Located on the corner of a busy Essendon intersection – aka the assembly point of this northwest suburb, hence the name – Assembly Ground is a slick, stylish and welcoming café with a focus on quality, locally sourced produce. A former bank in its previous life, the space was taken over in 2020 and transformed with the help of a clean black, white and grey colour palette, gold accents and some pretty incredible chandeliers hanging over the counter.
The all-day menu is filled with your favourites, including chilli scramble, zucchini fritters, French toast and an avo smash topped with tomatoes, whipped goat's cheese, pomegranate and fresh lime. There are also a couple of new additions to the line-up that elevate the menu from already impressive to truly epic – we’re talking lobster rolls with Kewpie mayo, shallots, chives and watercress in brioche buns, and jam doughnut hotcakes filled with warm homemade strawberry jam and loaded with double cream mascarpone and fresh raspberries.
And now you can indulge in a bottomless brunch sesh, with Assembly Ground offering up 1.5-hour sittings from Friday to Sunday. There are two options to choose from: the Classic ($59 per person), which comes with your choice of one dish from a limited menu and free-flowing Mimosas, Aperol Spritzes, beer, wine or bubbles, or the Make It Boujee ($79 per person), which includes any dish from the entire menu and unlimited cocktails from the full drinks list.
For more information and to book a table, head to the website.