Having been there for lunch the last couple of days, I have to agree that the food is great. What I think is also worth mentioning though, is that the serving sizes are quite small. The $10 wagyu burger with tomato, lettuce, onion and a delicious piece of pickle in a brioche bun is very small, and will only represent a light lunch for most people.

Extras such as cheese and bacon cost upwards of $1.50 each, and can quickly make it an expensive proposition. The poached chicken quesadilla is a little more generous, and also a bit more interesting, with a good peppery hit, and some tang from the accompanying lime.

Tables are set with some really nice salsa, and a couple of different types of chilli sauce (red and green), which go well with beautifully cooked french fries ($3/$6).

I’ll certainly return, just not when I’m particularly peckish.

When you’re paying that much for a breakfast dish, it needs to either be very large, or very good quality, and preferably both. I don’t think the offering at Pope Joan ticks either box, although it’s not a complete failure either. The portion sizes are respectable, bar the single rasher of bacon, and it’s generally well put together.

Lets start with the positives. The free range eggs were some of the better scrambled eggs I’ve had at a cafe, the bacon was nicely crisp, the sausage was not too meaty or fatty to be enjoyed at breakfast time. I liked that the butter was quality, and arrived on the side.

(almost) full English breakfast from Pope Joan

Another problem, on this occasion at least, is service. It’s already incredibly popular, and there didn’t seem to be enough staff, which led to inconsistent service. We had to wait quite a while to get menus and orders taken, and our meals took about 30 minutes to arrive. I noticed at least a couple of people walking out without having eaten, presumably because of the slow service.

Whether or not they iron out the issues, given the location and the personnel behind it, I suspect that Pope Joan is going to remain popular regardless.

There is an exception though, and it’s Proud Mary (172 Oxford St, Collingwood). I’ve been here quite a few times, and coffees have ranged from good to amazing. And that’s just the espresso-based coffees, I’m yet to try the Clover or Syphon.

I haven’t eaten there much, but the food I’ve had was worthy of the coffee. Recently I tried the scrambled eggs on damper with onion jam, bacon, roasted tomatoes and pork & fennel sausages. The highlights were the tomatoes, which were nice and sweet, and the crisp bacon. Unfortunately the onion jam was as quite sweet – too much so, in my opinion. Fennel wasn’t overly obvious in the sausages, but they were still pretty good.

There’s always a danger with a place as popular as this that the staff will have a too cool for school attitude, but thankfully this is not the case here. They’re friendly, knowledgable and helpful.

Balkan Fresh Burek (351 High St, Preston) serves Macedonian style bureks, although I struggle to really distinguish the different types. There are three fillings to choose from, including meat, cheese, and spinach & cheese.

Your best bet is to simply order whatever is freshest, as they certainly taste best immediately out of the oven when the pastry is at its crispest. Alternatively choose one of the round style bureks, which are made-to-order.

On my most recent visit I had the Prosciutto Eggs, which, aside from the obvious, comprised roasted tomato, spinach and roasted tomato on corn bread toast. The prosciutto was flavoursome and crispy, the eggs were fresh and perfectly poached, and the roast tomato actually tasted like a tomato. Unfortunately the corn bread was dry and crumbly, and I suspect was baked in a bread machine.

Normally I have the excellent BLT with avocado. If George Calombaris tried this, he’d probably say that he’d “be happy to serve this dish” at one of his restaurants. He’d likely also call out the mayo as the “hero” of the dish, and I’d have to agree. It’s “beau-ti-ful”.

The chicken schnitzel wraps are pieces of pita bread wrapped around sliced pieces of schnitzel, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. While this which might not sound particularly special, thanks to the quality of individual components, the whole thing tastes amazing.

Equally delicious are the meatball wraps, which are a cross between a standard wrap and a piadina. The meatballs are nicely moist, and complemented by leafy greens, tomato, cheese, and a hit of lemon juice.

Although I rarely pass up the wraps, there’s are generally two or three salads to choose from, which look and taste fantastic.

The quality of the food is matched by the staff, who are some of the most helpful and genuinely friendly around.

I do wish they made better coffee, as I have yet to get a genuinely good one there. The only other negative is that they often sell out of the wraps, so get in by 1pm to be sure of getting one.

Once you get inside and see the huge collection of beer cans, it’s apparent that it’s not just a run-of-the-mill pub. There’s a large selection of bottled beers, as well as some non-standard beers on tap, including one of my favourite wheat beers, Erdinger.

It was food we primarily came here for though, and the menu provided a number of tempting choices. My girlfriend ordered the gnocchi with wagyu ragu, which was a mixed bag. The ragu was fantastic, with tender chunks of beef bathed in a wonderfully rich tomato sauce. Not so good was the gnocchi, which rather stodgy.

I played it safe and ordered a parma, which was both generously proportioned, and well cooked. The chicken was moist, and the parma elements – cheese, napoli and proscuitto – were balanced. Still, it was just a parma, and next time I’ll try something a bit more interesting from the rather lengthy and wide ranging menu.

It’s a good location, so long as they get the formula right, and from my first impressions, they’re well on the way. The coffee is well made, the prices are reasonable, and the food is promising.

I had the poached eggs with spiced tomato and beans ($12), which was a good dish without being amazing. My eggs were poached almost perfectly, but the toast was sliced a little thinly, and a bit burnt around the edges. The beans were a little watery, and thin in flavour.

My girlfriend had the confit tomato on toast with goats cheese ($10). While there was only one slice of toast, the ingredients were very good quality, which is important for such a simple dish, and it tasted great apparently.

Given the staff actually know how to make coffee, The Bell Jar shoes promise, and with a few tweaks could be a great cafe.

The newly opened Mamasita (level 1, 11 Collins St, Melbourne. ph 9650 3821) gives Melbourne another authentic option. There’s nary a burrito or enchilada in sight, as the folk running the show are at pains to point out. Instead the menu covers tacos, quesadillas and tostaditas, amongst other offerings.

On this occasion, the choices at the table were limited to tortilla chips and a number of different tacos. The tortilla chips were made in-house, and coupled with marvellously fresh salsa and guacamole, were delicious. At $8, they represented reasonably good value, given the serving size and quality.

Tacos were even better, at least in terms of taste. I chose a fish taco, a chicken taco and a lamb taco. All used soft (read: real) tortillas, and came with a very small amount of filling, each of which tasted very different. My favourite was the pulled lamb, which was served with shallots and mojo verde.

The problem was really with value for money. My three tacos set me back $16, which isn’t too bad given the quality, but I was still quite hungry after finishing up, as was the rest of the table following their meals. I’d barely classify it as a light lunch, making $16 very steep.

To be fair, we were warned about meal sizes, it was only the first week, and the manager was happy to listen the feedback. Still, I feel Mamasita, which doubles as a bar (with a good range of tequila) will struggle to attract repeat diners if they don’t improve the value for money.

Despite being fairly busy, it arrived quickly quickly. The pita bread was toasted, and was spread with what tasted like tahini and garlic sauce. Pickled turnip and a parsley provided great depth of flavour, with the latter also providing texture, as did the tomato and lettuce. Being a double, there was quite a lot of chicken, and it was perfectly cooked.

People rave about Kebab Station, up at the Coburg end of Sydney Road, but I think it’s Tiba’s that serves Sydney Road’s (if not Melbourne’s) finest kebab.