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.

Wow...I can't believe no one has written a review for this place yet. This is another favourite…read morelittle gem of a cafe that is just exceptional in every way. The decor is warm and inviting with lots of outdoor seating. The service is fantastic with staff being warm and chatty and very good at good service, making sure you feel like royalty. There is a community here of regulars and the staff all know them well. Inside there are pillows along two wall-seating areas so you can read a good book or just have a great place to sit with a friend over breakfast or lunch. I've had quite a few meals here and my all time favourites are the french toast and the chicken caesar salad. The french toast is done just as it should be, not soggy, but well done and comes with lightly cooked banana halves and crispy, crunchy bacon. The flavours all go so well together. The chicken caesar was perfect with all the components...crunchy homemade crouton slices, poached egg, crunchy bacon and a light dressing that was just right, not too oily and full of flavour. And of course I have to comment on the coffee.....excellent of course!!!! You know I wouldn't come back unless it was LOL It's one of the few places I can "not" order a "strong" latte and it comes out strong (as in not milky and full-flavoured coffee). Highly recommend this place and, it's owned by the same people as Cocos Lounge in Glen Waverley that I rave on about. Food is slightly pricier than a normal run-of-the-mill cafe, but the quality of the food you get is so worth it I'd rather eat here and know every meal I get I will like than to take my chances somewhere less expensive and not sure I'll like what I get.

Great little suburban cafe in Parkdale. Coffee is okay and…read morefood is pretty good too. The vibe is try hard Inner City Melbourne cafe and they do a great job at it. Prices are a bit exy. Our waiter was super cool and funny, made our experience there all that much better.

This place was absolutely packed when I came in here to meet a friend - clearly a local favourite…read more It's nice family-friendly suburban cafe with cheery staff and a love for coffee. Not far from the beach either. Unfortunately on this occasion I didn't try the coffee, but I did have a nice fresh squeezed OJ. There's a classic cafe menu on offer with pancakes, egg dishes and sandwiches etc. I tried the corn fritters with avocado, slab bacon and hommus. The addition of hommus was perplexing and didn't work at all with the dish, so I kind of ate around it - devouring the tasty thick bacon and smashed avocado. They're all set for looking after kids, with colouring in on-hand, a kids menu, and happy to cater for any little fuss pots. It was a bit loud for a meeting place, but definitely a good spot for brunch with the family.

This place is usually complete with people spilling out the seams sipping lattes and waiting for a…read moretable where green smoothies and pancakes can promptly be consumed. The Saturday morning I ventured here for breakfast was surprisingly quiet, no problem nabbing a table (in fact there were many) and coffee landed before we had time to warm the seat. Being a new resident to Bayside, I'm just beginning to realise that the 9.30 crowd you might see in an outer CBD cafe for weekend breakfast is instead replaced with bay front joggers with prams and dogs enjoying the sun and fresh air. I'll take this with pleasure if every brunch date begins with a piccolo within minutes of arriving! Black Squirrel is one of the best performing (read: always busy) cafes on Sandringham's Bay Road strip. Interiors are pretty cool, a sorts of funky which borders on mainstream "cool", complete with rough part-exposed brick and all. The coffee they spit out for their many patrons is key to their success, a great coffee from the very first sip. Breakfast for me was the eccentric on the list of veggie options where normally I'd jump straight to poached eggs on sourdough. Definitely try the kale and goats cheese dumplings, served with a base smear of passion fruit yoghurt (the odd hook that drew me in!) and some classic pretty looking green bits on top. Vegie patties are notoriously hard to 'cook through' and while these kale dumplings seemed a bit wet inside, the flavour was fantastic and the hits of goats cheese a highlight within a crisp coating. I can also report from my sources that the smashed avo and herb convo on sourdough was also pretty ace. Give Black Squirrel a shot if visiting the bay or still cautious of the big kid on the block. Getting there at the right time to instantaneously feed your caffeine and food desire is recommended.

I heard a new cafe had opened in Murrumbeena on the local grapevine (intragram & Facebook). So I…read moretook the opportunity of testing them out for my Sunday morning coffee. I've got to say that it's an amazing space! I was really impressed. The front section is a small space with plenty of natural light and a big communal solid wooden table in the centre. But I think I first noticed the bright yellow counter. Wow! I ordered my coffee from 2 very friendly staff with lovely big smiles. ($3.80 for a latte) While I waited for it I noticed the passage way down the side and asked about it. There's another, much bigger dining area towards the back with out door seating as well. Again wow! Apparently they have seating for 80! You'd never guess it from the small unassuming frontage! I didn't sample the menu today but I did glance at it and saw things like summer chia pudding and Persian feta. I'm intrigued and will go back to eat. Soon. The coffee was good, so was the decor, the service and the feel of the place. I recommend checking it out. Especially if you're a local keen to support local businesses. Ps did you know that Nike Cave grew up in Murrumbeena? the cafe is named after one of his songs. *** just had lunch here for the first time in years. Seems it's under new management. The front counter is no longer manned (I had to wait for quite a while and my calling out of 'hello?' To the people I could see in the kitchen were ignored. I had a burger which wasn't bad but wasn't amazing either or even warm. I also sat in the front section as the whole back area is now either a smoking area where food is not served or a children's play area. Which is great if you have kids but not very accomodating if you just want a quiet meal or coffee. Nxt time I'll be trying Iron Henry Nxt door. Ive changed my rating from 4 to 2 stars.

I need a place to unwind, grab a coffee and brunch whilst my daughter is occupied. Natureboy is the…read moreperfect place, great staff, very friendly and plenty to do for the young kids. The menu choice is great and can't fault it. If you have young kids and want a place for brunch, give this place a go

Pretty darn good coffee and breakfast. They use a lot of oil on the breads so makes it veeeeeeeeery…read moreheavy. Had the scrambled egg on sour dough with hash brown and bacon. Overall I was quite satisfied but maaaan I needed a nanny nap afterwards!!!

Nice latte; good body, good strength, flavourful. One of the…read morebest thickshakes we've ever had. Need a spoon! Hot chunky chips, crisp outside, fluffy inside. Friendly staff. Plenty of room inside, and nice outdoor area too. What's not to like?

Always looking for "new" places to try, I found this little gem yesterday, and tried it for dinner…read moretonight. It's in a good location with plenty of street parking and while there's not a lot of curb appeal, it sounded good, so thought we'd give it a go. The interior is a little odd; quite a mish mosh of decor. But it smelled good inside, so we were eager to see what the food was like. They took our order promptly, and were accommodating with requests. The food came out in good time, which was more impressive since they were doing a few take out orders. The entrees were nice. Generic chicken spring rolls and chicken curry puffs. They were really nice and would probably order again. For my main, I had the chicken fried rice and though it was really nothing to look at (presentation left much to be desired) the food was very good. The kitchen honoured our requests for changes to the dishes, and the mains also came out in reasonable timing. From a pricing point of view, I think it was very reasonable. Mains were in the mid teens, and on a par with other small Thai restaurants. Overall ... would I come back again? If I was in the area, I'd definitely come back again. There wasn't anything really bad about it here at all. Considering it's almost a 30 minute drive from home to it, I'd be more inclined to try elsewhere first. But if you find yourself in Sandringham and want a good Thai meal, give this a try for sure.

A great friendly Thai restaurant with excellent service and delicious food. All the Thai classic…read moredishes and very attentive staff.

I came to the realization of this wonderful place from my younger brother…read more I've been coming here every so often now for bagels and bagel sandwiches since then, mainly my days off. A Jewish company founded here in South East Melbourne, Head office in Carnegie. And the founder/owner is till working til this day! This place isn't hard to miss. A lot of car park space here and it is located outside JB Hi-Fi, opposite of the pet store. Good open area for sitting with good variety of bagels, bread to pastries to pick from. Clean, modern and well presented with warm customer service. If you ever drive pass Southland Shopping center, make sure to shop by here and try some of their bagels. Usually the good ones are gone before 1pm, so be quick on that... You would also appreciate this company more if you read how this company became famous to the Jewish community. I mean, they also supply to Some "Coles" and "Woolworths" supermarkets.

"...FRIENDS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.. BUT, WE FOUND THE CURRIES - BELOW AVERAGE.. SORRY GUYS..!"…read more I'd heard about TO SA BIANG, Greville Road, Prahran from friends - When I saw the Groupon Deal, I jumped at it immediately... The Mixed Entree Platter was delish - 4 pcs each - all home-made - loved their Sweet Chilli and Peanut Sauces... Both the Padang Beef Curry and the Green Chicken Curry had lovely flavour, but the cook was definitely very mean with the Vegetables and Meats - I'd describe the 2 dishes as watery - and with nil substance... The steamed Red Rice was nice... That was it for food - Not quite the '6 course banquet' it was sold as... but anyway... I'd bought a 4 person voucher but only 3 of us turned up [luckily the other, a big appetite, couldn't make it.. sorry, mate..] - We ordered another 3 bowls of rice to finish off the sauce left in the curry bowls - We weren't anywhere near full, and would'v really liked to have had a look at the menu, but staff made it pretty obvious they wanted to close - We decided we better leave... I must mention that the complimentary glasses of Red Wine came from a good bottle - I'd say a decent Cab Sav - smooth and full-bodied... Cost: -Groupon Voucher for 4 - $75 -Extra 3 small Steamed White Rice and 1 Lemonade - $12 Not good value - I've had much better take-away Thai food for half that price, including a bottle-shop bought, very drinkable Sth Aussie Red... So sorry, I loved the space and had high hopes, but I really do got to "tell it as I experienced it..." Visited on Saturday 23 Jan 2016 for dinner.

Poor customer service. The staff basically ignored us when we came in, didn't even direct us to…read moreseats and just waited for us to call them for the orders. The food was average, and we thought it was just heated up in a microwave because only the top portion was hot. Totally opposite their advertisement of "every meal is freshly cooked one by one." Wouldn't recommend to friends.