Brunswick Blog

The crew who brought us ‘The Glass Den’ in Coburg have now revealed a venture that has been 20 months in the making...

Project281 is an immaculately designed warehouse conversion café adorned in greenery. It feels like it was plucked straight out of our dreams & we warmly welcome the newest residence on Albert St in Brunswick.

From one Northside local to another, here’s the truth: this place has spared no detail in its pursuit to delight your senses.

When we first walked in last week during our lunch-break our eyes widened as they took in the surroundings which were carefully curated by award-winning architects ‘Splinter Society’ (same guys behind the fit-out at Howler). From the gigantic tower of concrete drain pits overflowing with greenery to the gorgeous exposed-aggregate front counter. When we looked up massive Victorian-era style black steel chandeliers stretched across the ceiling & to soften the space there were white subway style tiled walls & burnt orange couches. Simultaneously while taking this all in we overheard a waiter talking about their 50-square herb garden, sure enough, as we walked on in there it was floating on the mezzanine.

The next impact was one that tickled our noses…as we were seated & ordered a ‘Triple Hot Chocolate’ (that one was for me) & Sanji one of our Property Managers ordered the ‘Kawaii’ smoothie we started looking at the plates of those sitting beside us. “Sorry to interrupt, but that looks amazing what did you order?...” “Oh my god, it’s delicious you have to order it, it’s the Soft Shell Crab Okonomiyaki”. Soon enough we had a bowl of sweet potato chips in the middle of us, Sanji had the soft shell crab & I was digging into the Cured Salmon Poke bowl. Everything was delicious.

The menu does have a Korean/Japanese twist to it but for the breakfast purists among us you can still get your bacon & eggs with any sides you like. There’s also a simplified menu for the kids too.

Another thing we loved about the menu is half of it was vegan/plant-based, so if you consider yourself a health-conscious eater, you’re going to find it hard to pick just one thing from this menu.

When it comes to coffee they aren’t mucking around either with an in-house roastery—Founder Coffee Co—and running it is ‘master roastress’ Anne Cooper. Anne even sources her beans from a women-run farm in South America.

+If all this in Brunswick wasn’t already exciting enough, they’re talking about opening for dinner too & introducing a rooftop bar later in the year. Seriously, don’t you just loveeeee Brunswick?!

Other Notable Perks:

• They use HuskeeCup is a recycled and environmentally friendly solution to traditional ceramic and glass coffee vessels (AND look how stylish they are too, pictured above)
• They offer 1/2 price coffee to any emergency service workers on duty and in uniform during trading hours. (ambulance/fire/police)

What the locals are saying:

Sensational Japanese inspired food filled with great vibes. An architecturally designed cafe in the heart of Brunswick .... will see you again!!!!! - SOFIE SAMARAS

 

This cafe is amazing! The space was incredible, really nice balance between the industrial look and colour from the plants. Heaps of vegan options as well which was great to see. The coffee was awesome its really tasty and hit the spot. The eggs Benedict was incredible it deserves to be in an NGV exhibit.

Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu. - ALEX DELLIOS

What can I say but WOW!! Coffee is absolutely on point and the food has you drooling before it leaves the kitchen! - COURTNEY CJ JONES

 

Visit Project281 at 281 Albert Street, Brunswick & check them out  on Facebook & Instagram to be the first to know:

And in reference to the title of this blog-post title, some of our best friends live Southside & much to our surprise we got texts last week saying “Brunch your side of town next week? Need to try Project281” We all went on the weekend & safe to say our Southside friends will be coming back to North again very soon. #northsidelove 

Big Love, The R&H Brunswick Team Xx

 

Photography via Broadsheet by the incredible Pete Dillion