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Mr Tulk Cafe and Tulk Junior

Tulk Junior

In a hurry? Watching your hip pocket? This smaller, speedier addition to Mr Tulk offers affordable food and coffee on the run.

Hot and cold drinks (no alcohol), and a select range of toasted and fresh sandwiches, soup, biscuits and pastries are available. The emphasis is on takeaway, but for those who like to sit and sup, there is a large communal table to share.

Tulk Junior is located in the south end of Palmer Hall, just to the left of the Foyer as you enter from Swanston Street. It can also be reached from La Trobe Street through Mr Tulk and the Cloakroom. It is open Sunday-Friday 10am-5pm.

Mr Tulk

Mr Tulk, the Library’s handsome onsite cafe, provides visitors with a casual dining experience in a beautifully renovated space within the 19th-century wing of the Library.

Where is the cafe?

Mr Tulk is located on the ground floor of the Library's north-west wing. You can reach it from La Trobe Street, near the corner of Swanston Street, and from the Library's front foyer, through the Cloakroom. The exact location of the cafe is identified on the Library floor plan.

Menu

Mr Tulk is a licensed cafe espresso bar. Chef Andrew Kubale and his staff serve up a range of hot and cold dishes for breakfast and lunch, along with fresh, tasty snacks. Toast, porridge, pastries, daily cooked dishes and more is on offer for breakfast. Lunch includes baguettes, toasted flatbreads and a rotating list of specials from the kitchen. Lighter snacks range from olives, fried potatoes and pizza by the slice to meatballs in sugo and battered sardines with salsa verde.

Drinks include coffee, juices, soft drinks and milkshakes as well as beer, basic spirits and wines by the glass and bottle.

Foundation members receive 10% off food and beverages on presentation of their membership card.

Interior

The cafe mixes its heritage location with modern furnishings and tall arched windows to create an inviting light-filled space. Classic dark-timber tables, cafe chairs and banquettes fill the west side of the cafe. A long communal table, reminiscent of an old-fashioned reading room desk, and colourful wooden stools sit in the centre. On the other side of the space are more tables, the coffee machine, ordering area, cake and cold food display, and a long standing-room counter for those in a hurry. Around 80 people can be served inside, while the outside terrace caters for another 50 or so people.

When is the cafe open?

Mr Tulk is open from 7am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 7am to 9pm Friday, and 9am to 4pm Saturday.

Contact details

You can contact both Mr Tulk and Tulk Junior on:

Venue hire

The cafe can be hired for functions. Contact Mr Tulk for more information.

Who is Mr Tulk?

The cafe is named for Mr Augustus Henry Tulk, the Library's first Chief Librarian. He was appointed in 1856, and worked with Redmond Barry to build the foundations of the Library’s collections. He led the Library for 17 distinguished years.

 
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Black and white Mr Tulk Cafe logo featuring large lettering and a profile bust of Mr Tulk
The cafe logo features the profile of the eponymous Mr Tulk, the Library's first Chief Librarian.