LOCATIONDown a South Melbourne laneway, five minutes from the CBD.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIASt. Ali does coffee. Seriously. This laneway cafe is bigger than it looks, with bare floors and assorted tables, couches to sit on, and coffee machines crouching on the bar. It looks informal, but it has a serious purpose. At St. Ali, you find Single Origin coffee which sources particular growers who are paid a premium. Owner Salvatore Malatesta likes to say he’s the third generation of coffee in Australia: the first was the American commercial, the second was the Italian wave, and now comes super premium coffee that is roasted as carefully as it is sourced, and made with respect.
Don’t come here at breakfast expecting a quick caffeine hit before work. Come here to think about the day ahead, to enjoy free-range eggs, perhaps fried with zucchini fritters and wilted spinach, or poached with kasundi. The food at lunch tends to the Middle East where pides and Lebanese pizza (try the bastourma – spiced beef – with white beans and roast red pepper), or a brilliant spiced lamb burger with a fruity beetroot and red cabbage relish, tomato, rocket and labna tempt the belly. Check the board to see the day’s specials. On Sunday afternoons you can book into roasting tours, and there are plans to offer dinner, perhaps matching the food with coffee. Yes, there is wine, and a good list of beers, and they also serve proper tea. There are plans for St. Ali to open in South Yarra and in Causeway Lane, in the city.
Rita Erlich, May 2009