Located in Armadale: an affluent, normally sleepy pocket of Melbourne, Coin Laundry has become quite the drawcard. If you’ve visited the area before you’d know its mostly residential with the odd antique or craft paper store thrown into the mix. Now (well, since late 2010), thanks to Matt Vero and Steve Rowley, when cool cats think Armadale they think Coin Laundry. They’ve given both locals and the more serious coffee addicts across Melbourne an awesome place to kick back, enjoy a delicious breakfast and the chance to listen to some toffy convo’s about “little Madison’s dance recital”. The menu has its hoity toity moments but with breakfast until 3pm, you know the guys running it are pretty chilled and if you want just a plate of bacon, I’m sure they’d understand. At some point last year, on a gloomy hungover morning, we were pleasantly informed by one of their award winning barista’s that we should definitely give their Wagyu Beef Burger a crack. It took us a couple months, but finally we got down there to order it. On a rustic wooden board out came a toasted brioche bun with a Wagyu beef pattie, beetroot relish, aioli, tomato, lettuce, cheddar cheese and some handcut chips*.
*Since our review the guys have swapped out the handcut chips to french fries with secret seasoning.

“One of my only pet peeves in life is restaurants and cafes that don’t serve Coke; its the only thing I want to drink with my food. Whether it’s a late breakfast, a burger or high end dining, it is best accompanied by a glass of Coke. OK rant over. This burger was a lot less delicate than I expected: the beetroot worked quite well with the slightly overcooked beef but when it came to the cheese, it overpowered it. The bun was wonderfully fresh, soft and sweet. I’m not a fan of thick cut potatoes pretending to be fancy chips but with the added chutney dip, they weren’t too bad. The wait staff were friendly, considering it was a Sunday and knowing the area well, the demographic of customers can definitely be of the difficult and snobbish variety.”

“If this place still had washing machines and dryers hidden at the back of the cafe, I’d get a lot more serious about my laundry routine. No more recycling smelly shirts and airing them outside my window for a second chance at life before I wash. One drunken outing and straight to the laundry! Having this dream crushed by reality is sad, but something I have to come to terms with in due course. But in the meantime I can only dream. OK, to business – I loved the beetroot relish combined with the shredded pickle, both worked well. The pattie was tasty and juicy. The cheese was good and added that sharpness to the meal. Overall the right amount of greens involved and the bun was soft and sweet. The burger was served with tomato relish, but I don’t think it was needed. Potato wedge-things were good.”

“These guys are setting the standard as far as “Cafe Burgers” go. Fingers crossed, but if most places could look to Coin Laundry as a starting point, no longer would we be dealing with the “Turkishbread4abun” epidemic. Its quite rare for me to enjoy a burger when there’s beetroot involved, so for my plate to be left with nothing but burger sauce and the waitresses phone number, it must mean something good is taking place. The beef pattie was nice and juicy, but maybe a little too light for my liking – the minor downside to Wagyu. Overall a really good burger and now, hearing about french fries being added to it, I’ll be coming back in no time.”

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