Melbourne cafe Pope Joan gains Indian accent for PopeISH partnership

City cafe Pope Joan reopened last week after a COVID-induced coma. And like a person who rouses from an accident with foreign accent syndrome, Pope now speaks a whole new language – Indian. Introducing PopeISH, a collaboration with Fitzroy restaurant ISH that runs until February 26.

During COVID, ISH owner Ganeev Bains was struggling to keep up with delivery orders. He put a callout on a hospitality Facebook forum asking after spare kitchen space.

Pope Joan co-owner David Mackintosh (who also has a hand in Lee Ho Fook, IDES and SPQR), offered him the Collins Street ovens. When the British-leaning cafe reopened last week, the partnership continued.

"There's a very long and intimate relationship between Britain and India – not all of it good, obviously – but we thought there was a natural opportunity to bring the textures, flavours and ingredients together," says Mackintosh.

The PopeISH menu offers Indian breakfast followed by Indian-inspired sandwiches and burgers. Eggs come fried Kejriwal Bombay-style with truffle cheddar and spring onion, or as Punjabi bhurji scramble with spiced chilli, tomato and onion.

Lunch moves on to American-style brioche burgers with Chapli kebab patties and a Kashmiri chilli-tinged Amritsari "fillet o' ISH".

There's a masala fried chicken sando on shokupan (Japanese milk bread), but Pope's reuben remains. So too does the rice pudding, which appears on a dessert trolley alongside gulab jamun and Indian ice-cream by Nabil Ansari.

PopeISH is powered by Collingwood-based Fixation Brewing Co, known for its India pale ales. On Fridays between 4pm and 6pm a brewery rep will pour tasters in time for knock-offs (remember those?).

Open Mon-Thu 7am-4pm & Fri 7am-9pm until February 26.

45 Collins Street, Melbourne (enter via the Sofitel driveway), 03 9654 8545, popejoancity.com.