Tomo’s Little Collins

Tomo’s Little Collins is a Japanese café at 382 Little Collins Street in Melbourne CBD, bringing together contemporary Australian café fare and Japanese-influenced dishes. The kitchen covers breakfast and lunch, with an all-day breakfast menu that ranges from lighter options such as Bircher muesli and a matcha chia bowl to more substantial plates, tartines and brunch classics. For lunch, the café serves Japanese-inspired rice bowls, Japanese pasta specials and weekend dishes, giving the menu a broader focus than a standard coffee stop.

Several dishes give Tomo’s its own identity. The Signature French Toast pairs brioche with bananas, seasonal berries, Cointreau cream and maple syrup, while the Miso Mushrooms Tartine combines miso mushrooms, feta, roasted tomatoes and bonito flakes on open-faced toast. Lunch options include the Chicken Karaage Bowl with Koshihikari rice, miso corn, sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickles and an onsen egg, as well as the Tofu Eggplant Bowl with kabayaki sauce and avocado. The Japanese pasta section includes Mentaiko Carbonara Udon, alongside options such as Truffle Miso Mushroom spaghetti and Pesto Sun-Dried Tomato with Tofu Karaage.

Coffee and tea are a central part of the offering. Tomo’s uses a signature blend from Undercover Roasters, made with Arabica beans from Colombia, Guatemala and Ethiopia, and also serves a Colombian single-origin coffee. Alongside familiar café orders, the drinks menu includes a Signature Matcha Latte, Hojicha Latte, Azuki Matcha Latte and Black Sesame Oat Latte. The café’s baristas prepare both coffee and tea, making it a practical choice for a morning drink, a catch-up over brunch or a short city break with something more distinctive than a regular flat white.

The atmosphere is described as cosy, relaxed and inviting, with space for meeting friends or spending time quietly with a book. Service follows a hybrid model: guests are welcomed and seated, orders are placed at the counter, and food and drinks are then brought to the table. That combination of Melbourne café habits and Japanese-style attentiveness shapes the venue’s approach to hospitality. It suits solo diners, casual catch-ups and office lunches, and the café also offers weekday drop-off catering for corporate meetings and private functions in Melbourne CBD and South Yarra. Reservations and online ordering are available, while its weekday and weekend service makes it useful for both early starts and daytime dining in the city.