Ambiance: This place can get very crowded so watch out. I came in on a rainy day and I had to get…read moresquished in with another table awkwardly. Customer Service: I really actually loved the people here. They were incredibly friendly, greeted me immediately, and seemed really down-to-Earth. One of the waitresses complimented me on my tights which was my confidence boost for the day. Food: I ordered the Breakfast Wrap for a little over 12 dollars, 2 wraps with smoked salmon, egg, etc. toasted. It was actually pretty good and decently filling. The only downside is that it may have been a little bit bland - a bit more flavour would have been nice. --- Overall, I really like this tiny little cafe. They have a lovely charm, and a friendly service that makes you want them to succeed. There's definitely room for improvement but I'm willing to root them on.

Can you imagine the look on that fella's face when he went to get his regular cut-throat face shave…read moreat the Barber of Seville in Richmond, only to be asked, "would you like sugar with that" instead of "would you like to come back in an hour?" I prefer my men with coffee moustaches anyway. Since it opened in spring this year, the Old Barber Shop Café has filled an empty space on Church Street. Backed by Danny Klotz (owner of Torch on Swan Street), it's little wonder this is one of those cafés you are hesitant to share with your friends. You'll spot it easily: look for the sun umbrellas and wooden decking out the front - most probably swarming with regulars who come for the expertly prepared Genovese coffee. As you step inside the endearing Victorian building, a glass display cabinet stuffed with savoury goods battles for attention with the tantalising pastries, slices, cakes and cookies. Behind it, food is busily prepared in the tiny kitchen, which snuggles up to the cash register and extremely rare Wega concept coffee machine. If you like boobs with your breakfast you're in luck. A modern nude of an alluring blonde keeps watch over the front counter. Tables for couples sit beneath her but through the arched wall there's room for more. A rustic, blue communal table takes up the majority of the space alongside smaller seating arrangements and a wooden bench with bar seats. The Croque Madame was a knockout. It arrived, like all of the meals, on a wooden board with the addition of a mini terracotta bowl of dressed roquette... probably to try to lessen that guilt factor. It was humongous. The New York deli corned beef bagel maintained the standard. Accompanied by tangy mustard pickle and potato crisps, the sesame seed bagel was stuffed full of beef, onion and melted cheese. Simple but divine. Another basic but delicious dish was the tuna and mayonnaise toastie, served with a side of juicy cornichons. Also ordered was the crunchy house-made granola, topped with a blob of yoghurt and served with apple and rhubarb compote and a miniature glass milk bottle. We will be back in a hurry to try the rest of the menu and to make the most of the seats in the sun. Just like in Rossini's Barber of Seville, when it comes to the Old Barber Shop Café, it was love at first sight.

Nice restaurant close to Mentone station. They do nice drinks as well as lunch and dinner.read more

We decided to have an early morning stop and what a bright and cheery greeting we received. It was…read morea lovely way to start a chilly morning. The staff were upbeat and enthusiastic to start the day. The cafe is cozy and inviting with a few touches to make you feel at home. From the colouring books and toys for the little ones to the warm surroundings. The serving staff were efficient and we were on our way. What a lovely spot to enjoy a quick bite or a coffee on the run. Enjoy.

Excellent cafe! Great food and coffee in a cozy setting filled with used books for sale. It's like…read morea combination book and coffee shop (one stop shopping?!). Definitely a great coffee for breakfast, a snack, or just a quick coffee to go!

5-Senses Coffee on a La Marzocco machine produces rich coffee with a smooth after palette…read more The cosy atmosphere is a great place to enjoy the smoky bacon (which is a must have) with eggs on the side. No porridge, which is a shame because it is an environment made for a bowl of rich oats. Second hand books and crocheted tea cosies finish the effect. I'm going to leave this review shorter than usual because I have my coffee to finish...

I have to admit it took 5 minutes to actually find Chases Kitchen, it was kinda low key, there was…read moreno logo or anything big but we found it in the end. In the end we found a table and the waiter came straight away, he was very friendly and didn't mind that my mum didn't want dry fruit in her fruit salad. After a small chat the food came in, we were both surprised how quickly it was. I ordered the Boston Burger which was amazing and it came with plenty of chips and it filled me up really easily. The bread is really soft and the chips were very tasty! My mum enjoyed her fruit salad and was very happy with the restaurant (which can be very difficult). All in all I would 100% recommend going to this place, with friendly staff and amazing food what else is there to want?

If you come here hungry, get the Boston Burger! Huge! It actually comes with a pinch of Mexico on…read moreit with it's deliciously hot jalapeno mayo! Hot Stuff! The bread is specially soft and they come with thin crunchy fries. If you don't have much time on lunch break (like myself), called them to order in advance and their friendly staff will prepare a special table for you and everything. Looking for brekkie? They've got 'em all. I usually randomly ask them to prepare me some scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms, tomato and spinach. The result is better than expected. Try their Benedict eggs as well. All worth it. Lovely and friendly staff! Nice background music!

We wandered into Thangs Cafe, situated at the top end of Lygon St where there is not much on offer,…read morefor a late lunch and were greeted by the friendly staff as we headed to the counter. The menu was full of mostly sandwiches and burgers, which suited us just fine. I ordered the Roo Burger and my wife the Open Vegie Melt. We were excitedly told about what was in each meal before being told to not worry about paying yet and to grab a seat. I also ordered a strawberry milkshake, which was unfortunately a little disappointing and essentially just a Big M in a glass. I did have it topped up for free while I was half way finished though. We were the only ones in the cafe, but the wait for our food was still quite a bit, but once it did come out I was more than happy. The Open Vegie Melt was big and cheesy and the Roo Burger was absolutely delicious, not too big, but the perfect size to fill me up. The breakfast menu looked to be quite good too, containing all of your standard cafe brekkie items. We were in the area looking for a new house, so I hope that I'll be able to head back soon to try out more of what's on offer!

Have been here twice now. Once for lunch and today for a coffee. The man that works there is…read moreabsolutely delightful. Very helpful and super friendly. The menu is not huge but pretty offers a good range of burgers and sandwiches. I had the open veggie grill, which was delicious. Serving sizes are pretty good as well. Nice spot to just have a coffee and sit back and relax. We sat at the window today, so nice to people watch and watch the world go by.

This place was great. Basically I was wandering up around Ascot Vale, namely because I wanted to…read moresee how long it would take for me to get from my house to the exam venues by public transport, and since I was down here having some breakfast was definitely called for, so I decided to come here. Well, not surprisingly they had a great eggs benedict, though the tea wasn't one of the best that I'd had. Still, it was pretty cool, and the staff were also really friendly.

The coffee is poifect, the food - delightful. A small selection of foods but really hearty and full…read moreof flavour. You can't complain when you have the choice of pairing your brekkie with an Oreo milkshake (milk is not a bad choice here, Ron Burgundy!) Union Road has some seriously awesome cafés to choose from, but if I'm on my own, I'll always go to Grandpa Joe and grab a seat by the window, fill up on creamy lattes and watch the world go by. You're generally helped along by some classy tunes and the Banksy-ish artworks that graces the walls within. Don't go in a large group, tables generally cater for two inside and four outside.

I feel compelled to write this review as someone previously had given them 1 star and I feel like…read morethis is more of a 3.5 star experience. While I agree the food is not exceptional (and it really needs to be to survive in this area), the friendly staff and decent wine and craft beer list help a lot. The fit out is the best part of this place. I'm a sucker for well designed cafés and restaurants (this is both), and was blown away by the cute design and use of space. It's very photogenic and will be great in summer, sitting on the front deck drinking Campari spritz or In winter tucked away out back with a glass of red wine. There is also a bluestone cellar with a large pool table hidden downstairs! Not many of these left in modern pubs around this area! All in all this place has a lot of room to improve but the foundation is there for a great addition to Collingwood.

We stumbled upon this little place as the last of our mini bar/food crawl for the night. It wasn't…read morevery busy but it was the allure of espresso martinis for $12 that did it for my friends. We were seated in a booth up the back - not great for atmosphere but it was late (for us) so we were happy to just be with our own company. I was very happy to find they had Starward whisky on the menu - stoked, my favourite! The staff were very friendly and great with the recommendations - we had some food and I don't know if it was the late hour or the glowing review the staff gave it but it was absolutely delicious. We had one item that was like an arancini ball but it was crumbed mashed potato with a beautiful truffled mushroom ragu in the middle. I shared one with my friend but could easily have eaten another two to myself! The fried artichokes were also tasty but the balls were the best.

The sign out the front said "menu changing soon", is that a good thing or bad? My mind was racing…read moreas I considered the pros and cons (is the current menu no good? New management?) Anyway after speaking with the friendly staff I was told that the chef fancies trying something new, more modern and more seasonal .. all sound promising to me. The cafe on a quiet residential side street is simple, unpretentious. The staff are friendly and it's an unhurried relaxing space with concrete floors, off white walls, indoor plants, large tables and a book shelves. Short black had a good flavour, enjoyable if a little weak and I would've preferred hotter. For food I went with the Pea smash. The busy plate arrived with a generous portion of bacon that was well cooked and tasty. The hash was over seasoned for mine. However the star of the dish is the smashed pea which had a beautiful texture, light and fresh. Sitting on top was a poached egg .. well cooked, I liked the radish too. Will be interesting to see what the change of menu yields, I hear they're toying with the idea of a vegan cafe with the option of adding non vegan extras - regardless if you're in the area worth a visit. Newspapers - yes Music - upbeat and bubbling away nicely in the background

Really good coffee and food, however very slow service, so just go if you want to chill and you're…read morenot really in a big hurry. Staff is very friendly as well :)