Tomboy

For months, I have been watching Tomboy come together piece by piece through my studio window on Smith Street. It may sounds very creepy, but when you work on this side of Johnston Street good coffee is far & few between.

Long before the paper was down from the windows, I suspected this place might be something special (not just because it’s in an old milk bar). Raw brick benches with built in speakers servicing the ancient record player. Cinema chair seating & industrial workbenches for communal seating.

Catering for gluten free, vegan & sweet tooth’s all over Melbourne, Tomboy’s menu shows off the culinary chops of owners Pia Hambour and Georgina March, who also run wholesale baking business Box Brownies. Sweet stuff includes the fantastic fruit & nut muesli with yoghurt & honeycomb ($9.5, gluten free).

Beyond sweets there’s a rotating menu of seasonal items, with a focus on vegetarian options. We I visited the avocado & feta smash with mint ($13) was selling like hotcakes.

Apart from the food Pia and Georgina have set up a rotating collection of local art on the walls, and have started their own publication, The Tomboy Paper, about life and times in Collingwood.

I reckon this new cafe’s a must for anyone who likes to have their cake & eats it too.

TOMBOY
365 Smith Street, Collingwood
9486 016
Tues – Sat 7am-4pm
Sun 8am-4pm