Gritty Melbourne Cafes

Manchester Press Entrance

A factory finish with tasty bagels

For those who have gallivanted the Melbourne streets before, the locals would have told you that when you venture into the city "you gotta explore the alleys".  Okay, you may get sick of hearing it, but if you really want the best that the city offers its worth getting your maps out (or actually not, just stumble about) and take their advice.  Melbourne has some of the best, if not the best underground and hidden cafe,bar and restaurant gems in the world.  Walking around the hustle and bustle of the main malls, you wouldn't know that just hidden behind the main street stores are darkened, dingy and smelly alley, where the culture rats live. 

Okay, I didn't stumble across this one (I was taken) but Id like to think I would have stumbled across it anyhow...

The Manchester Press (Rankins Lane) is your quintessential designer Melbourne cafe and is quite new on the cafe scene.  It showcases what is now a style that you would expect from most many cafes in Melbourne.  It is a style that is easily become the "Melbourne look" and despite seeing so many of this rustic, industrial and gritty interior styles throughout Melbourne, I am yet to tire of it.  Its almost a Melbourne cafe check list
 Disused industrial space - check
 Crumbling and rickety seating - check
 Industrial lighting (preferably with loosely hanging cabling) - check
 Unfinished walls - check
 Exposed ceilings - check
 Untreated floors - check
 Industrial storage - check
 tones of grey, black and white - check
 Weathered and Vintage woods - check


Although no longer a unique interior look, the whole industrial focus of many Melbourne cafes does still work.  Here, over sized industrial lights hang dustily over over shabby vintage tables that have seen better days. I couldn't quite put my finger on the history of the chairs, possibly school chairs or some sort of waiting room chair.  The concrete floor was sealed with the hardworking scuffs and marks of years gone by that were left to finalise the overall look. The walls were white washed and finished with simple sketches of "people" that hung randomly on each wall.  The preparation area furniture appeared to be a large old storage box on casters, finished in a polished light coloured timber, it was a simple yet bold statement to the overall look. Random industrial cages and boxes provided storage for ingredients. Like many Melbourne cafes, it was  the lighting that held the focus with the choice of lighting here almost making you think that had always been there. Perhaps it never did!