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Cats, coffee and Japanese food unite at Neko in Geelong

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Public service announcement for all lovers of Japanese food, cats and coffee — there is a new cafe perched on Geelong’s Ryrie Street that’s ready to swan into first place on your coffee-shop faves.

The popular haunt formerly known as John Doe Speciality Coffee has undergone an invigorating and exciting rebrand to become Neko, a Japanese-inspired cafe that cherishes cats as much as it does single origin flat whites.

For the team behind the transformation, Neko revolves around travel and a passion for different cultures, which we can certainly get around in this pandemic-hit age. We may not be able to venture to the bustling streets of Tokyo, but we can indulge in an authentic soba noodle bowl created with the freshest local ingredients.

The breakfast menu honours both brunch-classics like avo toast and egg and bacon rolls, while introducing a totally mouth-watering array of Asian-inspired breakfast favourites. Special shoutout to the Neko Smash, whose mix of avocado, sweet corn salsa, Asian mushrooms, Meredith goat cheese, basil shiso pesto and poached eggs (salivating yet?) sounds too delicious to pass up.

But the lunchtime menu is where things get really fun. There’s the Teriyaki Chicken Donburi, Roasted Pork Belly Donburi and fluffy Mushroom Bao Buns with pickled radish for the hungry punters. If you fancy something light for your midweek refuel, I’d recommend the Soba Noodle Salad sure to hit every vitamin goal.

Vegetarians, pescetarians and vegans are all looked after here, as of course are the coffee connoisseurs. The medium-roast lattes patrons of John Doe have come to love are still slinging, so we can sleep well tonight and get down to some Japanese goodness tomorrow.

THE DETAILS
WHAT: Neko Cafe
WHERE: 237 Ryrie Street, Geelong
WHEN: 7am – 3pm, Monday to Friday. Closed on weekends.
MORE INFO: Neko Cafe

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