The Winey Cow
39A Main Street Mornington

(Visited November ’16)

Each time we drove past this place on the Main Street, we almost drooled with delicious envy. It wasn’t that we could actually witness the plates of food, or the creative coffee designs from our car windows: rather, it was the herds of people frequently overcrowding the front of this premises that told us that it was clearly a revered and local fave.

Herds. Pardon the pun.

So after Hubbie ventured there with baby girl whilst I was at work one day, and made me totally jelly when he sent me a photo of their coffee-babycino experience with the caption ‘it is the bomb,’ well we just had to go there together and get into some tucker.

Very conveniently, we rocked up to The Winey Cow the morning of Melbourne Cup day, and there was a car spot bang smack in front of the cafe. It’s like it was meant to be.

(Angels sing!)

We grabbed a spot at an outside table under one of their many brightly yellow umbrella’d tables, the strong wind toning any warmth from the day right down. It was cosy and packed, what with the public holiday and all, and soon we were placing our food orders.

I was pleasantly surprised when baby girl was brought a personal kids menu that could be coloured in, complete with a handful of pencils. Aww. And I didn’t even have to ask.

Soon after we received our meals. Baby girl’s Nutella on Toast

Hubbie’s Chilli Chorizo ‘something’ (I didn’t quite get the description but the photo pretty much says it all)

And my Winey Cow Benedict: corned beef, poached eggs, toasted English muffin, citrus hollandaise

Oh man. My mouth is watering just looking/thinking of it again. I loved my meal. It had texture, it had zest, creaminess, and the muffins were soft while the eggs were poached beautifully. I cleaned up my plate easily, however I did pass over a few several slices of my corned beef – I did enjoy it, but it was piled on, so I shared the love with Hubbie.

He too cleaned up his plate, evident of how great the meal was. I tried some of his chilli hashbrown, and it was amazing! Soft and spicy and creamy. Wow.

Baby girl loved her brekkie… but seriously, nutella? Show me a kid who doesn’t. My only gripe was that the toast she received was too damn hard, especially the crust. If it would cut my gums, what would it do to baby girl’s? We cut off the crust and managed somewhat to cut her toast into pieces so she could dip it into the chocolate-hazelnutty goodness.

We got some coffees to come right after our meal, and lucky we ordered them when we did, as it took some time to arrive with all the people brunching out. It was worth the wait:

 

Cappuccino, latte and babycino.

Can I just make a point of saying “I got a photo of baby girl’s babycino, and marshmallows were still in it?”

???

So, for once she held off while I said “wait!” for my mobile to go snap. My cap was strong and smooth, but it had a discernible taste upon the first few sips, something I couldn’t identify… not bad, just different. Their website states they have the best coffee, and it definitely was up there. But in Mornington, really we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to the bean.

We left the Cow with full udders and happily looking forward to our next visit here… this could very well be our regular paddock that we munch grass on.

Food: 9/10. Inventive, satisfying and fresh. If it weren’t for the overly crusty bread, full marks.

Coffee: 8.5/10. Smooth, strong, different.

Ambience: Laid-back beach vibe meets urban hipster meets upper-class ‘Peninsula types.’ The yellow umbrellas, and metal bordering the outside area and wooden tables scale it all back to an everyday accessibility.

Staff: Really friendly, actually amazingly so considering they were so busy. Very impressed with their genuine service.

People: Locals and out of towners. I should know. We used to be the latter, and now we’re the former. Generally a younger, kid-free crowd, but there were littlies too – they are welcome, hence the kids menu and pencils.

Price: $68.20 for our lot. Maybe a bit on the ‘up’ side, but man was it worth it. That’s what I want when I go out, that’s what I’m willing to pay for.

Advice: Head on over early and grab a table before it gets snapped up!

In a nutshell: Having now dined there several a many time since our first encounter almost a year ago, I can confidently say that this yellow burst of café sunshine will inhabit our lives dominantly… and with food, coffee and service this impressive, Udder cafes will have to try doubly hard to match this ensemble.

Okay. I’m done with the puns. Moooo-ving on.