Brother Baba Budan's multitudinous fans know one thing for sure; the coffee here is Jackson Pollock's bollocks. Weekdays are often full of 9-to-5ers enjoying some of the Brother's amazing coffee goodness under a perplexing canopy of hanging wooden chairs.
I'm going through a bit of a "I Love Melbourne" phase at the moment, despite the freezing weather. Normally I'd be all like, "Damn you Melbourne, I know you're all cultural and stuff, but no one really cares because we can't feel our hands or feet".
Once upon a time, there was bugger all good coffee to be had in this pocket of South Yarra. In fact Coffee Darling was probably the pick of a mediocre bunch and even that wasn't amazing. Well now there are three excellent options nearby: Crue, Outpost and The Final Step.
What would you say if I told you that there was a new cafe on Carlisle Street serving vegetarian food that was named after the Indian monk who introduced Zen Buddhism to China? You'd be like wow, sounds heavy man.