Stanley

Stanley opened in May, 2018, on the corner of its namesake Stanley Avenue and Ian Grove, on a quiet, mostly residential strip in the city’s southeast. It’s near the highly trafficked Scotchmans Creek Trail and is easily accessed by neighbouring suburbs such as Oakleigh.

Julien Moussi, the man behind a panoply of popular Melbourne cafes including Bentwood, Tinker and Clubhouse Malvern, purchased the building, formerly home to a milk bar, in 2016. He brought on interior-design firm Ritz & Ghougassian and began an overhaul of the site that took a year and a half.

The building’s bright white exterior makes it hard to miss and the typography design in the signage and on the menu pays homage to the building’s former life, with cues taken from Fantales and Minties wrappers.

There’s room for 60 inside the clean, linear space, largely decked out in blonde wood furniture and indoor plants. An outdoor courtyard has been designed to work in all seasons.

The menu features colourful favourites from Moussi’s other cafes, such as granola and acai bowls, and avo on toast, but new to the mix are chocolate waffles oozing with nutella, and a crunchy golden schnitzel with slaw heaped on top. Coffee comes from Moussi’s Inglewood Coffee Roasters, and those passing by with the dog can order from the takeaway coffee window.