El Mirage

The best eggs in Brunswick!!! This place seriously does amazing poached eggs! I tried the special which today was a hommus, avo, basil, tomato with poached eggs dish, it was sooooo delicious and cooked to perfection (runny eggs) !! This café is comfortable and cool, without the typical over-​styled pot plants and crappy vintage dusty trinkets, it’s just very sleak, with great food and an unpretentious crowd

It took me a few months of living near El Mirage to realise that it wasn’t a part of East Elevation, or wasn’t actually East Elevation itself. Who needs to read things on signs, hey? To be fair, neither are particularly well signed, both share a common wall, and and El Mirage is set back from the street far enough that it seems like an additional space to somewhere else.
Anyway, enough of what it isn’t. What El Mirage is, is a great little café that is deceptively larger than it looks and I really wish I had gotten to sooner. We came for a Monday morning breakfast and were greeted by friendly staff who were very helpful with my wife’s vegan order (there was nothing vegan on the menu). Being a Monday, we were almost the only ones here, but I have seen it quite busy on weekends here.
I ordered the Gringo, which, like the café, was larger than expected. Thick toast, perfectly poached eggs, delicious spicy mexi-​beans, bacon and home fries made for one tasty meal! Leisha picked a few items from the menu and ended up with a plate as large and delicious at own and we both left here stuffed full and barely able to manage more than a waddle.

Great coffee, lovely spacious open-​plan escape from the heat. Lovely menu with some good vegetarian options– I had a Rosti which came with a really delicious side salad & good value at $ 11.50. Some of the other stuff was a little on the pricey side but that’s getting pretty standard unfortunately so it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Very nice staff too.

This café reminds me of 1940s army barracks meets vintage sleeper train.
You might easily miss this café as it’s located at the back of a dark stained wooden deck, and so it simply camouflages into its Brunswick surroundings.
Wooden ceiling and dark floor, the décor is minimal, but stylish. Noticeably, there’s a striking contrast between the use of greens and browns from the water bottles to the ceiling. Fitted out with seats that resemble school chairs and patterned wallpaper, it’s a quaint place to find yourself.
The menu’s not as inventive as some of its neighbouring cafes, but it’s still good and not as hectic as other places.
Unfortunately, they don’t have Eftpos of credit card facilities, which is quite annoying.

A brief look around the Internet and you would come to the conclusion that El Mirage is run by people with an attitude that is not suited to the hospitality trade. Yet I’ve been here on numerous occasions and never experienced the rude service that people speak of.
Last time we were there was in a decent sized group. it was packed (not uncommon — it still seems really popular despite the negativity), we had to wait 10 – 15 mins for a table but the staff kept giving us updates that it wasn’t too long etc. The service once we were seated was really friendly too.
The menu is very simple but offers a number of good options. Their Slim Jin, Gringo and classic Benedict are all very good, as is the coffee.
I don’t come to El Mirage as often as before, having moved out the area. But would still come regularly if I did.

El Mirage is located in a very open space venue set slightly behind the buildings lining Lygon Street. With wooden everything, including a wooden wall that covers the ceiling, it is minimal in design. The allusion to a mirage is probably associated with it being so far back — is it really there? When riding, I tend to go past it. I always question where it actually is so perhaps the name is fitting.
Having lived only 5 minutes away from El Mirage, it was my go to for brunch and coffee. Although the menu is not the most exciting menu, they do everything well and it tastes great. My favourite is the Gringo, poached eggs, bacon, beans, and home fries ($ 16.50). They have decent coffee, but nothing to write home about.
Although the service can be a little slow, especially on a busy Sunday afternoon, I’ve enjoyed my overall experience here.

Set back on the block with a wooden deck like no other on Lygon Street, El Mirage’s surprising interior can put a few off. The openness of the place is the first thing to hit you. The kitchen is off to the back, the coffee making along one side of the room. Most of this is on view, working to a strength of the place. The polished concrete does echo every single sound of the place, and on the odd occasion when their isn’t music playing it can feel like a strange factory. Best are quiet days on the deck, but traffic does come into play and disturb your enjoyable coffee. Simple menu, well priced. Can’t ask for much more really.

El Mirage was started up by the people behind Small Block, which is good sign, and it means you know you’re going to get a good breakfast and great coffee. This was certainly my experience of it sometime ago. On recent visits though, and I believe El Mirage is now run by people other than the original owners and has been for some time, the café has lost some of its lustre.
The breakfasts are still hearty and tasty, and I continue to love the tex mex beans forever and a day, but on my most recent visit, I found plastic wrap amongst the beans, which was pretty off-​putting. And the coffee… well, I sent my first coffee back, a soy flat white, because it tasted of soy and not much else. They were very nice about it though and were quick to bring me a second cup, which was ok — I could taste the coffee but it wasn’t hot enough.
I probably should give it another chance, everybody gets it wrong every now and then, but with new cafes being born every minute in Melbourne, I’m not sure when I’ll find the time or motivation to go back.