The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Just Open: Small Axe Kitchen, Brunswick

Nola James

Carbonara-like breakfast pasta at Small Axe Kitchen in Brunswick.
Carbonara-like breakfast pasta at Small Axe Kitchen in Brunswick.Wayne Taylor

Melbourne cafe culture meets Sicilian fine dining at new Brunswick eatery Small Axe Kitchen, a daytime project from husband-and-wife team Adam Pruckner and Kirstyn Tate with longtime friend Jas Singh.

Chef Pruckner is Code Black alumnus so he knows good brunch. He's drawing on his Italian heritage with a "not-rustic" menu featuring breakfast pasta, a carbonara-esque number combining tiny twisted maccaruni​ pasta with cubes of guanciale, a 63-degree egg, peas and salted ricotta.

There's some serious toastie action, too: thick slices of scamorza cheese sandwiched between Fatto a Mano sourdough, crumbed then deep-fried whole. "It's pretty dirty," Pruckner says. "You'll definitely need the pickle."

It's not just carbs. The menu features a substantial selection of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan meals, partly a reflection of their Brunswick clientele and partly Sicilian influence.

Advertisement

"We like to option things so you can add the meat afterwards," he says.

There are plenty of dining areas in the newly converted space (a one-time fish and chip shop and furniture store).

A side-facing courtyard gets plenty of sun, a street-facing "espresso bar" houses a custom three group La Marzocco and right up the back there's a 30-seat open-air dining room where Tate, Pruckner and Singh hope to host monthly family-style dinners when Pruckner's Italian mother and her sisters agree to join him in the kitchen. Let's hope they say yes.

Open daily 7am-4pm.

281 Victoria Street, Brunswick, 03 9938 6061, smallaxekitchen.com

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement