Reviews Code 21

The coolest cafe in a cool urban hub of Brunswick, Code 21 is the kind of cafe you dream about. With it's cool decor, large open space and fantastic food; the beautiful staff and great service really bring it altogether. Innovative takes on classic brunch dishes makes this the brunch destination choice of many locals.

With beautiful plating, each dish is so elegantly put together, and if you eat with your eyes, you will want to dive right in. The smashed avo for instance, has the classic combination of avo and feta on toast but with the addition of strategically placed sliced beetroot which adds height, flavour and extra crunch to the dish. The eggs were perfectly poached, and the creamy egg, avo and feta are the dream combo.

The spiced hotcakes are a sight to behold. Layers of fluffy lightly spiced pancakes are stacked with berry compote, lemon curd, berries and meringue shards and definitely taste as divine as they look. A generous serve, there's plenty to share with your friends.

The coffee and drink selection is also excellent, and there are a nice selection of pastries to choose from. Like the neon sign says 'I licked it, so it's mine', as you will want to stake claim on each and every dish that arrives on your table.

We had visited Code 21 a few weeks back and here’s what we had!

Spiced hotcakes - served with acai ice cream, matcha foam, yuzu curd, maple crystallized cashew nuts, shaved strawberries and crispy meringue! All I gotta say is wow for preso and taste! The hotcakes were thick and fluffy and it was spicy as they had described (not overly spicy)! It was interesting having a sweet and spicy hotcake but what made it work was the rest of the elements which had sweetened things up!

Crispy southern fried chicken waffles - served with chipotle slaw and cranberry bbq sauce! The reason why this was my favorite was how beautiful it tasted! The fried chicken was crispy and juicy, the waffles were soft and crispy and that cranberry bbq sauce was such a wonderful topping! The tanginess and saltiness of the sauce just gave the dish and extra kick!

French toast - served with strawberry ice cream, fairy floss and raspberries! This was the special of the day and all I gotta say is wow! The french toast was thick, crunchy, fluffy and moist inside! Everything you could have ever asked for all on one dish!

We were really pleased with the experience we had and would definitely visit Code 21 again to try the rest of their menu! 🥰

Lovely place with great service, food and coffee. Quirky wall decor and clean. We had the diced avacado on pumpkin toast and the hot cakes. You really couldn’t fault it between the service and food. This would have to be my favourite avacado breakfast for sure - the pumpkin toast was really good. The hot cakes were done well and so creative. Overall very happy and will most definitely return.

This is a cute little cafe that serves great food 🙌🏼

Their staff were friendly but it was very busy when we visited (around 11:30am on a public holiday) so I don’t think we got their full service compared to a normal day. The cafe was much smaller than we originally anticipated, however it had great decor with an impressive back wall that really stood out!

We had the hot cakes, the diced avo on pumpkin toast and the garlic and mushroom dish with potato rosti, alongside the berry açaí smoothie and an almond latte.
Overall, we will be back for the awesome food and overall vibe of the cafe 👌🏼

I’m always down for a brunch that’s as colourful as this. Looking at the menu at Code 21, I have to commend them for their vegetarian options which can be easily altered for meat eaters.

My partner and I came here for the fried chicken and waffles, but overwhelmingly my dish of mushrooms, Brussels sprout leaves, feta, egg and sujuk was the unlikely winner for its flavours. The fried chicken is slightly tough but the flavours were there, the waffles needed more syrup - I think something a bit more viscous would have been perfect.

Overall I’d come here again just for the dish I had. A real stunner.

Super friendly cafe at the top of canning st. Great coffee and brunch options. I highly recommend the fried chicken waffles w a delicious bbq sauce.

Code 21 is located in a great spot, close to all of the amazing strip shops around Brunswick and is definitely a good pit stop before hitting a bar or going for a shop. 
I was overly excited to finally try Code 21 after hearing all about their amazing dishes through Instagram and was not let down by the colour and vibrancy of their dishes. I had the hot cakes and they came out looking like art work and were meticulously plated up just as I had hoped for. 
The cafe is quite small and I think it did get a little overwhelming as the brunch rush flooded through the doors which also left us without service for quite some time, however, we understood that this was because of a crazy Sunday, in this instance, I would recommend getting in quite early. 
It was average in price and came to a total of $22pp, this included drinks and the main meal. 
All in all, I was not let down by the food and I definitely need to go back for a second round!

This is an amazing cafe with such great waiters. It is definitely one of the more memorable cafes because of how nicely the waiters treated us. There weren't that many people eating at the cafe when we arrived. I forgot the name of the guy who served us, but he engaged us in a conversation and was interested in our lives. He offered us his advice on which foods to order. He also helped us take a photo in front of the famed "Licked it so it's mine" sign. I love the interior design here- it's modern and classy. I ordered the burger and milkshake. The serving size was just perfect for us, we were both full afterwards and couldn't wait to walk it off. Would definitely recommend this place to others!

Needed something full of sugar and spice for a Sunday, and Code 21 was everything nice 💙 we ordered the crispy spiced chickpea fritters and the spiced orange hotcake. They were both yummy and beautifully presented. The orange hotcake looked like a piece of art, so pretty and very IG-worthy. Lattes were perfect. The decor is very hip, love their ‘I licked it, so it’s mine’ neon sign. Perfect for pics for socials.

Couldn't fault this place. They were great from start to finish. Greeted by lovely staff, coffee was great and food was delicious.

We will be back for sure. Even just to get more of that chicken and waffle! Thanks for a great morning.

Brunswick is spoilt having this cafe on offer to them! We were very impressed with the southern fried chicken on waffles. The cranberry bbq sauce that was drizzled on was insane. We also enjoyed the hotcakes which was served with fresh fruit and a yummy lemon curd. Would recommend this cafe to my family and friends.

Yum! Had an amazing going away brekky for a girlfriend here. The staff were friendly enough to let me order the chicken waffle for my 9am breakfast (never too early for a chicken waffle if you ask me), and it was just amazing. Perfect ratio of chicken to waffle, the sauce was delicious, and the little salad over the top was a lovely addition. Also had the peanut butter smoothie, which did not disappoint! I’m a big peanut butter fan, and this was one of the PB smoothies I’ve had. Was also really pleased with the healthy kids menu options. My son had the fruit cup with Greek yoghurt. Food was beautifully presented and staff were awesome. They provided paper and crayons for my little one, so bonus points there!

Great cafe! The staff are friendly and happy, the food is so good and came out soon after we ordered too. I had the spiced orange hotcake which was so good. It was super filling, that I couldn’t finish it all. I loved the chocolate ganache type of thing on it and the hotcake was fluffy and crispy on the outside. I had a salted caramel smoothie (on the specials board), sooo good!

Code 21 is the new kid on the block in Brunswick, and well worth a visit - great coffee, delicious food and outdoor seating for mums with prams. For those with little ones, Miller Street Playground is just up the road, and is fully fenced! @plantbasedmum_

Cute and small with a very local feel - this Brunswick cafe mixes the hipster environment with its modern touch well. With an outdoor area to enjoy the sun this was the perfect place to sunbathe (or just bake in general) over brunch. Continuing on from my good run on brunch - Code 21 really delivered with the homey feeling and top notch staff that were attentive and helpful no matter what...and no matter how many times we asked for more plates (sorry not sorry).

Opening up underneath a brand new block of apartments, Code 21 is a cafe that’s going for more of a healthy(er) take on brunch, but one that’s also appealing to the eye. It’s quite a small venue that’s spread out over an L-shaped space, with generous spacing between tables and pops of greenery flowing down from the shelving.

Situated at the bottom of a newly developed apartment complex, this cafe has a great ambience, beautiful decor and great food.  My favourite was the chicken waffles.  Crispy, well seasoned chicken on fluffy savoury waffles.  Their homemade cranberry BBQ sauce as the pour over was phenomenal.  Also tried their smashed avo, which was good, but only one egg and one piece of toast.  Lastly, we tried something on the specials menu which was a nutella and banana bread and butter pudding.  It was amazing.  Hopefully goes onto the main menu.  Staff super lovely too.  Definitely worth a try!

So glad this place opened!Work nearby and wanted something tasty and delicious. Food has been amazing every time, range is awesome. There is a wonderful vibe inside with a warm and friendly atmosphere and the most important thing is their customer service is impeccable! High quality Cafe right here!

Fo0die dined as a guest of Code 21 and as such, the rating does not give any consideration to customer service.

Located under an apartment complex, Code 21 was just starting its 5th week of serving brunch to the Melbournian crowd. One of the co-owner is no stranger to the hospitality industry, having owned his own venue in Tasmania and decided to tackle the competitive Melbourne brunch scene with the aim of bringing Modern Australian food with a slight Middle Eastern twist.

We dined during the holiday period (between Christmas and New Years) and noted the area had a lot of 1P parking available on Brunswick Rd Monday through to Saturday and unless you were there for a quick bite, 1P isn't a lot of time. There are a limited amount of all day angle parking on Canning St which is located just across the road from the cafe.

The number '21' in the cafe's name neatly tied it to the address of the venue, 21 Brunswick Road.


>> Interior
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The interior has a nice modern industrial vibe; from concrete columns to exposed concrete ceiling. This is paired with timber tables and chairs with metal feet, spotlights off the ceiling and draping greenery off the shelves.

The interior is well lit with windows (that open up for the warmer weather) all around the cafe's L-shaped seating area (perfect for the food photos!) A variety of seating options are available; from smaller table of two to tables of four to a large communal table to a bench that seats four looking out onto the road.

For the warmer weather, outdoor seating is available just in front of the cafe with umbrellas to shade from the sun. Because we dined on a beautiful sunny day, there were no gas heaters in sight so we couldn't confirm whether the cafe had these available.

The interior design was well thought out with the inclusion of sound barriers hanging off the ceiling to help with noise bouncing off the concrete walls and ceilings.


>> Food/Drinks
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The menu consists of a breakfast, lunch and sides section; all printed on a single A4 sized menu with a separate A4 sized menu for the drinks on offer (wine, beer, cider, juice, smoothies, milkshakes, coffee and tea).

From the drinks menu, we tried a strawberry milkshake, which wasn't artificial tasting and not overly sweet, and a green cold pressed juice from Green St Juice Co (which was very green and healthy).

The truffled roasted mixed mushroom dish had a nice truffle flavour with a generous amount of different mushrooms, beautifully presented with the beetroot puree. No doubt that this was not an easy feat plating up mushrooms and making it look like a piece of art on a plate given it's neutral colouring. The rosti was made up of shredded potatoes and by itself was a little bland and needed the beetroot puree to be paired with it.

The ham hock benedict dish had a lightly toasted brioche bun with a slight crispness to it when digging into the bun with the salty ham hock and crackling. The crackling itself was surprisingly not at all chilli and a little on the harder side.

We finished off with the spice hot cakes which is the only sweet on the menu at the time we dined. The spice in the hotcake brought a slight middle eastern twist which is subtle enough to not be ‘in your face’ middle eastern. Despite the appearance of this hot cake looking like the typical hot cake in the brunch scene, the hot cake itself was purposefully designed to be a more dense, bouncy and doughy instead of the pancake/cake like texture.

Code 21 has one of those menu's that make it hard to pick a single dish to try and is a welcomed addition to the Melbourne brunch scene, bringing its subtle Middle Eastern flavours to brunch.


>> Dishes that make up this review
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Truffled roasted mixed mushrooms on potato rosti, sugar snap with beetroot puree and crisp ($19.50)

Pulled ham hock benedict on black ink brioche bun with sumac hollandaise over poached eggs topped with chilli crackling ($19.50)

Spiced orange hotcakes with blackberry curd, lemon curd, pomegranate poached pear, berries, pistachio and chocolate parfait ($18.50)

Strawberry milkshake ($5.50)

Could not fault anything. Food was amazing, service was amazing, friendly and quick, coffee was good, decor was nice. Highly recommended breakfast/lunch.

I loved this place, great service and amazing food, would definitely be a place to visit again. Last but not least the coffee was the best 👌🏻