Hubby and I were really taken by Einstein’s Relative when we went there for lunch earlier this week. It’s a small-ish cafe in the heart of South Yarra, essentially adjacent to the South Yarra train station down Yarra Street. The service is superb, exuding an energetic vibe which I haven’t seen in a long time. Don’t be fooled by their compact work station. What we ordered came out with a punch and tasted – rather healthy – I mean that in the best possible way!!
We didn’t get to try their “brilliant coffee” which many diners have raved about – simply because we were already highly caffeinated by lunch time that day. But we did try out one of their smoothies…
Brazillian Super Smoothie – acai berry, yoghurt, apple juice, banana, honey & granola, topped with coconut ($8)
It was really good.
And although they serve breakfast all day (love!), we went for items on their lunch menu…
Relative Chicken Salad – grilled chicken with shredded cabbage, carrot, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, crunchy corn tortilla, cucumber & tomato with a spicy smokey chilli dressing ($16.50)
I ordered this but interestingly as soon as I added a little salt, my husband LOVED it! The seeded sourdough on the side was so darn tasty as well.
Banh Mi – slow cooked pulled pork challah roll with Vietnamese slaw, chilli & coriander ($15.50)
Do you agree it’s rather creative (or a little cheeky) to team challah with pork? Well we did. That controversial quirk aside, once you wrap your head around the fact that it’s definitely not a traditional banh mi but rather a pork roll, it tastes really creamy & delicious… and like I mentioned earlier – it somehow feels healthy! The thinly sliced chilli adds a lot of flavour but not too much spice. A dish worth trying for sure.
Take a trip to South Yarra if you’re not there already to check out this new cafe. Producing food and drink of this calibre – it’s definitely got to be here to stay.
EINSTEIN’S RELATIVE
1/9 Yarra Street
South Yarra VIC 3141
03 9078 9801
de-brief me 
Cute name! The building looks familiar – did it used to be some other cafe? I haven’t been down Yarra St for a while…
Apparently it used to be a cafe called the Outpost – though I never went there. Einstein’s Relative is the second cafe by the owner of Einstein’s 251 in Caulfield and has a really cool vibe about it. I really wish I still lived in South Yarra!! x