C15 Espresso

THE boys down at C15 have been working hard and it really shows. Brothers Mark and Jason Correia have owned and run the venue in Applecross for the past 20 years. It started out as a Dome café, but has developed its own personality over the past ten years or so. C15 has a classic yet modern feel. Situated on the corner of Risely Street and Kearns Crescent, it is surrounded by flower- filled planter boxes. Step inside and it has high ceilings, wooden floors and a large display case containing colourful and inviting pastries, a rich smell of freshly ground coffee, and comfy indoor and outdoor seating areas.
We decided to explore the sharing platter menu, which changes seasonally to maximise the quality of locally sourced ingredients. The Correiras are traditionally a fishing family so local seafood is a speciality. The dishes we sampled included Seafood Risotto Cakes, a Mixed Mushroom Salad, and a Spiced Chicken Salad. The Seafood Risotto Cakes were a traditional Portuguese style dish, and managed to balance the sweet and salty flavours well. The Mixed Mushroom salad came with manchego cheese, which was perfectly soft and creamy and worked well with the strong earthy mushroom flavours. The spiced chicken salad came with a tasty dressing and not- too-spicy chicken cooked with Portuguese spices and delicious seasoned croutons that added an excellent texture to the dish. All three of these dishes matched well with the Pitchfork Semillon Sauvignon Blanc that we were drinking. As a rough guide, I’d say three dishes would be about the right amount for two people.
Aside from the new evening menu, C15 still does a roaring trade in weekend breakfasts, and their own blend of coffee is now being sold in pods that can fit into most pod coffee machines. They have an assortment of pastries, muffins and cakes, which are delivered fresh daily and are always changing, and the wine list contains a range of local and imported wines.
I should also mention that while I have been talking about C15 Applecross, there is also another C15in the southern suburb of Hammond Park, which has been open for three years now, and is also owned by Mark and Jason. They use the same blend of coffee in both places, but Hammond Park has a slightly different menu, which is more focused towards the lunch crowd, and it doesn’t have a wine list.

C15 Applecross has been pleasing crowds for two decades and they have just got better. While they are still a café by day, their wine list and dinner menu are really worth exploring. They have just added a Portuguese port to their wine list, which I’ll be sure to try next time I’m in the area.