Finally made it to Itera, the new spot from the Kudo team out in Brunswick, after seeing it pop up on basically everyone’s feed the week it opened. We’ve been going to the original Kudo in the CBD for ages, tiny little place, always good, so when we heard the same people had opened something bigger out in Brunswick it went straight on the list.
Took a bit longer than planned to actually get there, between work and the usual excuses, but we finally carved out a weekend morning for it. Worth knowing straight up, same as Kudo, just a much bigger space with actual brunch on the menu, which the original never really had room for.
The pandan chiffon
$14, soft fluffy sponge with a strong pandan flavour, properly fragrant. A little too sweet for my taste though, wasn’t my favourite of the day. One version came with a layer of toasted coconut shreds through the middle, sweet and fragrant, worth asking if that’s the one on offer when you go.
The corn and cheese choux
$14, and a genuinely unusual one. Crisp shell with little corn-flake-like bits on top, filled with a savoury cream along with real corn kernels and a coconut jelly layer. Lots going on texture wise, good if you like corn, but a whole one by yourself gets a bit much.
The honey cake
Really moist sponge, cream with a bit of a sweet-salty edge, and a strong honey flavour running through the whole thing. Tasted like the bees did the work directly in your mouth, in a good way.
The lattes
The pandan jelly latte, $9.50, was fine, nothing that stood out. The black sesame and chocolate latte, also $9.50, was the surprise of the visit, strong toasted sesame flavour working really well against the chocolate. Would order that one again without hesitating.
The canelés
Same range as the CBD Kudo, all the classic flavours present and accounted for, nothing new here if you’ve already had Kudo’s.
Good to know before you go
It’s at 4A Ballarat Street, Brunswick, open Wednesday to Monday 9am to 4pm, closed Tuesdays. No bookings, walk-ins only, and it does get a queue, so go early if you want to sit down. Five minutes from Brunswick station, two minutes from the Route 19 tram if you’re not driving.
Is it worth the trip
Depends what you’re going for. The space is genuinely much bigger than the tiny CBD Kudo, and there’s a proper sit-down brunch menu if that’s what you’re after. But we turned up to a long queue and no seating left inside, so ended up just grabbing a few sweets and coffee to go. If you’re already planning a brunch, it’s worth trying. If you’re only going for a canelé or a coffee and have to queue for it, probably not worth the special trip, Kudo in the CBD usually doesn’t have a line at all.
Worth browsing our Melbourne cafe and restaurant reviews for more new openings around the city, and if you’re after somewhere the kids can run around while you eat, we’ve also got a guide to kid-friendly restaurants with playgrounds in Melbourne.