Melbourne’s ever-evolving sandwich scene continues to be a source of constant joy for me – truly, it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Lame jokes aside, we recently checked out Golden, a brand-new toastie and coffee bar in the CBD that’s backed by a couple of well-respected Melbourne hospitality veterans. Found in the lobby of Collins Place, it’s ideally located for a breakfast on the go, a lunchtime escape, or a casual business meeting away from the office. Whatever reason brings you through the doors, the one thing you need to know is that the toasties here are seriously banging.
Golden is a marriage of cheese and coffee, co-founded by Jackie Middleton – who also runs EARL Canteen and all-day dining spot Dame – and Hakim Halim, who founded all-Aussie cheese brand RIPE. With Jackie heading up the coffee operations and Hakim picking the perfect cheese, they’ve created a menu of six superb toasties, and one of Melbourne’s most interesting coffee menus to boot.
By way of research, we picked two of the six available toasties to try. First up, the breakfast-style Cacio EGG Pepe, inspired by the classic pasta dish and filled with cheese, egg, and topped with a drift of pecorino and a memorable zing of black pepper. It’s one hell of a way to kick off your day, but for my money though, the Eggplant Dengaku is the way to go. Roasted eggplant meets red miso, mozzarella, and cheddar, with that miso flavour really amping up the savouriness of the toastie, and the cheese oozing in the most satisfying way possible.
As for the coffee, you’ll find all of Melbourne’s favourite options here, but Golden is a spot where you’ll want to look beyond the long black. The ‘alt-caffeine’ menu brings an intentional international flavour to the café, boasting the likes of the Golden Yuzu (cold brew, yuzu, and coconut water) and the Tiramisu Cheese Latte, which adds boba, chocolate, and cream cheese to cold brew coffee for a memorable pick-me-up. Try the Aerocano too; it’s a black coffee steamed over ice for an aerated, lighter drink that looks suspiciously like a Guinness.
Golden’s opening is pretty perfect timing as Melbourne slips slowly into winter, and given that the toasties feel like a warm bearhug, you’ll want to make a beeline before the cold sets in!