South of Johnston (aka SoJo): Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

March 2023 · 3 min read · Melbourne

SoJo is a nice little cafe/restaurant in Melbourne... a bit off the beaten path if you are tourist, but for us... a somewhat handy place to wait whilst a violin was in at a luthier's shop for some little maintenance. The name SoJo (or South of Johnston Street) is quite likely a similar play on words as the more famous SoHo district in the United States (that being short for South of Houston Street).

The Space

When you first enter the establishment, you are greeted with a sight that looks much like a bistro with well spaced out chairs and tables, a bar at the front and the kitchen placed to the back. In fact, I could see that there were quite a few people working at their tables in between the little young families on a morning outing.

In addition to the main indoor seating area, there are little enclosed areas in the sunroom and also off to a small garden. We found ourselves in a quiet corner of the sunroom area. Corners being a decent place to dump our bags and kill a couple of hours without feeling like you are in the way.

The Menu

Heh... I do love the design of their menus! However, I would argue that it was perhaps a bit too early in the morning (around 10am...) for a cocktail! I think those sorts of things are more to finish the day, rather than to start the day off!

However, a quick look through the menu gave us lots of interesting options for a brunch!

The Food

My wife opted for a sweeter breakfast/lunch than I did... going for a pancake stack with a berry compote. Quite tasty... but I was really quite happy with my choice which was...

... zucchini and corn fritters! This was served up with a slice of bacon and a poached egg. I'm still up in the air about poached eggs.... they don't quite feel right to me.... but I was really quite impressed by the very good cut of bacon, and the fritters were deliciously crunchy on the outside! Come to think of it...I think that this was the first time that I have had corn and zucchini fritters at all... and now, I seem to see it everywhere!

Ahhhh. and the coffee was pretty decent as well! Although, you are going to be hard pressed to find a bad coffee in Melbourne! I think I had about three of these flat whites in the couple of hours that we were using this table... anything to avoid feeling like you should be moving on!

The Experience

I wasn't really fond of the name of the place... but the food and atmosphere was top notch! I would definitely be visiting this place more often in the future, when I am in the area visiting the luthier anyway!

This is a perfect spot for families, or just have a quick catch up with friends... or just to kill a few hours with your partner! Great food, decent prices, and a nice friendly wait staff who aren't pushy and trying to get you out of the table as soon as possible!