We ate at Vegie Bar last weekend and afterwards decided to drop into their dessert shop, Girls &…read moreBoys, just next door. The owners of Vegie Bar opened Girls & Boys last month to satisfy the ever-growing demand for all things vegan on Brunswick St, and I'm sure glad they did. One of the great things about Girls & Boys is that they have a window there for take-away Vegie Bar food. Yes, that's right, you can now get Vegie Bar food to go -- no more waiting endlessly for a table, no more surly hipster waiters, no more practically sitting in your neighbor's lap as you crane to reach your plate -- just the good ol' Vegie Bar food you know and love in a fraction of the time and to be eaten in the comfort of your own home. (Or wherever.) Just pop in to Girls & Boys and go to the Vegie Bar takeaway window to your left. But let's talk about the Girls & Boys desserts, as this place is primarily a dessert shop. They have a variety of gorgeous, artfully created desserts -- puddings and little cakes and tarts and things like that -- that rival the likes of Brunetti (but without the cruelty of eggs and dairy!) A lot of them are also gluten-free or free from refined sugar. I will add there's not a HUGE amount of selection, but what they do have is beautiful. Personally, I was in the mood for gelato so I sampled the blood orange gelato (yum) but ended up going with chocolate hazelnut because it's hard to find vegan chocolate hazelnut gelato in this world! (probably a good thing for my waistline). While it wasn't the most amazing gelato on the planet, it was really really good, tasted exactly like a dairy chocolate hazelnut gelato would, and I would happily order it again. They also do soft-serve (including choc-tops!), smoothies (some healthier than others), and coffee (including your usual trendy stuff like turmeric and matcha lattes). They offer the whole variety of non-dairy milks for your coffees, including macadamia nut milk, which is unusual and pretty cool. The place doesn't really have any seating, so it's more of a grab-and-go kind of place. Service was friendly. Price is reasonable -- along the lines of other speciality dessert-type places. Even if you're not vegan, this is a great place to go if you have a dairy or gluten allergy, and a great place to get fancy little cakes and things for those special treat-yourself occasions as well. But even if you have ZERO dietary restrictions, this place is worth a visit -- don't miss it.

Super interior design and adjacent to another vegan restaurant- perfect for lunch and dessert! We…read moretried a chocolate shake, mint chocolate chip on a cone, and vanilla on a cone. The mint chip was the clear winner- swaying over even the omnivorous kids. The adults happily finished off everything else. There were 6 other options I believe, as well as sundaes, toppings, and pastries! Great option for vegans who are sick of maybe 1 or 2 sorbet options!

I love quirk. I was sold on the tables the moment I walked in. Hand painted, they each had…read moredifferent serving items on them - forks, knives, carafes...I even took a photo to send to my architect friend with the subject "Table Porn". I guess the Vinces Mazzone & Colosimo, or their decorators, have a good eye! Food-wise, they've stuck to a short, simple menu including toasties, which I consider an entirely underrated cafe food. I chose to have smashed avocado on toast, a personal favourite of mine. My avo wasn't mashed, just smashed & the cheese was perfect. The only letdown was that my toast was over-done and slightly burnt around the edges, but also difficult to cut through. I can't really blame them though, I did rock up far too early on a Saturday morning (8.30am!) on a 39 degree day. They take great pride coffee-wise, with the barista personally coming out with my cappuccino in order to apologise for the "slight bubbles". Apparently it's calving season and they're giving the cows a different feed, leading to more bubbly milk (?). I didn't mind. The coffee was fantastic overall and if the cows didn't want to cooperate, I wasn't about to shoot the barista. Overall, I'd go back. It's very early days yet and I can see potential.

Great coffee, pretty good food but one experience I had slightly sickened me…read more I went in for coffee with some friends, my brother and I ordered soy caps which we had ordered here before. The coffees come out and after one sip we both agree that they've forgotten to use soy, ahwell. We don't worry about it and drink them as they are. I go to pay and the girl asks for 5$ for the soy coffee (regular size), I tell her about what happened assuming she either misheard or messed up my order. She immediately insists that it was soy and makes it out like I have no idea what I'm talking about. My brother and I have drunk both soy and regular milk coffees for years, from cafes all over Australia and at home. There was no doubt it was regular milk, not soy. It was nothing like soy in flavor, texture and consistency. I also tasted a friends regular milk coffee and it was exactly the same. I asked what soy they used incase it was a different soy milk i've never tried, but it was Bonsoy, the soy I drink everyday. I'm too nice and refrain from just flat out saying they're wrong. After further explaining that it was not just me, but me and another person both agreeing that it wasn't soy, a guy who seemed like a manager, although completely uninvolved in the conversation turns around and says "that's what a good coffee will do" then turns back around, insinuating the coffee was so good it completely changed everything about the milk. As I said, I've had hundreds of different soy coffees, including multiple from this cafe prior and soy has never been in every way EXACTLY the same as regular milk. I don't really care about the fact that I was charged a dollar extra for them stuffing my order up. Take the dollar. I also don't care about the milk, I know it's a pretty trivial thing, but it's the principle. The fact that no one in the store for a second even considered that they may have made a mistake, despite multiple customers agreeing, is enough to stop me coming back. The way they went about the whole thing was absurd. The shear lack of acknowledgement and understanding for multiple customers was really something I've never experienced. I award you two stars and may god have mercy on your souls.

Pop up house for 5 weeks so I dropped by and got in just before closing time. Very cute little…read morehouse and we were seated outside. They don't do take away unless you get the tub and it was all dine in. We got the three scoops for $12 - green tea, mint and pralines and cream. Mr D loved the mint flavour, I loved the pralines and cream, the Green tea wasn't bad either but you gotta love green tea. First time trying this brand since I missed out in Europe, it was quite average. The flavours were great and it wasn't as creamy as I'd thought it'll be. Do give it a try if you haven't and see if you enjoy it. Staff were really lovely and it's card only (yeah I know, it's usually cash only at places).

The sister and I were roaming around the area and then we decided to pop in here for a little bit…read morebefore heading back to sydney. MATCHA QUEEN- matcha mousse, yuzu cremeux, and pistachio sponge Presentation was beautiful and very appetizing, but sadly the sponge was so dry. The matcha wasn't as earthy as I would've liked, but I could taste matcha flavors. The yuzu added some tartness, but didn't balance the matcha well so it was just 2 distinct flavors that didn't meld well together. TIRAMISU- mascarpone cream, chocolate sponge, and coffee-infused sponge As the other cake, this cake was also too dry. The sponge was too tight and didn't have that fluffy feel. Flavorwise, it was just okay, not the best tiramisu I've had. It was more chocolate than coffee and didn't have that traditional tiramisu flavor I was hoping for. Overall, I wouldn't say I would come back. The cakes were too dry and flavors weren't that great.

Previously named Chokolait, this cafe was one of my favorites from 2009-2011. I used to include…read morethis cafe in a scavenger hunt for students studying abroad at the University of Mellbourne, so they could sample the amazing hot chocolate. Times have changed.. not just the name. I brought my husband and best friend here to try the spicy hot chocolate. You can choose your spice level, one which the owner used to provide lengthy detailed descriptions on how levels were determined, and chocolate prepared. My husband asked and received a one word answer- pepper. I selected a 7/10. The hot chocolate is still delicious. The shopkeeper was very unfriendly and seemed annoyed at our presence. He gave us our drinks and took a rolling suitcase out of the store for fifteen or twenty minutes. 8 customers stopped in while he was away- two left before he returned, four left when he walked in and met them without smiles or enthusiasm, and 2 ordered drinks. The cafe is located in the heart of the CBD but hIdden down an alleyway. When finished, my friend asked the owner for the bathroom key and he refused. Pro- the hot chocolate is delicious, con- unkind shopkeeper. I won't be back.

It was pretty funny when I took a look on their website and saw a picture of an enthusiastic…read moresmiling woman... then recalling the not-so-enthusiastic guy who just seemed bored. I really like how you can choose up to 3 flavours for a cup. One thing I do have to applaud Trampoline Gelato for is its variety so it makes it easy to try out different flavours. I ordered: Banana, Pokey Pokey (honeycomb and butterscotch), and Creme Caramel. All of it was okay, but there was nothing really special and out of the ordinary about it. There are better gelato places around Melbourne, but this definitely does make for a fine recommended option if you are in the Brunswick area. NOTES: ~ There is very limited seating. They have a bar-like seating area with few chairs and some outside seating but that is about it. So, I don't recommend coming here for a large group and planning on staying. Overall, I would have absolutely no problem with coming here again, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to find this place or have a massive craving.

I've been avoiding going to this ice cream parlor for 7 years. Mainly because I was a religious…read moreCharmaine's ice cream lover that used to be directly across the road, which now longer exists - now they had the creamiest chocolate chilli ever. Anyway, Trampoline is now there and has run off all the competition with their brightly coloured signs and street stools, pastel clad staff and offensive choice of radio station (I'm not going to get into that here). Now I'm not an old fuddy dudy who hates change, and only likes things the way they used to be - far from it. It's just that this store's style doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, but I am an uncle and my young niece likes bright colours and ice cream. So I stepped across the threshold and entered the brightest dark side I've ever been to. I tried the Hazelnut and to be fair, it was pretty yummy, not as creamy as Charmaine's, or maybe that's just me being biased. The bad radio was there and the offensive bright colours and my niece loved every minute of it.

I was already loaded on serotonin (result of two back to back fitness classes) before arriving here…read moreon a cool Sunday afternoon (around 12pm). There is ample street parking and a park with a playground within minutes away.  My friend had arrived a few minutes earlier and put down our names on the waiting list. She was told it would be a 25 minutes wait. So, in the mean time, we got coffees. She got herself a soy flat white, while I was refused a skinny cacao mocha as they do not serve skim milk. When my friend asked why, they said it was because skim milk is full cream milk with the fat removed and added sugar. Though I beg to differ, I had to suffice with the full cream extra hot cacao mocha. Their homemade cacao is bitter and hence my drink was quite bitter but I could barely taste the coffee as the cacao was so overpowering. Perhaps, I should have ordered a double shot cacao mocha.  We got seating within the 25 minutes and were offered seats in the corner. While I had a comfy couch to sit on, my friend appeared to be sitting on what looked like a bed. She had the waitress climbing up behind her to serve drinks and food. As this looked quite awkward, we were then moved to shared seating on a long table near the kitchen. Here I noticed that the cafe has outdoor seating which I would have much preferred as well as swings that you can sit on. The swings look pretty cool but I prefer stable seating.  My friend was hangry and ordered the nutrition bomb which is 23 bucks and has eggs, alfalfa sprouts, pumpkin/sweet potato and other goodness. I found the menu slightly disappointing as I love eggs and most of the dishes suggested that you add on an egg ($5 for an egg - umm I buy a dozen for around $3), but then I guess you go to other cafes for eggs or eat them at home.  I got the smiling avocado - a dish with two slices of bread (their sprouted bread is sensational), lots of cherry tomatoes, crumbed feta, smashed pea and mint puree, smashed avocado beetroot relish, and chopped chilli. The portion sizes are huge so I do not recommend you order any of their large sides to share unless you are very very hungry. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and enjoyed the slight sweet flavour that was perhaps due to the beetroot relish. I could have done with more chilli but feared asking for added chilli as that is an extra 2 bucks. Service is quick and staff friendly. They have a minimum 20 eftpos limit (seriously!) but then it's easy to exceed the $20 limit where almost everything is an add-on (eggs, avocado, chilli, sweet potato, pumpkin, and the list goes on).  I believe their menu is best catered for people who like to mix and match items to produce their own brunch meals. Whereas for me, I prefer pre-designed brunch items that are wholesome and affordable.

I found it really hard to like this place. I found it hard to pay a minimum of $22 for something…read morethat I already eat daily. I found Serotonin to be wanky, overpriced and weirdly cult like. With dishes like deconstructed sushi and over used adjectives on the menu that want to make you (and I did) go 'WTF'? They are clearly aiming at the current happy, healthy and wholesome vibe going around but the menu has no staying power. Especially with the prices they ask of you. $10 for a coconut with a shot of espresso. Golden latte - I make this all the time at home and mine tastes better. Won't be back.

So I wanted to take the local team out for a bite to eat nearby and the common was a great…read moreselection. All the staff were friendly, any question about the menu was answered expertly, with enough detail, but also with enthusiasm for the food which they served - which I always think is a good sign. It was all freshly prepared and the ingredients all appeared to be of a high quality, considering that the while team quietened down until their plates were cleared is a good sign it was enjoyed by all. I also grabbed a coffee since this would always be a long day for me and as you might expect it was a good temperature and strength, a nice local foodie cafe to the office.

The coffee is consistently good here!! Great place for a coffee meeting and lunch is not bad as…read morewell. I've tried the pasta here and although it's not as good as say Italy or Georgios it's still pretty good. It's got an outdoor sitting area and for functions the Birdie space can be used. They can put on a pretty decent bbq. It's also opened for after work drinks.

Walking by and notice a mass amount of people crammed in a small shop! Given the popularity, I…read moredecided to give it a try! Typical tea shop rooted from Taiwan! The drink were good and creative, but not excellent! Bobba seemed extra fresh which is key in this type of drink! With so many shops to choose from in Melbourne, the drinks need to be amazing to get me to stop in a second time! Worth a try if in the area otherwise find a shop that is convenient to you that you enjoy!

Signature was pretty good with the tophy. Very creamy but maybe next time will ask for less sugarread more