When a bakery opens up on your doorstep it would be rude not to try it & try it I have. Despite…read moremaking a promise of only allowing myself one visit per month I think it's averaged out to twice a month (oops). What keeps luring me back are the delicious and "award winning" Vanilla Slices or rather the French Vanilla Slices. I had never heard of a French Vanilla slice before I sampled one from Gusto & it is now my favourite thing to buy from them. I can see why they are award winning as the pasty is just perfect & the vanilla filling full of flavour without being overly sickly sweet. A dusting of icing sugar makes it far easier to eat than the glazed icing on a regular vanilla slice. If you're ever near a Gusto Bakery & love vanilla slices I would highly recommend you try one. Gusto stock a decent selection of both sweet & savoury goods. I'm yet to try the pies or quiches but they are at the top of my list if I can resist the vanilla slice the next time I call in. This branch of Gusto also serve tea/coffee & you can dine in if you need your sweet fix immediately.

French Quarter is an east meet west French style pattiserrie. When I visited I had come in for…read morecoffee but was tempted by the mini strawberry tart for $2. I gulped this down while waiting for my coffee. Perfect size for little mouth of course, I picked up another four on my way home for my kids lunch box treats. There is a petit four tray for $7.50 which contains 4 selection of their mini tarts and eclairs. Savoury wise, there was cheese and prosciutto brioche ( I would eat anything on a good brioche) and a veg savoury tart. Lovely and simple little shop, mainly good if you are looking for a cheap and delicious afternoon tea. It's nothing fancy or elaborate like the nearby Beatrix, but it's a good option as they are open till later (5pm) and the cakes are fresh and just perfect .

Coming to the French Quarter is like taking a quick trip to Paris, but without the traffic…read moreproblems... I stumbled on The French Quarter when waiting for my car service to finish. The car place mucked up programming the key, so I got to come back! Every cloud, silver lining and all that :-) Loooove the pastries here, very French, even the seats are French Cafe. And the 57 tram goes right to the door. The petit fours are excellent - they really don't last very long though... And the coffee is quite okay too. But the pastries are why you really need to come here ;-)

I love that this is a hidden vegan gem. They are secretly completely vegan, except for the option…read moreof milk in their coffee. There are so many delicious baked goods, I took forever to decide what I wanted to get. I'm sure I wouldn't be disappointed, no matter what I got. This is a great bakery to grab your bread at as well, not just if you have a sweet tooth! Also, before you hop onto the train, grab your morning coffee here! Its a small space, but if you can snatch a seat, hang out here for a bit!

The sour dough bread, pastries, or cakes, is all bloody delicious!read more

Giant cinnamon rolls. Be still my heart…read more This place is amazing. The baked goods are delicious in and of themselves, but when you factor in that they're all vegan and also have some gluten-free options, this place is doubly impressive. Mister Nice Guy's Bakeshop is hugely popular among vegans and non-vegans alike, and it's easy to see why once you've had your first bite of their giant cinnamon rolls, chocolate babkas, danishes, doughnuts, or cupcakes. They have a seriously impressive range of sweet goods, and also a few savoury ones (including vegan sausage rolls and pretzel dogs!) We've tried their cinnamon rolls, lemon cake, chocolate babka, chocolate danish, croissants, and a rosemary and potato thingie (the only savoury thing we've sampled so far). They were all delicious. The danishes were a little too rich for us but still good. The savoury one tasted exactly like potatoes au gratin and brought back childhood memories. The star of their offerings, though, is the cinnamon roll -- this was the first place I found a jumbo American-style cinnamon roll here in Australia, complete with heaps of sweet icing. The best cinnamon roll I've had in Australia, vegan or otherwise. They also do coffee here -- you can choose from soy, almond, coconut, rice, or even cashew milk. My non-vegan partner had the soy milk (Bonsoy) and loved it. Given the portion size of their baked goods, everything here is pretty reasonably priced. Service is super-friendly too, even on busy weekend mornings when they are slammed. Atmosphere is cute -- kind of 50s retro. Definitely a must-visit if you want delicious baked goods, especially if you have any dairy, egg, nut, or gluten allergies/intolerances. But even if you don't, this place is worth a visit.

Wasn't open despite times shown on here. Drove there specifically because of reviews so very…read moredisappointed.

I love this place and regularly truck across town for the excellent bánh mì that they serve. I've…read morenever had anything other than the "Vietnamese Pork" option here. They also have BBQ pork and chicken options, but trust me, you don't want anything other than the wonderful mysterious (also possibly listerious, but don't let that get in the way of your belly) selection of sliced and spreadable pork that makes up this great lunch sandwich. They also bake bread and other things, but pay no attention to these distractions and order the sandwich. Apparently nobody has informed the lovely owners of this shop that it is no longer 1958, because incredibly, the sandwich costs $4. Four dollars, that's like the modern day ha'penny. I bought a Coke that cost more than that yesterday (up yours 7-11). I ate a banh mi on Smith St a couple weeks back that cost more, tasted less, and had me lined up down the footpath for 10 minutes before I could even order it. I should have headed across town instead...life is too short for bad sandwiches. I should mention that you can't really dine-in here. There is a dilapidated table with a few questionable chairs but you'll most likely end up sitting on a bench on Racecourse Rd while stuffing your face and trying to convince your thoughts that a second sandwich at lunch really is a little excessive.

I love the tiger rolls here with vietnamese pork filling. The crunchy roll really makes the…read moredifference. It the one thing I look forward to when I go through Newmarket. I try to go on Saturdays cos they're open then, but not on Sundays. It's a pity there are no good coffee shops in the area (the place on the cnr of Pin Oak and Norwood is the best around). Cos you have to drive to Kensington for coffee.

If you're looking to satisfy your sweet tooth after a bowl of pho or a banh mi at one of…read moreFootscray's excellent Vietnamese restaurants, The French Baguette has sugary treats galore: Glass cases filled with Italian chocolate dipped biscuits, Aussie "hedgehog" cakes and vanilla slices, and cream filled eclairs fill the centre of this huge cafe, while French style cakes (opera, chocolate royale) tempt from the display cases along the periphery. We ordered a rich, decadent chocolate royale cake: Mouse layered on a hazelnut ganache crust and dusted with dark chocolate on top. My Frenchie declared it as good as anything you could get at Parisian bakery....Maybe not from the top patisserie in the Marais, but solid nonetheless. At only four dollars it was priced at half what you'd get in any other suburb in Melbourne. (In fact, the next morning we spotted an almost identical looking cake at an upmarket cafe in neighbouring Yarraville that sold for 8.50). They also sell giant banh mi sandwiches, smoothies, and an array of fresh juice. Ambience is typical of Footscray (i.e, "absent") but you'll be so absorbed in your dessert that you'll hardly notice.

Cake like a dry sponge! Personally I'm ok with it cause it still tasted decent but aware. Hot…read morechocolate wasn't great but found myself drinking more than I thought.

What a gem of a little bakery! Not being on the main Sydney…read moreroad drag means that there are mainly locals that frequents this shop. Although I have a feeling that the Village Bakery may have its own not-so-local addicts. It's one of those places that looks almost warehouse like from the outside so you don't really look twice. Once you decide to visit Village Bakery though, it's a whole different story! It's elegant and welcoming inside, Open plan type counter and seatings and bread, cakes and pastries, pies and the smell of coffee. It's bright and smells delicious inside. You know you're gonna put on those kilos here. Bread are fresh daily, and there's also a selection of cheap day old bread on the side. Fresh whole meal loaf will set you back about $4 and between $1-3 for day old sourdough, rolls etc. I tried the Nutella donuts ($4)ea also available with jam or custard Pies and pasties selection include lamb, chicken and vego and there's also quiches on offer It was super difficult to keep my eyes off he cake cabinet... Eeeegggghhhhh I spied meringues, berry tarts cheesecakes, EVERY THING looks good!!!! I walked out still sniffing the coffee in the air and thinking about my next purchase... Oh its a blessing and a curse to have finally discovered the Village Bakery. Tip: on street parking and a few off street parking spots directly on door. If you're stuck, park at union square across the road

A quaint little bakery you may not think twice about. However, if you just kept walking on by then…read moreunfortunately you would've just missed out on some really good treats. Sure they make your typical varieties of fresh breads and sweets, but it's the Greek speciality items on offer that makes The Village Bakery worth a visit. The spanakopita in particular is a rare treat. They don't make it often, so when it is available, the locals flock to it. The folio pastry they use must be homemade as it's nothing like the stuff you'd find in a supermarket. It's thicker and beautifully crispy on top. The filling has the perfect balance between salty feta and earthy spinach. I can definitely see why it runs out so fast. One morning I popped in to grab one of their Greek pastries with the custard in the middle, and the owner told me they had just baked a fresh batch and went to get me a one from the back. It was still warm which made it twice as good. Now I try to get there in the morning hoping to score another freshly baked goody.

Awesome bakery, Greek and Turkish cuisine I would say…read more Great food and service. Would highly recommend. Great, great value too! Quite small, can possibly seat 15 in total, creates cost atmosphere. Food is mainly salads, pizza, falafels, pasties, etc

Great Lebanese food! Savoury pasties, sandwiches and meat. The coffee is amazing, it's just a cafe…read morebut they should have a restaurant.

Forget Lygon street. These guys do cannoli and traditional Italian desserts like none other…read more A sweet little shop that that boasts that old school decor, and warm Italian hospitality. There are a select few (small) tables for you to sit at and have your espresso with a delicious biscotti whilst you read a paper; or you may just want to sit back and watch the steady stream of clientele come in for their cannoli fix and pick up their pre-ordered desserts. Which ever way you choose to enjoy this place, you will walk out with tantalised taste buds and surprisingly relaxed. Heads up, the coffee here is pretty good too. Note: this is an old school cash only establishment.

The Age newspaper once said that if Tony Soprano lived in Melbourne he would get his Cannoli from…read moreT.Cavallaro & Sons, I have to say i can see why. As a child growing up in the North West I had my fair share of Cannoli and continental cakes and I have to say I was never a big fan of the slightly soggy cannoli shell filled with sickly sweet custard, this is saying something as I am quite the sweet tooth. So fast forward 15 years and here I am in Footscray and I thought I would roll the Cannoli dice again and WOW what an awesome surprise it was. Freshly filled in store with beautiful ricotta filling I fell in love with the crispy shell and delicious filling. Since then I have to say I have had a bit of an ongoing love affair with the family at T.Cavallaro who are always amazingly friendly, have yummy new biscuits to try and ice chocolates/coffees to have in their small shop. I adore it here, it makes me feel like I am sitting in an italian loungeroom having a chat and a snack. It really is a tiny bit of italy in the food bowl that is Footscray :)

Wow I Can't believe this place hasn't been rated yet! I've just moved to the area from living in…read moreJapan 19 years (e.g., the best customer service in the world) and am having a hard time adjusting to the terrible customer service in Australia. However this place is an exception! I've been there like 5 times in 2 weeks (can't get enough of their awesome chicken and veggie pies and vanilla slices!) and every time I've been there it's been perfect. Staff are so warm and friendly, and if you're in a hurry you're in luck- there are allot of staff working and you can get your order within a minute! Parking both out the front and across the street. The shop is really clean, and perhaps slightly off topic (!) but having not lived in Melbourne for almost 2 decades it's been strange to always have immigrants when I go and eat who have trouble communicating in English...this place is not so! It seems to be family owned and operated which I love...good old fashioned service......almost impossible to find thesedays! Can't recommend this place enough!