The Republic Cafe Bar seems like one of those places where the young, hip professional crowd would come for drinks after work. In truth, we ended up here only because we had been wandering the area for a while and there isn't actually that much to choose from for lunch around here (corner of Queen St. and Latrobe St.). We realised only after leaving that we were just next door to Ondine, which should redeem the area - we intend to review it soon.
But back to the Republic. The first thing that strikes you on entry is the cavernous, industrial warehouse feel, tempered by some carefully placed wooden trellises and climbing greenery. It makes for an interesting atmosphere, which could be pleasant enough when the construction site across the street is quiet.
The menu draws on all sorts of influences, reflecting modern city cafe culture. Prices were quite reasonable; lunch for around $15. I tried the Beef Curry with Rice, Vegetables, Pappadum and Coriander Yoghurt ($14.50). Now "curry" in a cafe without any visible ethnic influence could mean anything. What I got was actually pretty good, and quite spicy. There was some coconut milk in it so I would describe it as a nonspecific South-east Asian curry. But I enjoyed it. The accompanying veggies were very fresh and crisply stirfried, but the pappadum was unfortunately soggy.
Dave ordered the Crepes with Smoked Salmon and Citrus on a Large Green Salad ($13.50). The salad was indeed large, topped with three generously sized crepes. He was very pleased with it.
The bread that came before our mains was worth a mention - very fresh, nice crispy crust and chewy inside.
Desserts were a little less pleasing. There was a large variety of little personal-sized cakes to choose from, at something like $4 each or $6 with coffee. As luck would have it, we both chose the Lemon Meringue, which had a satisfyingly tart filling but only a mediocre crust and limp, slightly soggy meringue.
Service was also mixed. They were very quick when we arrived, and our meals came promptly, but getting dessert and the bill took ages. The restrooms were well finished, though - this is one place where the decorating budget actually extended to the facilities.
All in all, we did enjoy ourselves, but found something lacking. Perhaps it was the underwhelming dessert, or simply the fact that the atmosphere was a bit too hard edged for us.
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Dave's summary: "Nice concrete." (or something like that)
Probability that we will return: 29 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.