Out and About: Proud Mary, Collingwood

I’d like to make it a habit to get out of the house and get some work done within a cozy cafe environment. There’s something about being surrounded by life that inspires me to write.

I’m making it a point to check out a few different popular hangs in our surrounding neighbourhoods: Collingwood, Fitzroy, Clifton Hill and Northcote. Also leaning towards spots that offer free wifi.

I read a number of positive reviews on Urbanspoon for Proud Mary, a relatively new breakfast/brunch/lunch hotspot.

When I arrived at 10:30am it seemed as though all the tables were taken, but one of the waitresses shuffling about reassured me she could fit me in somewhere close to an outlet for my laptop. Most of the tables at Proud Mary are large communal tables with quirky stools more comfortable than they appear. I was eager to log onto the free wifi and tackle my web ‘to dos’, but was advised with remorse that the wifi was down (without question).

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Proud Mary is high-ceiling spacious, clean, minimalist stylish and has a warm brick wall feel to it. I can imagine it might get loud during high-traffic hours, but my impression was of positive high energy. I ordered my usual large soy latte and was pleased when it came within 5 minutes in a wide-mouthed glass, along with a remarkably large glass bottle of water. The coffee was deliciously smooth and perfectly strong, just to my liking. Based on previous reviews, it’s my understanding that Proud Mary was opened by coffee aficionados who like to geek out on coffee paraphernalia, which is displayed amongst it’s walls. A lot of the early lunch clientele consisted of either students with laptops, newspaper readers or lovely elderly luncheon ladies/couples. I got the impression a lot of the patrons were returning customers and everyone seemed pleased with the food and service. As I was eyeing the specials board, a different waitress offered to help me find something on the menu that I catered to my dairy allergy. She was very helpful and even offered to make some adjustments to the offerings so that I had more to choose from. Here are the menus (please note that the prices have gone up by about .50c on each meal):

I ordered the Confit of Tuna minus the crème fraiche and it was absolutely satisfying and delicious. I would recommend Proud Mary as a coffee/lunch hotspot. Staff was vibrant, helpful and happy; coffee was professionally prepared and the environment had great energy to it.