Reasons not to visit this cafe: 1. If you have anaphylaxis and are vegan, they will stroll back to your table three times telling you to change your order because they cant accomodate for your allergies (yes, THREE TIMES, AND 15 MIN APART!) 2. Even if you have no dietary requirements, don't have anaphylaxis or allergies at all, you will most likely wait more than 50 minutes for your subpar and un-fresh food that looks about a hundred times better than it tastes, just like my siblings had to 3. I had to wait well over an hour for my food (French toast), and it finally arrived stale and cold (I could only have one bite though -- see next point) 4. IF AFTER ALL THAT, YOU BEGIN HAVING AN ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION, AND ASSERT THAT YOU WILL NOT PAY FOR YOUR MEAL AND NEED TO LEAVE ASAP, THEY WILL SPEND 15 MIN ON THE PHONE W THE MANAGER DISCUSSING THE MATTER AND WILL THEN MAKE YOU PAY BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO PROOF OF YOUR REACTION APART FROM YOUR EPIPEN ABD BORDERLINE TEARS! Ive been to countless cafes and whenever I've gotten a rare and unexplained anaphylactic reaction, they have ALWAYS sympathised, taken my meal off the bill without question and let me run out of there to take care of myself! Absolutely unacceptable and never ever returning! This place actually used to be really fantastic. I used to rave about it. Don't know what has happened to it! I suspect new management/different staff. Really don't know, but I feel like it went from great to awful over time, and a surprising amount of other recent reviews over the internet seem to agree! Staff were so rude, cold and apathetic too! As if they thought it was no big deal and that I was asking way way WAY too much. I feel horrified. Just wanted a nice Sunday lunch with my siblings. Also have a crazy CRAZY surcharge on Sundays which left us with such a whopping bill. Also found out from some other reviews just that they have a surcharge if you pay with card... Man, WHY? WHY? We were also urge to not let this experience discourage us from visiting the Glass Den in the future and were telling us about another cafe they own... Ha! Get out of here, like absolutely NOT! Saying that just made the experience even worse! Almost a hilariously awful situation. P.S. The cafe was NOT busy so there was really no good reason for the CRAZY waits! I have been to smaller places with way more customers packed inside and been served FRESH food so much quicker. P.S.S. I gave them a piece of my mind, as did my beautiful siblings, and we were only met with blunt and abrupt comebacks. Left there knowing very well that we would never return and would spread the word of this awful experience, especially to my fellow anaphylaxis sufferers! I'm just glad that Melbourne is full of incredible cafes that care about their customers and value good quality food. read more

The Glass Den - Cafes Near Me

To describe The Glass Den, in a sentence, would be that this is your Instagram cafe, beautiful peeps! :) Their location may not easily be accessible by Metro, as they are nestled in an abandoned prison site in Coburg. My brother and I came in on a wintry Sunday morning and thankfully, despite it being full house we experienced zero wait. At a first glance, noticed that the space itself is rather unique: rustic decor, a little hipster in a way, but it exudes this unpretentious and laid back vibe - the kind of cafe that invites you to chill a little bit longer. Their menu is quite impressive, focusing on Asian-Australian fusion, we had a hard time choosing just three since everything sounded intriguing. But no matter what dish you ordered, you can always count on the heavy emphasis on beauty and intricate plating. We ordered and shared: * Vanilla Bean Waffle ($24): The presentation was quite theatrical, involving brownie nibs, matcha soil, housemate cookie n cream ice cream, hazelnut, raspberry coulis, strawberries, blueberries and citrus meringue - it looks so damn tempting, almost like an edible garden but unfortunately everything was underwhelming. * Prawn Tempura Ramen ($20): This was less theatrical in their presentation, but equally as boring as the previous. The bowl of ramen comes with enoki, asparagus, pickled daikon, nori, boiled egg and housemate miso tare. My brother, actually made a comment that instant noodle tasted 10 times better with a fraction of its $$, lol. * Donkka Burger ($18): The burger performs a bit better, with spicy fried pork cutlet served on a charcoal brioche bun with cos lettuce, pickled ginger, pickled radish, granny smith, coriander and charcoal aoili - it's always a great time when you can munch on something crispy and salty (fried pork cutlet), paired with soft brioche. Recommended. *Taro latte: The taro latte caught my eye, and I was expecting a sweet and nutty flavor made from the taro root vegetable. But sadly, there was no hint of taro, no sweetness, in fact this feels like drinking a plain warm milk. The saving grace for me, is the fact that it is PURPLE. In a nutshell, The Glass Den is a perfect place if you want to take great #food pictures and be captivated with the superficial details. But when it comes down to the food, felt like there is a little sense of direction in the taste department. Regardless, I would give this place another chance, as I sensed originality in their food plus they looked so eye-catching, so until next time. read more

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The Glass Den is located practically inside an old prison and I'll tell you what, they've done a marvellous job in making the space feel warm and inviting. While it was't open on the Wednesday morning I attended, I did spy a delightful little courtyard out back. Sun shining onto the plants made for a marvellous image - it would be the best spot to sit on a sunny morning! The menu at Glass Den is classic Melbourne 2016 - hotcakes, acai bowls and housemade granola. Impressively, they offer a vegan, vegetarian and gluten free alternative on practically every menu item. I'm trying to be remotely healthy at the moment so I opted for eggs, salmon and avocado with a slice of gluten free bread. The GF bread was certainly the standout - it was dense and made from pumpkin. Almost like a savoury little cake. The coffee was great and my food was OK, but certainly not worth the hefty price tag that came with it. You're paying around $20 for a breakfast item... which seems like a lot for breakfast, right? read more

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Interesting menu... nothing traditional here hence the vibrant pratonage and feel to the place. Otherwise it would be the cold dull old brick prison!! Cudos to the owner. read more

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Breezy and quirky - the perfect spot when your brunch meal is a highlight of your lazy Sunday. The atmosphere is easy and the roses outside the windows add a nice touch to this place. We tried the 'Mac & Cheeseburger' and the 'Match ya' benedict'. Delicious! Large portions with amazing flavours that make your taste buds dance. Literally a party in your mouth. If you're one of those explorative types when it comes to food, you'll have alot of fun working around these dishes. If there's trouble deciding what to get on the menu (because everything sounds so interesting and apetising), it would be a good idea to each order something different so you can try it all. In regards to the service, the receipt machine for the orders malfunctioned so our order got lost somewhere. We were served a bit later than expected but the complimentary smoothies offered by the extremely friendly staff member made the wait all worth while. read more

The Glass Den - Match ya' benedict - Cafes Near Me

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Love the atmosphere of this place - friendly, laid back n rustic. The food is fabulously presented - great ideas with the Asian-Australiam fusion food approach. I believe this establishment's feature is its emphasis on colours - nice bright lilacs, pinks, blues. Lovely! The coffees are decent here, with its Iced Coffee and Iced Mocha presented through frozen balls of Coffees or Mochas. Worth the rather long trip to Colburg. If not for the food, then the creative attempt to turn this place from a prision entrance foyer into a rustic diner read more

The Glass Den opened in 2014 at the old Pentridge prison. The prison it self was built in Coburge (1850) and officially closed on 1st of May 1997. After decommissioning some known it as "The Bluestone College", some part of the property has been partly demolished and turned into housing area. The Glass Den sited at the notorious "D-division". The team at Glass den is one big multicultural family with Head Chef Mini Pakchima and their manager Alex and now Connell. The food presentations was amazing. and the taste was pretty unique read more

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A horribly run over priced hipster haven for rude staff to ignore customers ? I walked into to this place with the best of Intentions. Then it all fell apart, the coffee was cold the food took well over an hour to come/ was also cold and then adding insult to injury the waitress was beyond rude. I will never go back to this spot nor will I ever recommend it to anybody I know . If it was possible to give minus 5 stars I would. THIS PLACE SUCKS read more

A place worth visiting. I was pretty amazed by the effort on details that is put into creating their dishes. I had their Scot Free salmon and it was like nothing I have ever experience. Great presentation and amazing taste (even my descriptions are an understatement). It is one of the many beautifully crafted dishes that you can choose here. read more

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Just amazing, my first time here and the service was fantastic, even though it's really busy the staff are super friendly and the food is worth the wait:) I wanted everything on the menu lol everything sounds delicious! I am yet to try the coconut hotcakes:) will definitely be checking in soon:) read more

The Glass Den - Egg Au Gratin - Cafes Near Me

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So it's a little disconcerting sitting amongst the surrounds of the old Pentridge Prison, but once you let the creepiness fade away, you realise you're actually in a very unique, very inventive use of space. This whole prison land has been converted into a mini suburb with apartments galore, and this amazing cafe at it's heart, The Glass Den. Apart from the huge painting of a girl with the most incredibly huge eyes on the wall inside, there are a few other things that will grab your attention: a really creative, fresh and fun menu, great coffee with cows milk, almond, soy AND coconut (my new favourite), as well as super comfortable seating and gorgeous big windows to gaze out of. The staff are lovely, and fit the quirky/welcoming/unique/independent/accepting/patient/bubbly vibe of Coburg-dwellers and North-Siders. Definitely worth a drive from the other side of town! read more

If ur into instagram, yes please visit, but if u actually enjoy eating food, take a pass. Food is underwhelming, zero taste, even the poached eggs did not have taste. read more

Wow I have a lot to say about this, what would you call it, cafe? Although thats a stretch. This place should be illegal and shut down immediantly!! I practically had an epileptci seizure when i recieved my food as it was so vibrant. I feel as though if i were high, which I quite often am, I would not be able to function in this place. I don't undersatdn why so much of the plate space is wasted as well. Like, I don't care about the presentation, give me a goddam steak that takes up my whole plate!! Also, why is my french toast charcoal??? read more

Meals are very pricy and tasteless. I think they pour lots of sugar in their foods. Coffees are just as good as 7 eleven's coffees. Staffs are so not friendly and always in rush. Will Never go back. read more

I've only come in for coffee and hot choc but found service to be friendly and quick. Not sure if the others' negative experience may be during busier hours or different staff?? maybe i got lucky. I didnt try the food here but the special board certainly looks interesting, with lots of nice combos on offer, I am definitely tempted to try. Parking is not too bad and theres beautiful outdoor space too. I will be back read more

15% surcharge on a Victoria (only) public factory - even on takeaway coffees is more than a bit rich. It is straight up GOUGING! I bet this isn't passed on to its staff... STEER CLEAR!!! read more

As much a I dislike the surrounding housing development, I like this cafe very much. I've been here three times and the service, food and atmosphere are fantastic. The menu is innovative and fresh tasting. Its doesn't feel pretentious yet its food is top notch. The area out the back is great for large groups. read more