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.