​Top Paddock @Richmond, Melbourne

Before the start of our day-trip to Philip Island, we needed to have some good breakfast!

Top Paddock has been the darling of breakfast places since it’s opening (Zomato, TripAdvisor, Yelp etc.), and so here we were!

We took Tram 75 from Flinders Street to East Richmond Station (Stop 11) and decided to take an easy stroll along the straight road past 4 tram stops to this place.

Having arrived around 7.50am, we were a bit early, but they had a section opened up for customers to wait. Strangely they open an hour later at 8am on weekends than on weekdays when they open at 7am.

At 8am, they showed us to our table, and we were ready to feast!

• Blueberry and Ricotta Hotcakes with Berries, Maple Syrup, Seeds and Cream (A$21): Very pretty hotcakes! Warm and sweet, this very thick and huge hotcake was perfect for sharing. No wonder this was raved as the best ricotta hotcakes in Melbourne!
• Fresh Queensland Soft-shell Mud Crab with a Fennel and Dill Salad & Lime Mayonnaise in a Brioche Bun (A$23): Very meaty crab, but it was really salty! The brioche bun was soft and sweet.
• Chilli Scrambled Eggs with Mornington Oyster Mushrooms & Goat’s Curd on Toast (A$19.50): This was not at all spicy, but the chilli gave an interesting twist to the goat’s curd. The scrambled eggs were slightly runny, and the Mornington oyster mushrooms were awesome!
• Grilled Broccolini with Avocado, Toasted Almonds, Poached Eggs & Heidi Raclette on Toast (A$19.50): Broccolini is a natural hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan, and J said it was pretty decent, and the egg yolks were runny!
• Latte (A$4): Smooth and mildly acidic. Not bad at all.
• Iced Coffee (A$4): This was more acidic!
• Hot Chocolate (A$4): This was the richer and sweeter type. I still prefer the milkier versions.

Service was rather inconsistent. Although the staff who brought us to our table and the one who took our orders were all smiling at 8am, they couldn’t get our orders right. One set of scrambled eggs came early but not the other. We had to chase for it when the rest of the orders started coming in. They also got our drinks mixed-up, and service was kinda slow. It was a good 30 mins wait before our first beverage arrived and 50 mins before all our food came in.

The place was also super popular. By 8.30am, it was already pretty packed! And by the time we left, there was a good queue forming outside. So an advice to those who wants to try, be there early so that you can get the first seating. And order fast, so that the kitchen can get your food out fast!