Tucked away in a small lane in the centre of Melbourne city is this little gem. This café is hidden behind two big wooden doors, which when opened, reveals a warm and cosy café.

The interior of the café is filled with history – from the exposed wooden walls, to the use of an old lift car to create a dining booth, to the scattering of old machinery parts in various parts of the café. The kitchen is an open kitchen where customers can see the chefs busy at work.

This café is named after Schulim Krimper, a famous furniture maker, which we presume the owners of this café have great admiration for. However, we did not notice any furniture inside the café that were designed by Krimper.

Upon walking into the café for lunch, we were greeted by friendly staff who quickly sat us down and gave us our menus.

The coffee ($3.80 for white or $3.50 for black) served here was from Proud Mary, and the house blend had a nutty flavour that was brewed to perfection.

The dish that every table ordered was the Beef Parmentier ($21), which was slow cooked beef, on a bed of mashed potato with red wine jus. When the dish came to our table, we understood why. The presentation of this dish was very nice, with everything stacked up in a neat and orderly manner. The inclusion of salt on the side of the plate was a nice gesture. The meat was soft and tasty, with infused flavours of onions and carrots, which literally just melted in our mouths. The mash was delicious – light, soft and fluffy. This is a must try dish for anyone who visits this café.

We also ordered Mr Shank ($22), which was braised lamb shanks with paprika, cumin, coriander and chilli served with romesco sauce, squash, zucchini, currants, feta, spinach and salsa verde. The diverse mix of ingredients resulted in a very colourful presentation. The vegetables were well seasoned, but unfortunately, the lamb was overcooked which made it hard to swallow. However, the flavours of this dish were a delight to our palates – with a combination of different elements of sweet, spicy and nutty flavours all intermingled together.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable time at this café, and we will definitely be back next time to try the other items on the menu.

Krimper Café

Website: http://www.krimper.com.au

Address: 20 Guildford Lane, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9043 8844

Opening hours: 7am to 5pm, Mon to Fri; 8am to 4pm, Sat and Sun.

Accepts MasterCard, Visa and American Express