Georgios has been there forever.  That is probably too grand a statement but I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t there.   During the years I have known it, it has remained the same and become an Armadale icon if not a Melbourne icon.  The decor is rather like a sophisticated cafe and doesn’t appear to have changed either over the years.  It is pleasant and relaxing and always buzzing. It’s a great place to meet friends – everyone knows it or if they don’t they can find it easily – the corner of High Street and Glenferrie Road opposite the Malvern Town Hall.

I worked in Armadale a couple of years ago and once a month we had a breakfast meeting in Georgios.  After a while we thought the food had gone off and we found other places. Thinking back I believe we needed a reason to explore other places – we wanted change.  Georgios had stayed the same.

Recently a friend said she was meeting her friend there and she would give me a report if I was interested.  I jumped at her offer.  “Yes please”, I said.    “I want to know: is the food still good?  Did you enjoy it?  What about service?  And why did you choose Georgios?

This is what my friend e-mailed to me.

“The reason we chose Giorgio’s is because it is well known which makes it a great meeting place. The atmosphere was humming without being too loud and the service was flawless.

The outside tables were not in use as it had been raining but you could imagine on a summer’s day they would all be full of life.

I had the warm spicy tea.

Then for my meal I had “avocado toast”  It was delicious. Two slices of honey and sesame toast with sliced avocado, topped with tomato and crispy bacon and a side of rocket and feta.

My friend had the egg-white omelette. This was on rye bread and the omelette was filled with feta and chopped tomatoes.  For an egg-white omelette she said it was very tasty. This came with a grilled tomato on the side”.

Giorgios has a dining area, a large outdoor terrace, wine bar, private function room and a semi-enclosed fully heated outdoor area.

Where:_
Georgios
1235 High Street, Armadale – on the corner of Glenferrie Road
Phone 9822 4664
Opening Hours:- every day from 7.00am to 1.00am

Getting there:-
Tram N0 6 to Glen Iris goes down High Street. Get off at the corner of High and Glenferrie.

Related posts:

1. Browsing High Street, Armadale & eating at Crust
2. Cakes and coffee at the Special Cake Shop – Chapel Street, Prahran
3. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street

Exploring an area of Melbourne is one of the joys of living in this city where no area is the same as its neighbour.  By exploring I mean wandering, drifting into shops and browsing through the merchandise.  It is not so much about  shopping as absorbing the atmosphere.

Armadale is antique shops, bridal shops and general fashion stores; some very exclusive and some different but not expensive, and galleries; there are a lot of galleries.  Veronica George Gallery has some beautiful glass – a passion of mine (see the post hot sculptured glass at the Kirra Gallery).

Armadale is traditionally elegant and restrained but a new comer has changed some of that.  Supply and Demand has come to the strip and it is large and painted orange.

Supply and Demand – High Street, Armadale

However it is not the first orange building in the area.  Armadale Angling  has been there for years but in a funny way it blended in.  Now with the orange painted Supply and Demand across the road it stands out and looks tasteless and garish.

Armadale Angling, High Street Armadale

We had no pre-planned place to lunch in Armadale.    We came upon Crust and knew it was what we were looking for – casual, with atmosphere.  Inside there are dark tables, a dark interior and a cosy fire giving it a European feel.   Outside (where we sat) there is a heavy clear plastic awning to make the most of the sun by protecting the tables from the chilly breeze and the traffic fumes -High Street in Armadale is busy on Saturday.  There were gas heaters too although they were turned off  later as the plastic sheeting collected the sun’s heat.

Saturday lunch at Crust, High Street, Armadale

This is a pizza place hence the name, Crust.  We discovered that Crust is a chain although I had never heard of it before.

They are unique in my experience by describing their pizzas as healthy.  The menu divides them in to categories – Traditional, Meat, Chicken, Seafood and Vegetarian. Then there is ‘Healthier Choice’ with the red heart tick.   Each item has a code by it to help with your healthy diet. For example ‘SR’ means that the sauce base is made from spinach and ricotta and ‘P’ is a pumpkin based sauce – there are others that you can check out if you visit.

We didn’t choose a pizza.  We selected the Vegetarian Calzone.  It was a good choice – delicious and it went very well with the Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc.
Vegetarian Calzone with an ‘SR’ base sauce is made with Spanish onions, feta, roasted tomatoes and the final touch that tipped it over the edged from okay to delicious; olives.

Vegetarian Calzone, at Crust

We ate, sipped our chilled wine, watched the locals and visitors strolling past from our  warm and sunny enclave and felt, at that moment, that everything was fine with the world.

Getting there:
Tram no 6 to Glen Iris runs along High Street.  A good place to get off to start exploring is the corner of High Street and Kooyong Road, stop 40 at the Armadale Station.

You can also catch a train to Armadale Station. It is on the Cranbourne, Frankston and Pakenham lines.  When you leave the station walk through the arcade. It’s full of interesting shops.

CRUST is at 1162 – 1164 High Street, Armadale Phone 9021 9999

Related posts:

1. Georgios-A meeting place at 1235 High Street, Armadale
2. Las Chicas, Balaclava, for breakfast still great eating in Melbourne
3. The Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street, South Yarra – good eating