LOCATIONA short walk from Flinders Street Station, inside the Melbourne Library building, up the stairs from Journal Cafe.
PROFILED BY DEGROOTS MEDIAJournal Canteen offers a traditional and high quality provincial menu that is a breath of fresh air on Flinders Lane – a lunchtime hotspot otherwise swarming with run-of-the-mill panini and focaccia eateries. Rosa Mitchell, Journal manager and chef, and now cookbook author, achieves a delightful mix of simplicity and authenticity in both the menu and the Canteen’s atmosphere, turning the focus back onto all things culinary, and the fresh ingredients and favourite recipes that have been filling southern Italian bellies for generations. Rosa’s antipasto is the constant on a menu that changes daily, and Rosa sees it as both an opportunity to boast the delicious produce of Italian cuisine and to win the hearts and tastebuds of her guests from the very first moment. The chalkboard menu sports a handful of dishes, making the choice easy; Sicilian veal ragu and ricotta cannoli are among the rotating mains that change according to season, and no doubt the whim of Rosa as well, but are all served up with salad and stove-top coffee to finish for a very reasonable $20. The four-course degustation is available for those with time during the day or during Journal Canteen’s extended hours on a Friday evening.
Located up the stairs from Journal Cafe, Journal Canteen’s simple canteen-style space and decor are an authentic reflection of Italian eateries and lunchtime bars that cater for quick and tasty, no-fuss dining. The relaxing and cosy window bar looks out over the bustle of Flinders Lane.
Frank Trimboli