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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
When Moon Mart landed in West Melbourne in 2022, its cult fave status was instantly palpable: long queues, limited seating inside and a buzzing corner store energy.
The beloved pan-Asian café has since relocated to a slightly more spacious home on South Melbourne’s Clarendon Street, and yes, we can confirm: its sandos, katsu sets and creative drinks still set the gold standard.
The vibe
Moon Mart’s trademark yellow is the perfect shade of happy for breakfast time, a vivid splash that colours the door, patio umbrellas and a circular neon wall light.
It’s bustling inside even on weekdays, and with Tame Impala’s latest record on rotation and front window views of Clarendon Street’s foot traffic, the atmosphere is cosy and energetic.
Though not as compact as its former home, Moon Mart is a rather intimately sized café, so don’t expect heaps of room to stretch out. However, there’s enough of an acoustic din – and space between tables – to feel like you can gossip with your pal in privacy.
The food
The menu is split into two columns: the snacky sando section ($16-24) and the larger-portioned rice set section ($25-38). You may be drawn to the latter if you’ve walked in with a hearty appetite, but take our word for it: you can’t go wrong with anything between sliced bread at Moon Mart.
More easily demolished with a knife and fork than with your hands, the ebi katsu sando is a sizable, juicy-looking stack with a silver skewer pinning it together. A bouncy, panko-crumbed prawn meat patty makes very good friends with butter-slathered soft white bread and a thin slice of orange cheese – perfect ingredients to make your inner child do a happy dance. It avoids being too rich thanks to some crunchy lettuce and the tangy (if slightly spicy) yuzu jalapeno tartare.
Other smash hits on the menu include the pork katsu sando, the char sui bacon roll (jazzed up with Moon Mart’s legendary special sauce) and a bulgogi sausage muffin with housemade pork sausage, fried egg, cheese, onion and chilli jam. Needless to say, all of the above is lip-smacking levels of yum.
But here’s a hot tip: if you’re avoiding bread, order the juk – an aromatic Korean-inspired brown rice congee with chicken thigh meat, chilli crisp and a soy-cured egg yolk. Thickly textured unlike runnier Cantonese-style congee, it’s a deeply comforting porridge that packs a salty umami punch and maintains balance thanks to a side serving of pickled mustard greens.
The drinks
There’s no such thing as a lacklustre drink at Moon Mart; you’ll wish your caffeine limit was non-existent here if only to try everything on the list.
Premium-grade Uji matcha from Kyoto is best enjoyed without too much adornment – for example, in a plain latte (Moon Mart orders in biodynamic milk from Demeter and it’s the perfect ultra-rich, almost ice creamy, off-set to matcha’s delicate grassiness). Same goes for the A-grade coffee from Dukes Coffee Roasters.
However, if you fancy fun additions like cream, peanut praline, coconut water, strawberry and more, there’s a generously curated selection to jazz up your fix. Try the cold brew and orange juice for an iced mocktail-like drink that’s not always so easy to come by.
Non-coffee drinkers may be tempted by one of four loose leaf teas from Sydney-based tea specialist Ms. Cattea (coconut truffle white tea, anyone?), Callebaut hot chocolate or organic chai.
Time Out tip:
If you’re lucky, you may spot a plateful of fat, fluffy coconut pandan lamingtons while paying your bill at the counter. Even if you’re too full, take one to go and relish it later when that mid-arvo slump hits.
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