Ici Cafe

I have to say this is one of my local favourites! It took me a while to become awakened to the quiet existence of Ici. A small rustic, country style café, Ici a likely spot to find me on a Saturday morning catching up with some friends. The staff are always friendly, the coffee is great and the prices are reasonable; everything I look for in a good café. Another thing I love about Ici is that it is somewhat hidden so it doesn’t have that same rush some of the cafés on Brunswick street do. Only the local Fitzroy folk know about this beauty!

Very quaint café to have a coffee in on a quiet morning. There are baked items in the little glass case as well as a variety of food items written on the chalkboard wall. I wish I got to try some of the lunch options, which all seemed to focus on local and organic ingredients. Delicious soy flat white!

In a nice location on a tree lined street in Fitzroy. The premises are a bit of a squeeze but it’s more cozy than cramped. Really nice food — I recommend the French toast and the autumn eggs — and some consistently great coffee.

Off the beaten track but still very busy. Great coffee and pastry, also a very good French toast. A bit expensive for café fare but worth it.

A cute european-​style corner café with a cool, hipster attitude. Menu options are very interesting and the food is great with coffee to match.

I love this little hidden gem of a café. I found this place when I was looking for parking to go to Brunswick St, needless to I never actually made it to Brunswick St on this particular day.
I had the French toast which had been soaked for just the right amount of time and came with berries and a mascarpone that I could not get enough of. The coffee is fantastic, strong and creamy. The best part is the warm atmosphere, few cafes will come close to the feeling of being truly satisfied with your surroundings as ICI makes you feel.

ICI is the café you wish you had near your house. A cosy place to laze, a young and friendly team of staff who know the names of all the locals, really good coffee and wholesome brekkie and lunch items with a bit of twist. The porridge is worth a murder — a large portion with spiced blueberries, halva, pistachios and yogurt (at least that’s what was in it when I had it there, but I’ve been told by friends that it changes with the season). They also do a mean (100% pure and freshly squeezed) blood orange juice.
The building itself is a black stone fortress on the corner of Napier St and Kerr St. It’s the kind of house you’d expect to see in an old English film where a young woman has to tend to her dying grandmother between milking the cows or something. But that adds to the charm — and a morning is slapped with charm when you spend it sitting in the window staring out at the Fitzroy backstreets or in the sun out on one of the footpath tables.
The baked goods at the counter are mighty tempting: muffins, brownies, other things in French.

Ici’s this cute little hidden café on Napier Street and acts as a real alternative to all the wank and look-​at-​me-​ism of many Fitzroy cafes. Given the volume of many cafes in the area, Ici acts as a little quiet hidey hole, in the heart of the madness, but with a mind of its own.
Occupying an old blue stone building, the place exudes an old time charm that separates it from the pack. There are a few tables outside but the real beauty of Ici lies within…
It’s like a little cave in there. It’s cool in summer and warm in winter and everything about the place is just understated and well styled. The décor is timber and black, the staff are well presented and the service is excellent. This may sound a little stuck up, really it’s more unobtrusive; you won’t be bothered here, it’s unlikely you’re gonna make any friends, you’ll probably just get a great breakfast and a perfect coffee and be left to your own devices. Bliss.

Ici is the ultimate, super-​cool café of Fitzroy — teeny-​tiny, just off Brunswick street, and constantly filled with Fitzroy’s self-​proclaimed Fitzroyalty.
On any morning of the week, you’d be likely to see local fashion designers, TV presenters, the Northside hipsters and maybe even an international supermodel or two (seriously.)
These guys are famous for their over-​the-​top chai lattes, brutal Bloody Marys and sensational home made preserves, so if you are looking for the ultimate hangover cure, Ici is where you will find it.
The staff are young and gorgeous, and the charmingly loud-​mouth owner will be sure to make you feel welcome. Make sure you get your coffee fix from the curly-​haired barista — if you like your lattes strong, he’ll make sure you don’t sleep for a week.

Ici started to represent everything i loved and hated about Fitzroy.
The food is great, the ingredients are fresh and locally sourced, and the décor is comfortable and chic, like a streetside Parisian café. Everything you’d expect from a Fitzroy coffee shop.
Well what bothers you? you might ask. well im afraid its the clientele these places attract. The new age hippies who like the place because «they use west blue mountain organic spun honey», or the trendy hipster wait staff that done see the position as a job, but more a chance to flirt with the the equally vacuous and uninteresting patrons while discussing what a tragedy it is in Myanmar while mentally undressing each other.
Often i have said that alot of place would be great with out the people, and this is on of them.
They make a killer cheese and ham toasty, if you can resist the urge of throwing it at someone.