The humble cheese toastie is being given a gourmet makeover
Cool cafés, craft beer halls and elegant restaurants alike are succumbing to the comforting appeal of the grilled cheese sandwich. Here's where to find them.

- January 2020
There’s no better comfort food than melted cheese on good quality bread, toasted golden brown. Now these venues have elevated the classic snack with gourmet ingredients.
Frédéric Bar & Bistro, Melbourne
Just say ‘oui’ to a French classic. At Frédéric Bar & Bistro in Melbourne, the croque monsieur is haute cuisine grilled cheese. On baguette is bechamel, fennel-spiced sausage and red wine-pickled onions, with a gruyere au gratin. (Another elevated take? The bone marrow toastie at Sydney’s Prince of York.)
Valhalla Brewing & Taproom, Geelong
Craft beer and an oozy jaffle. Surely that’s a match made in night-out heaven? At Geelong’s Valhalla Brewing & Taproom, the choice of golden triangles includes the mac and cheese jaffle, an exotic haloumi with marinated fig and the nostalgic joy of Vegemite and cheese.

valhallabrewing.com.au opens in new window
Toastface Grillah, Perth
Stilton, pear, cinnamon and lime jam on Italian pagnotta? The Pear Grillz (a riff on the name of derring-do Brit Bear Grylls) is as adventurous as the guy its named after. It’s just one of the taste sensations served up at Perth’s Toastface Grillah, a café that focuses on doing just one thing well – making unique grilled sandwiches that are truly melt-in-your-mouth. Proof these guys have the goods? They have opened a new location in Wolf Lane.
toastfacegrillah.com opens in new window
Perth-bound? Here are the city’s hippest places to eat and drink. opens in new window