Mr Tulk
Editorial
The world's best libraries exist to nourish the culture; not the culture's stomach. As such, a reader's onsite dining options generally come courtesy of a vending machine. But, heck, this is Melbourne where we demand good coffee and table service even, and especially, if we are engaged in serious research. It is our love for cafes, and our particular love for cafes set in improbable surrounds, that produced the noble, aesthetically grand Mr Tulk.
The Mr Tulk blend of coffee here is well-rounded and well-prepared. The library food has nothing whatsoever in common with its vending machine ancestors and breakfast is a particular highlight. Order, as many do, the Melbourne staple avocado on toast, and remember how good something so simple can taste.
This is, of course, providing you're prepared to wait. After a few years of business, Tulk is yet to refine its operation. Augustus Tulk, the nineteenth century librarian for which this place is named, is needed to catalogue the coffee system.
One gets the feeling that this place is pretty pleased with itself. Would you like an order of irony with your whitebait, Madam? Don't mind if I do. This joint has that keenly self-aware feel that courses through the cafes of the city.
SM King, October 2010
User Feedback
Your Feedback
1 User review (add yours)