I discovered this little gem after a year of working in clayton, while looking for somewhere decent…read moreto eat. It won me over with its quality food at great prices, something hard to find despite the numerous bakeries, cafes and other takeaways in the area. The staff are also friendly and very helpful. I go there every working day and the only fault I have is how busy it is!! Not a bad fault if you ask me...

The Grain is a small bakery and café on Clayton Road in Clayton, a street replete with other small…read morebakeries, cafés and restaurants. My experience is limited to what they had on offer for takeaway, so I cannot speak to their café offerings. Given this experience, though, I would not want to try anything else. I purchased two Kaiser rolls from The Grain and two large pieces of baklava. Neither of these are particularly difficult to make, or at the very least there are many more elaborate and intricate breads and desserts one could make. The first tell of the impending disappointment was the shape of the Kaiser rolls. What makes a Kaiser roll distinctive is the five segments of the top bun. These can be made by folding the dough prior to baking (the traditional method), by cutting the dough after it has risen, or by using a purchased tool to do this. The rolls from The Grain had a faint trace of these distinctive lines, but this was marked by tears in the dough. The rolls themselves were dry and hard and completely inedible except for a pinch or two of soft bread in the centre. It was almost impossible to bit into the roll, and even when this was possible the bread was so dry and flavourless that there wasn't much point to trying to eat it. The most satisfying part to the rolls were the dull thud they made as they hit the bottom of my rubbish bin. The other item I sampled from The Grain was their baklava. Baklava is actually really easy to make, it just takes a lot of time to assemble. This also makes it easy to tell a good baklava from a poor one without even trying. A well made baklava has alternative layers of pastry and walnuts (which are mixed with sugar or honey). This is time consuming because the pastry layers are thing and require some care, they have to be wiped with oil or butter, and you have to be careful to spread the nuts evenly. If you were being lazy, you could put two thick layers of nut mixture between thick layers of pastry, as The Grain did. You still have the same amount of nuts and pastry, they're just lumped together. The problem with this is that it makes the pastry incredibly tough. I found it difficulty to cut the pastry with a fork--something that is difficult enough in a properly constructed baklava, let alone one with walls of pastry--and trying to bite through it wasn't much more successful. The next problem with the baklava was the nuts used. Traditionally one uses walnuts, or perhaps pecans if walnuts are not available, with pistachio as a garnish. I am no purist who requires walnuts, some of the best baklava I have had have been reimaginings using ingredients that were not available in the near east when the dessert first emerged. But, if you're already being lazy in the construction, it is not appropriate to substitute walnuts for almonds. The only reason to do this would be to cut costs given how much cheaper almonds are, which was not reflected in the very streep asking price ($4/piece). The use of almonds, the cheap construction and tough pastry all combine to make a truly terrible baklava. Given what I have experience of The Grain, this is one bakery/café to be avoided.

Coffee was really nice. Very flavorful with good latte art. Decor is really lovely. Nice place to…read moresit and watch people.

Have now had the pleasure of eating both breakfast and dinner at this lovely establishment,…read morecentrally located near Clayton station. Delicious food, great coffee and excellent service. The menu is really versatile, including both Korean fusion and modern Australian dishes. The beef japchi and burgers are divine. Prices are very reasonable. Lots of room for prams at the back plus a little table set up for young kids with books. Highly recommend and will definitely be back regularly!

Service is very good, the workers are great people. Pretty nice Ambiance on the inside. Foods…read moreamazing, a little pricey though.

OMG. If you want to experience some decedent treats do yourself a favour and head here. The most…read morebuttery, chunky meet pies ever. Try the rum bubba. Grab a coffee and enjoy. Very satisfying.

This place should be illegal, because I'm out of pocket after just sneaking inside…read more The other day I came here for the usual morning coffee after hearing all the praise from yelpers (hey, after all if you can trust anyone it is all the good yelpers rather than any other strangers I have never met ). I was surprised at the large amount of freshly baked bread and decided to stock up a weeks worth of breads as well as a few muffins for myself and some workmates which was amazing , Other than all the breads anyone could want this guys have all kinds of other treats including cookies in many shapes and sizes pies ( apple pie, berry pie, meat pies an all the other pies), sticky date puddings, soft drinks and coffee which is honestly no that all praise worthy.

This is my morning bakery that I have been coming to for years. Maybe because it's the closest…read morebakery to me, but even if it wasn't I would still buy from here. A non-pretentious little shop that sells fresh bread, pizza rolls, ham cheese rolls, cakes, croissants, sandwiches and other typical bakery items. They are quite busy during the mornings, with workers constantly coming in and out for a takeaway coffee and ham cheese croissant. They sell a few cakes (orange and poppy seed, sticky date, cheesecake, mud etc.), cupcakes, tarts, gingerbread men and meringues etc. They also sell muffins fresh in the mornings that are absolutely delicious! The flavors change every day, but they are all so good. I had a berry one once, and there was swirl of raspberry jam all the way through, it was fantastic. Definitely grab yourself a muffin from here. This bakery also stocks milk and pies.

My go to pasticceria best one in Melb in my opinion and I been to them all!!!…read moreBeen open as long as I can remember ordered all our festive cakes as a kid from there and never disappointed!! Their continental cake is the best!! So are their sfogliatelle!!