John Gorilla

ANTHROPOLOGISTS are big on apes, and John Gorilla is another case study. It's a new member of the species Cafeteria hipsteriosa, run by anthropologist Joanna Wilson and her husband, photographer Nic Kocher.

So the story goes, ''John'', a gorilla, was bought from a London department store in 1918 and shipped to New York, where he lived in an apartment as a family pet.

In some ways, John Gorilla is its own anthropological experiment, with part of the cafe's costs paid by crowd funding. Wilson posted on online fund-raising platform Pozible, and within four days people had pledged $3000, with $6822 reached in total.

Maybe it's John Gorilla's geography, on a backstreet that's a hike from the nearest cafe. Maybe it's the ''ownership'' factor felt by many of its new Pozible pledgers, or maybe it's Wilson's pedigree, one of the original owners of beloved Middle Park cafe Mart 130. Whatever it was, John Gorilla was chockers from day one.

It's a double-fronted, big-windowed space with an astroturfed and bricked courtyard out the back and a handful of footpath tables. Rulers (vintage commercial ones) are the dominant design feature.

Designer Beci Orpin did the mural and the cushions, Wilson did the lights and there are smart navy banquettes, lots of fresh flowers, plywood tables and ubiquitous ex-school chairs.

Shane Beazley has designed a cracking menu - well organised, not too limited and with clear groupings to suit all occasions. There's a whole section on sandwiches - an open steak sanger with curls of parsnip chips and house beetroot relish; egg and bacon on brioche; and the roast chicken (at $14, perhaps a couple more pieces of meat might be good) with old-fashioned sage stuffing, a good smear of garlic aioli, spring onions, lettuce and thick rounds of tomato on a focaccia-style roll.

Soft, runny poached eggs come on top of an excellent chunky hash of roasted russet potatoes (in season) and a fry-up of kaiserfleisch, cabbage, sherry and shallot. Understandably, they're a big seller.

Hearty lunches include a generous baked salmon fillet with buttery rice cooked in chicken stock and thyme, and a pot of remoulade that's perfect for dunking steamed green beans. Nutty, cakey chocolate brownie and Padre coffee are good, too.

A few little things - the hollandaise was split on my visit; plates were cleared while others at the table were still eating; there was no toilet paper in the loos (hate that); and no bill, which meant having to recite your order at the register. Small problems and early days - they're not monkeying around. This is one great ape.

nrousseau@theage.com.au

Where 49 Pearson Street, Brunswick West, 9005 8680
Prices Breakfasts, $6.50-$19.50; lunches, $11.50-$19.50; cakes and sweets, $3-$5
Cards MC V eftpos
Unlicensed
Open Daily, 7.30am-4pm
Website johngorilla.com
Cuisine Cafe