Glenhuntley Road: Rocleys

I'm lucky enough to live near a vibrant shopping strip in Melbourne called Glenhuntly Road. The road starts by the bay in Elwood, crosses the Nepean Highway into Elsternwick, carries on as a tram route through Caulfield and Glenhuntly, until finally reaching Carnegie. Along the length of Glenhuntly Road there are some great cafe's.

The Elwood end of Glenhuntly road has a small cafe and restaurant strip where I always seem to end up at the Patisserie, not for the coffee, but because the pastries and cakes are unbelievably good. Further down, near Elsternwick train station, there are a number of great cafe's and restaurants. The Artful Dodger, just across from the train station has probably my favourite coffee along the whole of Glenhuntly Road. Further into Elsternwick, it is more of a shopping strip, but that doesn't stop there from being loads more good places to eat and drink. If you like your coffee strong, then Cafe Loco, near the Orrong Road intersection is for you. Loco is mentioned in the good coffee guide for Melbourne and is always bustling. When I'm in Caulfield, I'll drop in to Mocha Green which is on the corner of Glenhuntly Road and Hawthorn Road, while Glenhuntly itself has Coffeemania which serves excellent coffee, and a great range of hot chocolates. And these are just the tip of the iceberg!

However, the place I go to most is Rocley's in Elsternwick. My long black coffee is good, with strength and consistency, but the coffee is not the highlight of the cafe. Ross and Lee cook everything on the premises, including great pastries (almond croissants are my favourites, and very good), fantastic pies and beautiful salads. There's art on the walls, music in the background, and friendly banter from the hosts. Ross has worked as a chef in Europe and tries to combine those characteristics with what is best from Australia.

Rocley's has a relaxed atmosphere even when the cafe is full. It has recently been decorated, making the ambience light and fresh. It is for me a very comfortable place to sit and read a newspaper or magazine that they have for customers, or just bring a book, or laptop and while away the hours. Then again, if I'm in a rush, then I know I can get quick service and good food at a reasonable price. I can choose to have hot food, like lasagne, or foccacia (cajun chicken is rather nice!), soup, or a bagel, or a salad, or something sweet and I know I won't be disappointed. And did I mention the almond croissants?

 Art on the wall, and friendly banter from Ross at Rocleys

A basket of tempting pastries, gives the cafe a European feel.