Although Andrew Kelly at Auction Rooms comes across as being very laid-back, his relaxed attitude belies a serious commitment to high-quality coffee. One of a new breed of espresso purists he was searching for opportunity to open a cafe of his own and to find ways to ‘push the boundaries’ of espresso coffee. After finding the site of Auction Rooms in early 2007 [in what at that stage was the 'sleepy hollow' of North Melbourne] he set about renovating and remodelling the original old auction rooms into a light airy space reminiscent of ‘installation art’, using recycled materials wherever possible. This turned out to be a bigger task than he expected, but in April 2008 Auction Rooms was opened, and has never looked back. He has recently opened a roastery [just down the road] called ‘Small Batch’ which re-inforces his roasting ethos of taking extreme care over roasting small lots of exceptional coffee. [July '10]

Fantastic coffee, lovely atmosphere, gorgeous deco, friendly staff and delicious food. Could not recommend it more!