Where: 20/2 Maddock Street, Windsor, Victoria, (t) 9078 5007
Typical prices: breakfast: $10, lunch: $10, entrées: $10, mains: $20-$30
Fully Licensed (and then some!)
Opening times: Wed-Fri: 4pm – 11pm, Sat-Sun: 8am – 12pm
Website: www.bohemiacafe.com.au
Highlights:
- dozens of world class beers
- hearty main courses
- happy hours: 16:00-19:00 for drinks, 16:00-18:30 for food
Having recently moved to Melbourne my diary has been jam-packed with new bars, cafes and restaurants to try out. I wonder if I tried a different one for lunch and dinner every day whether I’d make it round them all before I struggled to fit through the doors, but that thought is not going to stop me from trying.
One of the cafes in Windsor that I have occasionally been dropping in to is the new Bohemia Cafe run by established head chef Viktor Sallay (Brighton Savoy Hotel, Hungarian kitchen at the Newmarket Hotel) and his business partner David Buchler. As with their other restaurant, Budapest restaurant and palinka bar, the aim of Bohemia is to deliver authentic Hungarian and European food and drink to the hungry and thirsty people of Melbourne. And they certainly deliver on this promise!
When he’s not needed in the kitchen, Viktor can often be seen at the tables in front of this tucked-away restaurant or hovering around the bar offering advice or conversation about the food and drink of his native Hungary. Having lived in Eastern Europe myself I can say that the best of the cuisine and beers are perfectly represented in Bohemia, whether you drop in for a delicious breakfast bagel topped with scrambled eggs and hollandaise sauce, a more substantial meal of stuffed schnitzel or goulash, or just want to try some of their expertly selected beers.
The menu evolves in complexity and variety as the day goes on but stays true to the restaurant’s European theme. The breakfasts served at the weekend combine the traditional bagel with a variety of accompaniments such as eggs, bacon, sausages, and much more if you’re feeling particularly hungry. There are simple lunchtime dishes; goulash, schnitzel, and salads or daily specials such as pastas. The evening choices, some of which are discounted during happy hour, include starters such as deep fried camembert which is crumbed with a crispy and crunchy coating served with csiki dipping sauce made from mayonnaise, beetroot, apple, onion and mushroom which complements the flavour of the cheese excellently. There are also the cevapcici skinless sausages which are well spiced and char grilled to give them an authentic flavour. The mains include a perfectly cooked half-duck with an abundance of moist meat and delicately flavoured crispy skin served with a heap of peasants’ mash and red cabbage and many signature stuffed schnitzels. The goulash is also perfectly prepared with a delicious creamy paprika sauce and Hungarian nokedli dumplings, and although the meat could have been of a higher quality I think this would have detracted from its authenticity!
To accompany these dishes is a selection from a drinks menu even longer than their food listing. This includes a good variety of wines and spirits (including several types of slivovitz, palinka, and absinthes) but it is in the choice of beers that this part of the menu really excels. On tap is Krusovice – a flavoursome Czech bitter lager, and Shofferhofer – an aromatic and fruity German wheat beer with undertones of banana. In addition to these are a large variety of bottled beers from all over Europe. Notable highlights include the multi award winning Krusovice Cerny for fans of a full flavoured dark beer, and Svijany, a classically produced Czech pilsner with no preservatives.
And if you have any room left after all that – a position I am yet to be in – I am told that the pancakes are pretty good as well!
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