It’s official. Well, it’s been official for about six months now but due to things like work and our lease and all kinds of grown up things, I haven’t been able to talk about it. But now I can! In just over six weeks, Panu and I are officially packing up and moving back home to Sydney! For realz. I’m so excited about this. I’ve missed home and you know, all my friends are having babies and my brother has an 8 week old daughter and I seriously just want to go drown myself in folds of baby fat!
But I wouldn’t leave y’all here without a wonderful slice of Australia, even more wonderful than yours truly A couple of months ago, Clerkenwell unveiled a little café called St Ali, an export from Melbourne and reputedly one of the best.
Don’t listen to me, listen to the girls from Melbourne – seems these guys have packed the best of Oz and brought it all the way to London.
We wandered past last weekend for the first time and though we didn’t eat there, I loved the space inside – big and woody and there’s this huge rustic bench that I just want to take home and squash into my non-existent awesome open plan kitchen… but alas, back to reality. And back to St Ali exactly one week later, this time for some grub.
Their menu is eclectic and totally Australian, ie no sign of an English breakfast. There’s bircher muesli and porridge and banana bread and corn fritters (interestingly named ‘my mexican cousin’ because I don’t know why? Corns?) and did you see this? French toast with bacon, maple syrup and caramelised walnuts HOLYSHITSOGOOD.
Except on the menu they call the bacon ‘Capreolus West Dorset dry-aged smoked bacon’. Say what? Say that five times fast. I think I’ll just call it bacon.
Panu and my friend Mel both had the same but different – free range organic eggs served any way, on sourdough toast with homemade spiced tomato kasundi, and you can choose whatever side you want… Panu had poached with spinach (healthy huh) and Mel had fried with grilled haloumi. That’s what I would have picked 
St Ali seems like a great chilled out place – you don’t have to have breakfast, they also have a huge selection of pastries and cakes…
… and fantastic coffee (so says the coffee expert half of my relationship) and adorable little milk jugs!
So now that you have St Ali, you won’t miss me too much right? I can’t wait to get back to the culture in Oz… and you know what? I’m going from summer to spring to summer so bring on the long weekend brunches followed by some lazing on my favourite beach!
St Ali
27 Clerkenwell Rd
Clerkenwell, EC1M 5RN
0778 011 2631
website
