cards.