Breakfast, we are told, is the most important meal of the day, but unfortunately very few…read morerestaurants get it right. The Diplomat Cafe in Highett I'm pleased to announce is one of the few. This cafe is centrally located on the main strip across the road from the Highett train station. The cafe itself is really well designed with a small show kitchen pumping out meals to a rather large minimalistic dining room. It really has a great vibe. The first thing that I was impressed with was the staff. Upon arrival I was greeted warmly, and escorted to my table, offered water and a coffee to start with. This in itself seems to be a lost art in today's restaurant scene. I ordered a jasmine pearl tea to start, which, when arrived was presented on a wooden board, with a cup, an iron teapot and a box with three sandglass minute timers. The first one set at one minute, the second at three mins and the third at five minutes. Each timer representing the strength of the tea. A pretty cool concept. The menu looked awesome, but all I really wanted was poached eggs, bacon and mushrooms. So that's what I ordered. Now it's generally at this stage when I ask the waiter if I could have my bacon crispy, but in all honestly I forgot, so I was a bit concerned. My breakfast arrived in a reasonable timeframe, and my first impression was, that it looked pretty good. It wasn't good, not at all, it was awesome. Let's start with the eggs. Perfectly poached, soft and gooey yolks, and perfectly poached whites. As much as the eggs impressed me it was the bacon that wowed me. Crispy but still juicy and full of flavour, just the way I like it. I have to say this was one of the best bacon and eggs I've ever had. The food that was coming out of that kitchen was amazing. So if you find yourself down Highett way check out The Diplomat, it truly was amazing.

WOW what a place! And what a find. The staff are extremely friendly, helpful and nothing was too…read moremuch trouble. Both the breakfast and lunch menu options were varied. I had the smashed avocado and poached eggs and it was absolutely scrumptious. Couldn't recommend this establishment enough. The atmosphere was buzzing and filled with laughter and cheer. A must try if you ask me.

My first visit to Light Years was for breakfast; a delicious and unforgettable meal it was…read more The location was off the beaten path, it took me about 15-20 minutes walk from the nearest metro. I was wondering why such a popular spot would be so isolated? But all is well worth the effort to get here. The venue is brimming with natural lighting, classic charm and warmth. For my breakfast, I ordered the Pixelated avocado (on a sourdough toast) because it just looked so darn intriguing. I didn't expect anything else to be honest, and turned out this was GOOD!! Every single element in this dish has complex flavors that compliments each other. The chili dried air kale, diced pixelated avocado and the soft shell crab was especially stunning. The dish certainly performs to its Instagram ability. For my drink, I ordered their matcha latte; it was strong tasting yet smooth. I could drink this all day! The Light Years is certainly not disappointing in any way, from the beautiful venue to the outstanding food, supported with service and ambiance for days. Easily, my favorite brunch spot in town at the moment and much to recommend you :).

Went to Light Years for Sunday brunch and was relieved to find that, although very busy, the wait…read moretime was only a few minutes. Recently opened at the bottom of a new apartment block just along from the Camberwell tram depot, it should not be confused with Lights in the Attic cafe which is a bit further down Camberwell Road. The fit out is the now common scandi/minimalist affair with a smattering of potted greenery. Coffee is from Dukes, but the star of the show here is the food. All the dishes I saw coming out looked great and were good sized portions. I had the bircher and it was a generous serve, looked pretty and tasted even better. Overall a good value and tasty option for brunch/lunch in the leafy inner east.

The vibe here is casual and staff are easy going with friendly and fast service. So glad to find a…read moreplace close to home and there are plenty of street parking options as well! The only downside was the music was a little bit loud but I did enjoy their music choices. Delicious breakfast with fast service and will be visiting again!

I do love it when a cafe opens in Oakleigh and there isn't a souvlaki in sight!…read more This little cafe would be more at home in Fitzroy, but I am SO glad it's opened its doors in this meat heavy suburb. Menu is a great mix of brunch staples, a delicious variety of salads that keeps things interesting and some awesome looking sandwiches that are all reasonably priced and super fresh. They even cater for the kidlets with proper (non-processed) chicken nuggets. You can grab a lunch deal for $14 which changes regularly and includes a main and drink. Yesterday's chicken salad and freshly squeezed orange juice hit the spot perfectly. The coffee is bang on, as is the hot chocolate, and the staff are relaxed and friendly.I'm looking forward to working my way through the menu.

had smiley faces on and were polite with service. nowadays became a sunny Saturday afternoon, we…read morehad been instructed we may want to sit down anywhere so we chose a table outside. Sipping a mocktail with the solar's warmth for your returned and hen's eye views, virtually outstanding. super add to the Glenny scene. meals was fun. We began with half a dozen oysters. Theses had been pretty small in length but tasted sparkling. The flavours to the barramundi were more mild and calm however once more, fish became very fresh. My companion appreciated the chorizo sausage and rice balls the maximum from the tasting platter, even as I enjoyed the sweet chilli chicken pieces most. the atmosphere inside may be described as stylish and sophisticated, can see it would be super for those past due night drinks. would recommended and come returned some time.

From the owner: SkyBar, Restaurant, Cocktail Lounge and Functions Venue busting out Creative Cocktails and a Modern…read moreAustralian Menu

Ok, Attica it's not, but it's not pretending to be. Here you have a Chef who is experimenting with…read morefoods, textures and combinations in a stylish degustation menu that pleases and challenges at the same time. Attentive and non-obtrusive service by the wait staff and knowledgable advise from a well versed sommellier round out a very pleasant dining experience. Very highly recommended.

On a Wednesday night, we found ourselves in Oakleigh to celebrate my roommate's birthday…read more Fashionably, dinner is always in order. Walking along the wide alleyway of restaurants, the omega symbol implanted inside the "AROMA" sign drew us in. (I wonder why they chose that specific symbol?) A quick glance of the menu whetted our appetites of the appealing food items that were available. Entertained by the chitter-chatter of local passersby and other diners, we decided to sit outside. We were enlivened by the social atmosphere uncommonly present on a week night. Although filled with excitement to celebrate the night's festivities, we found ourselves mesmerized by the graceful placement of dishes on top our table- an odd thing to be captivated by. The staff member set up our table so eloquently that it was nearly hypnotic. His service and delivery was on point! Our water was continuously refilled. There was not a beat to be missed. The food arrived altogether in a timely manner, with the exception of the beer that my other room mate had ordered. Food was cooked nicely, and tasted good. The birthday celebrant ordered the spanakopita as it was one of his favorite Greek items. It surprised me to see how big it was- like a giant pretzel! My roommate enjoyed it although I caught him saying that he wished there was more parmesan cheese inside. By the time my other room mate and I were halfway done with our shared gyros plate, he decidedly asked the waitress about his beer order. Having realized her mistake, she quickly ran (literally) back inside to retrieve his Victoria Bitter Ale. And then, all was well.

I will start by saying service was VERY attentive. Perhaps borderline annoying at times but George,…read morewho I believe is the owner, was friendly and offered good advice on lunch specials. My two dining partners raved about their food. They shared a seafood paella which did look pretty good. The kitchen only served a single serve instead of 'for two' as requested but turns out that was plenty for them so they cancelled the second dish. Now i don't know if I was being picky but I found everything a bit too oily. We shared a starter of eggplant chips that were soggy and i could see the oil pooling on the plate - yuck. Can't beat Hairy Canary in the city or Cafe Paradiso in Camberwell for those I think, but once again, my dining partners thought they were great. My main of the calamari plate was a huge serve and I didn't even come close to finishing the chips. Once again I just found the whole thing a bit 'meh'. Calamari was cooked okay, chips okay and the side salad just looked plain and tired. We finished with the Bougatsa which was the stand out dish. It was kind of pushed on us by George but was the definite highlight of the meal for me. If I head back, I might stick to the more traditional meat plates...

Newish springvale eatery that specialises in local dishes from Hue Vietnam. I've had a lot of viet…read morefood and thought I knew it all. I guess not!!! It took me time to go over the menu as I had never heard of some of the things / variations offered. I guess it is the regions take on some of the popular Viet dishes... There is a section on the menu for Kitchen's Specialisation... As I was going through this, the owner who looked like a reformed viet gangster came across and started talking to us. Nice guy.. :) Went for #137 (Bánh t), #5 (Banh Loc) .. and the broken rice on a hot plate. cus the dude suggested it. I told him that there is no where in Springvale that serves good Com Tam anymore.. and asked whats so special about his broken rice... he said try it... you wont regret. serving it on a sizzling plate tastes better he says... I couldnt agree more. The sizzling plate also makes the broken rice a bit harder at the bottom, almost like a claypot. Which was an interesting twist. The Pork.. I haven't had this good in a while. Not the best I have had as it still lacked the flame grilled flavour. But great all the same. Banh Loc - I've not tried this before... very similar to most of the "banh" style dishes but wrapped in banana leaf and not heavy. Banh Uot - is very similar to the normal banh cuon (translucent rice noodle rolls) that I am used to however this variety... the "uot" (opaque rice noodle rolls) which means wet banh uses a thicker noodle sheet as wrapper and the filler used was small amounts of pork. I think marinated grilled pork.. the 'cuon' uses those ear mushroom / fungus thingies. and the pork is finer. Arrrggg .. Anyway... bottom line... its frekn YUM! just go try it! :) and no I dont have shares there and the reformed gangster owner has not threatened my family or anything!! PS: the observation of the dude is in jest only! please dont track me down. :)

Went here for dinner with a friend on Sunday night and the food was just amazing. I lived in…read moreVietnam for 6 years and it was just like being back there only the temperature was a lot cooler. We will definitely be going back again. I have found my new Vietnamese restaurant.

Good solid four star Japanese. This is a favourite restaurant of my good friends who love their…read moreJapanese and good food generally. Nice restaurant. Very good dishes. All of them. Every dish we had tonight was great - see photos. Service, particularly from the lovely Zoe, was efficient and friendly. We had a great night. Been here twice. I'd love to come here again.

Good value, good food, and Sake and Japanese beers are good too, well priced, Shabu Shabu was…read moreamazing

Literally run by a husband and wife team only, Champagne Charlize is a local gem in East Bentleigh…read moreand watching him greet his regular clients shows. You can see there were many people at the restaurant that he seemed to know personally, and that's something you don't see often these days. When you walk in, it smells like home cooking and gets you salivating before you've even sat down. The menu is on an easel and he brings it around to each table and puts it back between orders. For one cook and one wait staff, the time between placing your order and receiving your food is reasonable. I must say, it's probably due to this that they cut a few corners, and some things were definitely microwaved, but for the most part, things tasted good, except for the few things that tasted like they'd been in the freezer a long while. There were some things that had an element of not being so fresh, which was a bit disappointing. There were also quite a few items off the menu last night, due to the fact they're closing in a few weeks, and apparently the new owner didn't want stock left (which DEFINITELY makes me think some foods aren't fresh). That part was very disappointing. He'd go and cross things off the menu throughout the night as people ordered the last of it. With that said ... if you get a chance before they close soon to eat here, there's a nice selection of European style food that most of us really enjoyed. The service was friendly and prices reasonable and the decor homely and comforting. They do a great job for only two people. I hope they enjoy retirement when the time comes.

What a wonderful addition to Bentleigh's eateries. It's about time we got a decent restaurant that…read moreserves authentic European cuisine at reasonable prices. Champagne Charlize might sound like it's a wine bar but it's a fantastic restaurant with the tastiest food I've had in ages. To make it even better, they're fully licensed with a great wine list and plenty of beers. You can also BYO (bottled wine). If you try the Wiener Schnitzel or the Rack of Lamb you'll think you're in heaven. There's soup for $7 and lunches for under $10. I am finding it's cheaper to eat here than to go to a nearby supermarket and buy the ingredients to cook the same dish at home!

I have since gone back two more times!…read more The steaks and salad are the best parts but I also tried the homemade baked lemon tart! It was nice but next time I think I will save room for the king prawns instead. I was able to speak to the chef upon this visit and learned that he chooses the meat every morning carefully and spends hours preparing it himself. He then spends time getting the grill ready and that can take hours too. Sooo much passion and knowledge go into cooking a single steak. Def going to go back again soon. So happy I stumbled to this place and almost don't want to share it as it might get too busy and run out of tables when I go. My own selfish little slice of meaty heaven.

I don't know what it is about Zagars which keeps me coming back. Maybe it's the rustic and homily…read morelook and feel of the restaurants dining area or maybe it's the always delicious reasonably priced eye fillet steak which melts in your mouth. Either way this is by far the best steak in this part of Melbourne. Be warned though this is a small two man show so service can be a bit laissez-faire so be prepared for a bit of a wait if there are a few tables (generally packed on weekends so book ahead).