Juliana’s is a totally unpretentious cafe on the corner of Sydney and Moreland roads. It is perhaps one of the best located cafes in Coburg. Two tables in particular are perfectly placed to sit at and stare out into the busy junction of roads upon which endless stream of activity unfolds. I find this particularly pleasurable on grey, rainy days.

Having come to Juliana’s a few times now, generally in the morning for a relaxing coffee and read of the paper, it becomes hard to categorise the cafe. My first inclination was that Juliana’s is the classic workers’ cafe — hence the pleasant, unpretentious vibe; a place where you can drink a coffee, order a sandwich and read the paper and be left alone.

But I have occasionally witnessed here the kind of spontaneous activity that one would more sooner associate with an inner-city located cafe, say, one in Fitzroy. I’m thinking of when a man sat at a table near the door and quietly played away on his banjo for about half an hour, then upped and left.

I find Juliana’s an invaluable cafe in this increasingly popular part of Melbourne. As well as mornings here, I have also dropped by in afternoons to take a much needed break in study and to take a fresh look at things.