Tucked away in Balwyn is Mr Hendricks Cafe, a new favourite with the locals, where it serves up delicious French influenced food. A selection of pastries and baked goods are available, and with plenty of seating inside their clean and beautifully designed dining area courtyard.
We had a seat in the courtyard, which is dog friendly to those with pooches. Their courtyard is tiered, separated by plenty of potted herbs growing in the industrial style wood planters.
With a wide selection of coffee and teas on offer, I chose the Supermint pot of tea which was great for a warm pick me up on a cold Melbourne weekend.
We went as a large group and ordered a selection of dishes from all day breakfast menu and lunch from 11:30am. Mr Curious started off with a latte, which he found well balanced and to his liking, then proceeding to a cappuccino.
Our friend Mr D. had his usual order of the Mr Hendricks Beef Burger with tomato, lettuce, onion, cheddar, mayonnaise on a brioche bun with a side of their addictive rosemary fries ($19.50). Served with pickles on the side and relish, D. thought the burger was juicy and flavoursome.
Miss W. had the Waffles served with banana and nutella ($9.50). I was too far down the table to try some of the waffles, but with a pot of warm nutella to drizzle over the fresh banana and waffles it looked like a yummy dish.
Someone also ordered a bowl of Mr Hendrick's addictive Rosemary Fries ($6.50) as a side, crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, they were hard to resist even though we were eating brunch.
Miss L. ordered the Grain Salad with poached salmon, mint, cucumber and candied yoghurt ($19.50), super healthy looking, it also is tossed through with quinoa, lentils and raisins to give it great flavour and texture.
Mr S. ordered the free range scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with lots of extras ($10.50 + extras).
Mr G. ordered the Breakfast Cassolet ($19) with confit duck, toulouse sausage, persillade, fried eggs, served with potato hash and sourdough toast. The duck was cooked well, and the meat was tender and had hearty flavours.
I had a difficult time choosing between the breakfast cassolet and the soft shell crab burger, but in the end I chose the Tempura Soft Shell Crab Burger with fennel, radish, cabbage and kewpie ($16.50). I am a fan of soft shell crab, and this one is no exception, the crab was lightly battered and was crunchy, soft inside and not overly oily. The thinly shaved fennel and red cabbage matched well with the kewpie mayo filling, and I enjoyed this dish a lot. A little sad looking sitting on the plate by itself, the side of rosemary fries goes really well with this burger.
Mr Hendricks is serving up fantastic dishes made well, with a great crew on board to create a lovely atmosphere, Mr Hendricks is a great place to catch up with friends and enjoy a variety of dishes to suit everyone. Also, they do bookings for tables of 6 or more!
Mr Hendricks
469 Whitehorse Rd
Balwyn VIC 3103
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