The Hardware Societe

I just keep coming back for more.

My introduction to Hardware Societe and subsequent interest in it stemmed from a travel guide book. It was in February 2012 that I made my first trip to Melbourne, and on the last day, I decided to have brunch there and that was how I was acquainted with its Baked Eggs with Chorizo. There is just something so comforting about this artery cholesterol clogging dish – but my review today is not focused on this.

My subsequent visits to Melbourne for a retreat in 2013 and my recent house-hunting trip in early April led me back to this familiar ‘sacred’ ground – and on both occasions – it does not take a genius to guess what I would order.  

Now back to Hardware Societe. It is located on Hardware St, accessible via Little Lonsdale St or Lonsdale St. In fact there a lot of other eating establishments on Hardware St and Hardware Lane – and some offer decent and good brunches – including Silo by Joust – just opposite Hardware Societe. There’s a lot of hype about this place. It’s an institution. It’s a must go to place for any breakfast and brunch aficionados. It is ranked #7 on Tripadvisor out of the 3000 eating establishments in Melbourne. It has garnered 90% like ratings on Urbanspoon and an overall rating of 8.1 on Eatability. It’s probably a much go place for any tourist [I won’t dare to say the same for a local Melburnian]. There are long arching queues especially on weekends [not really snaking but you get the drift]. Some critics may think this place is overhyped, but to me, this is the place to go to if you want an eclectic choice of options for brunch or you want an introduction to the brunch culture of Melbourne/Australia.

Meanwhile on my third visit, I spied a fellow diner sitting next to be at the communal table tucking into a Fried Brioches with Roasted Peaches, Lavender Panna Cotta and Sable Crumbs. I just knew that I had to have that one of the days.

So after a horrible Wednesday evening and night with no electricity due to a screw up which was totally not my fault, I wanted something to cheer me up and here I was, back at Hardware Societe.

It didn’t take long to get a seat for one on weekdays in this non-industrial look place [stands out in the often industrial chic décor in Melbourne]. Service was rather prompt today and I received my coffee and meal not long after.

In terms of coffee palate, I’m still pretty much untrained. My latte today is decent and comes with a mini-donut of sorts. To be frank, I don’t think coffee is the biggest selling point of this place – it’s about the food. Also I saw quite a number of people order the hot chocolate.

So I deviated from my usual order of baked eggs to go with the Fried brioche. And frankly I wasn’t disappointed. The brioche while crispy on the outside, was moist in the inside. It had a soft sponge, airy texture that had soaked up the egg mixture. If you don’t like eggs and I guess cream, this dish isn’t for you. And one slice of thick brioche is more than enough to make one feel full.

The panna cotta had a nice and bright infusion of lavender while the roast peaches was still apparently a little chilled and not overly sweet. Neither the roast peach nor the panna cotta is meant to be eaten on its own, but together with the fried brioche and the sable crumbs which landed an extra crunch and mouthful to the dish. This balances up the heaviness of the egg and cream mixture. Overall, I didn’t find this dish to be overly sweet.

For now, I would continue to hunt for other breakfast/brunch spots in Melbourne. I would definitely return to Hardware Societe in the future to try out the other food options and maybe the hot chocolate.