Their espresso paired well in my strong flat white. Although the texture was of a latte, it tasted fine. The decoration of the place was pretty awesome though. Little greenhouse in the back, slow bar on the far side, and spro right in the heart of it all. read more

This place is highly rated and came highly recommended to us as a Melbourne cafe bucket list. My take on French toast was extremely tasty. My partner had the Mexican adaptation which she took care of muis rapido. The coffees were very good as expected. The decor in the place is really interesting. They have managed to keep some of the original interesting bits while making it a clean, brightly lit place to enjoy breakfast or lunch. read more

Auction room is a buzzing, rustic-chic cafe with a sophisticated industrial interior. Boasting a sunny courtyard the modern layout is accompanied by Small Batch coffee and inventive breakfast and lunch dishes to start off your morning or afternoon. We were prompted greeted upon our arrival, and quickly seated next to the window which showcased the beautiful modern courtyard. With plenty of options to choose from their seasonal menu, we opted for their lunch dishes, which was the pressed pork shoulder and corned beef brisket with potato hash. ​ The Pressed Pork Shoulder was a abundance of textures on a plate, it had a delicious pressed pork shoulder, white bean puree, morcilla, pickled carrots, sweet potato crisps and a slow poached eggs. The flavour worked immensely well with each other and I wasn't left bored with the dish as every ingredient played a crucial part in flavour and texture. My only complaint was that the pork shoulder was too dry for my liking. the Corned Beef Brisket & Potato Hash, featured an amazing creamy sriracha hollandaise which enhanced the elements of the dish. One issue in my opinion was that there was a lack of potato hash to be found within the dish, as it compromised primarily of vegetables. Accompanying our dishes were the Iced Coffee and Iced Chocolate. Sadly, the iced coffee was possibly one of the worst iced coffees I have ever had. It tasted like water and lacked barely any sweetness. It felt like it was just coffee, water and a spoonful of milk. I'm not sure whether it was an off-day but I won't be ordering it again. The Iced Chocolate on the other hand was satisfactory but was nothing to rave about. For photos: http://thatfoodieblog.weebly.com/blog-feed/auction-room read more

Auction Rooms is a standout café in Melbourne and exudes industrial chic as well as being a serious coffee haven. Housed in the old WB Ellis Auction House it is an oasis of coffee perfection in trendy North Melbourne. Loads of serious coffee lovers descend on Auction Rooms in its accessible location on Errol Street. Admire the blue façade then enter into a massive warehouse style building featuring the rough texture of exposed brick along with fine dark timbers and concrete floors. Ambience is also created from unusual aspects such as Six Degrees lead lighting and pendant low hanging PVC lamps. Come here on a lazy sunny day and be inspired by the natural light that pours in from the large front windows. Auction Rooms is a spacious café with split levels and a charming courtyard. When you are done admiring the ambience and architecture, call on the helpful hipster staff to engage you with an outstanding coffee experience. The coffee here is consistently rated among Melbourne's best. Auction Rooms recently won an award for Melbourne's best coffee over a 6 month period by a panel of The Age Newspaper judges. Auction Rooms roast their own coffee and so are a roastery not just a cafe. This sits them in the place of coffee royalty. Enjoy single origins of the day. Enjoy a syphon or pour over or cold drip. Admire the gleaming Synesso. And of course score an irresistible espresso. The coffee here is silky and velvety and resonates with nuances of the blends. I enjoyed the Candyman blend by Small Batch which is one of Melbourne's best. It's famous for its serious coffee but Auction Rooms also serves great food! Hearty interesting meals are prepared with flair. The menu selections feature inventive names playing with the auction theme such as "opening bid" (two free range poached eggs on sourdough with bacon, field mushroom, grilled tomato and sautéed spinach on Dench sourdough) and "shady deal" (Moroccan style tomato and chorizo stew with eggplant served with poached eggs, olives, dukkah and feta and flatbread). The home made toasted muesli and the Pain perdu with pear and walnut cream, apple and fennel puree and poached pear are other standout brunch options. Three cheers for brunch being served all day. At lunchtime the Roasted pork belly served on a corn crepe with coffee BBQ sauce is a popular menu item. Then there are the fine cakes to go with that coffee! read more

I want to love Auction Rooms, but try as I might, they always just barely deliver for me. The location keeps me coming back as I have to regularly go to appointments in the area. The open air fitout is the epitome of the Melbourne third wave cafe scene and pretty nice in summer and the coffee is ace: I'm particularly enamoured with their fantastic iced lattes, which come sans ice cream and WITH sugar syrup (seriously hard to find in Melbourne and something all North Americans miss dearly). The food doesn't wow me, despite the very exciting descriptions on the menu. I've eaten here on three occasions and each time I feel that the food doesn't live up to expectations. The Mexican style beans come with a way too sweet sauce that conjures up the taste of a Thai dish more than "South of the border". On another visit a side of tomato salad that cost 4.50 consisted of just five tiny cherry tomatoes, all of whom tasted and looked like they'd been refrigerated for too long. Trout salad was 20 bucks and lacked attention to detail and was missing on flavour. My advice is to come here for a superlative coffee and grab one of their great looking cakes or pastries. It's a fun place to hang out in a groovy neighbourhood, but give brunch a miss. read more

My experiences of the Auction Rooms have been a bit hit and miss. The coffee is consistently good. The food, however, is inconsistent, and a couple of the dishes that I've had there were overpriced. The food seems to have a focus on what my mother refers to as "eye appeal" - so it all looks bright and inviting. But as with my mother's cooking, the interesting look of the food can sometimes disguise a lack of flavour (sorry mum!). The service can be quite slow, and you often have to wait some time for a table, which is understandable, because it's a fairly big cafe, that's often full to capacity. Inside, it's bright and summery, and there's a decent amount of space, which is a nice change from the majority of cafes along Errol St, where you have to suck your gut in to access your seat. So for this reason alone, it's one of the better options for brunching with friends. All in all, the Auction Rooms are decent, but North Melbourne has better to offer. read more

Auction Rooms - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - North Melbourne, VIC

"Brewed with a two-cup Hario syphon, this method uses a pressurised vacuum system to extract a dynamic drink that is prized as much for its clarity as its rich body". Apparently every Barista should also hold a science degree. Housed in a refurbished auction warehouse this eclectic, shabby chic North Melbourne cafe boasts a longer and more detailed coffee menu than I have seen anywhere else. Theres a seriousness and intensity to the commitment to coffee which I appreciated even as a basic black coffee kinda guy. The decor has interesting touches including PVC piping light fittings, salvaged industrial furniture and interesting floral arrangements that combine to make this a real destination cafe. Skylights and high ceilings give the building a feeling of lightness despite the imposing exposed brick wall. There is seating out the front and a little courtyard out the back for sunnier days. The "too indie to function" wait staff are thankfully quite polite and knowledgable in their service. The Smiths were playing during my excursion, im not even kidding. North Melbourne locals are damn lucky to have this caffeinated extravagance in their hood. read more

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Three stars for being a lovely open space, big windowed venue with nice and friendly staff. Barring that one girl that wanted us to have four hot drinks each... Hot chocolate was cute with it's own jug, but taste was pretty standard. Breakfast was a let down for what it was. Toast was great, but slightly drowning in butter. Poached eggs weren't runny. Avocado, for that cost, being served "smashed" with over seasoning was not ideal. Bacon appeared to have been deep fried. And quinoa hash, well, quinoa hash. Not really worth the continuing hype. read more

The old WB Ellis auction house on Errol Street in North Melbourne has been converted into a very attractive restaurant and coffee merchant which is now known as the Auction Rooms. A little foresight and a fair amount of planning has transformed the space into a very organised working area where floors are separated by tiers and there are virtual sections. Whether you demand a table outside, at the coffee bar, in the nook overlooking Errol Street, are a large group or even the wayward couple looking for a single origin blend of coffee that is also flogged in bags and for sale to the public, everyone seems to be seamlessly catered for. There are sections of the warehouse ceilings that are exposed allowing for ample natural light to enter and you are transfixed by both the exposed brick and faux artwork mimicking chimes that hang from the ceiling in places which avert your eyes from the multiple ceiling fans. Despite it being a hot day, the warehouse restaurant was not overtly hot and remained comfortable for the lunch that I enjoyed because of the sliding windows that allowed from cross ventilation from the front to the back of the business. As the day progresses the menu evolves and instead of being focused on the all-day breakfast dishes and coffees, more substantial plates and alcohol are on offer as the restaurant will continue trading into the evening on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Unlike at St Ali, Three Bags Full and Dukes, you are not relegated to a communal table which I liked. There is a pleasant buzz and the service is very tuned and they all have specific roles and responsibilities which made the ultimate delivery of a long black and iced coffee a quick. The kitchen prepared my salmon rosti efficiently exercised some skill in presenting it. The long black single origin coffee was far from something to write home about but I enjoyed it despite the sour flavour. The poached egg that balanced on top of the salmon on my rosti was a bit overcooked but still very enjoyable. Overall it was a pleasant experience. Afterwards I enjoyed exploring the neighbourhood and the architecture on display as it was an area that I was previously unfamiliar with. I would return for the quirkiness and chilled vibe, the easy street parking and the lack of pretension. read more

Love the venue - open and airy and friendly staff. Coffee here is good and there's a choice of juices, smoothies etc :) The food is quite 'fancy'. It's not your usual breakfast with a different touch but quite different dishes. The dishes weren't bad, but we wee hoping for some good breakfast with a special twist. It's not what we really found here. read more

Auction Rooms - Pork belly - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - North Melbourne, VIC

Great coffee - more fruity bean than I'm used to but not bad just different. French toast was fluffy and quite rich- needs a side of mascarpone or Greek yoghurt; bacon balls were cute! read more

Auction Rooms - French toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - North Melbourne, VIC

Had a quick brunch here today and was generally pleased with the experience. Tried their flat white and poached eggs on toast, and my eggs were cooked perfectly. The coffee was delicious, but needed slightly less froth. Would recommend it for brunch, but go in twos or threes as this place is busy and you may need to wait read more

Auction Rooms - Food menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - North Melbourne, VIC

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Good coffee? Check. Phenomenal teas? That too. Beautiful staff? Yesssssss. I can't say I've ever had the 'hit-or-miss' here that others have experienced. The door guy is always effusive, and seems to know everyone in town. The food is a great variety (LOVE their ricotta on the avocado and toast). Did I mention how great the teas are? Airy space always feels nice and light...even in the rain. It can be super gray outside, but the huge windows and high ceilings somehow make it lighter and enjoyable. Helps that the people inside are always pretty, I'm sure. If you're in this area, I do believe it's the best spots around. read more

Coming to North Melbourne would be incomplete without popping into this local Icon at least once for a coffee or a bite to eat. Even with a large open plan & seating galore, it's easy to see why on a weekend you'll have people queing up and flowing out onto the grass median - but not to worry, if that's your style...just bring a rug & enjoy the sunshine (and coffee, of course)! read more

The Auction Rooms is a beautiful cafe located in northern Melbourne. The room is well lit and the staff are polite and helpful. I had high expectations of the coffee but was slightly let down by their cappuccino. The coffee was well presented and served timely but was generally bland and not too exciting. While I don't entirely blame the technique of the baristas (as I believe the coffee beans was the point of failure); the coffee did have a slight after-taste of burned beans. This is a great venue to take friends and co-workers to show off Melbourne but don't expect too much from the coffee (I wouldn't be too worried either). read more

Much better options in the area now. Was great a few years ago, but consistently below average service now.

My first venture out to North Melbourne proved to be more than worth it. Auction Rooms has been so carefully designed, the filter coffee station is on the left when you walk in, espresso/bar in smack bang in the middle and the food prep on the right. Tables and benches are then spread out among the place, giving a sense of privacy in what you'd say is a pretty large cafe. We ordered two pour overs, which were insanely good, and the barista who prepared them bought them over himself to explain the process and the flavours we should expect. Nice touch! The food was too very good - being a pork knuckle (or ham hock in laymen's terms) sandwich with German potato salad, as well as a delicious beef salad), with the quality up there with any of the top cafes in Melbourne. The waiter too was lovely, checking in on us regularly to make sure everything was ok. Couldn't have been happier visiting this place. Highly recommend everyone go for the drive to the lovely (and often forgotten at times) area of North Melbourne. Well done guys! read more

What a huge disappointment. I've been hearing about this place for years and reading about it in reviews. Finally I got the chance to go and I was very excited. My experience wasn't worth a detailed review so here are the highlights: - waiting in line for a place to sit (usually I won't queue, but I really wanted to try) - people packed in like sardines - multiple attempts to be served - the toilets stank - below par coffee ... the only saving grace was the food which was amazingly good. I won't be back. read more

Favorite cafe in Melbourne. The coffee food and people are sensational. I must recommend the drip coffee as a trial and the smoked trout. Melbourne is the beat cafe selection by far but this is must try. read more

Great coffee and service. It's a shame they don't and won't make scrambled eggs. Interesting.

I absolutely love this restaurant. Highly recommended. I particularly like the Arepa dish. Must try. I will come all the way from the US for this. read more

The space is often full but at 11:00am on a weekday we got seats straight away. There was a small group of 5 of us. The coffee was very good. read more

Wow! This place was simply a treat. The coffee is divine and the food is delicious! If you go to the Auction Rooms, you must try the Banana & Walnut Loaf with Espresso Mascarpone, Banana Yoghurt and Coffee crumb! Simply delicious! read more

I work right around the corner from the Auction Rooms, and have had numerous business lunches there that I've raved about. Brilliant food, great rustic atmosphere - and phenomenal coffee. So when two of my friends suggested we go there for dinner, I was really excited. But the difference between lunch and dinner at the Auction Rooms is a big one - and their evening meals and service leaves a lot to be desired. First of all, the atmosphere is totally different - by day the place is buzzing and constantly crowded, humming with life and so full of light thanks to the high ceilings and glass wall at the back of the room. At night the place is gloomy. The hanging light fixtures that look so quirky-chic by day offer a low glow by night (many of us struggled to read the menu! The 8-point font didn't help either.) - and then there was the fact that the place was practically empty. Our party of eight arrived to see only three other tables filled (with couples) and the usual warm hum & chatter was totally missing. After our meals, I even wondered if the lacklustre atmosphere was due in part to the lacklustre menu? Anyway. I was going to the Auction Rooms thinking of all the great, plentiful lunchtime meals I'd had there (lovely pork-knuckle sandwich, beef cheek and their soups are to die for!) - so I was really excited to see how they'd do an evening meal. Unfortunately there's no way to see what their 'after 5pm' menu is, because their (laughable) website is one page that tells you when they're open and little else. Okay. So we got to the Auction Rooms, ordered drinks and had a gander at the menu - a few things sounded interesting; chicken wings, carrot salad, pork knuckle . . . and reasonably priced. Our table of eight started picking what we'd have. Then the waitress came over to inform us that it would be $60 a head, and we don't pick our own meals - we get a small selection of each of the 10 or so listed, and share them. Huh? One of our party asked "like a tapas set-up". Waitress squirmed - "No. It's an experience. You get a little of everything. A real food experience." Again - huh? The menu mentions nothing about this being a $60 a head bit-of-everything set-up (and since the website was decidedly sparse - we had no way of knowing about this 'small selection' $60 each menu until the waitress told us . . . and, conveniently, after we'd opened a bottle of wine). God bless that poor waitress - she was just the messenger. But a few at our table tried to wrangle around this $60 tapas-but-not-really-tapas menu. "Can we order individually anyway" one friend asked (we had people on our table who eat Gluten-free, and a few other allergy-related needs that meant only 1 or 2 dishes were edible for them, and if they came out in small portions they'd only be getting 2 out of the 10 on offer.) - again, the waitress squirmed and explained that, yes, while we could order individually the food wouldn't come out all together, it would come out one at a time. HUH? Now we're getting frustrated, especially when the waitress kept whittling on about it being "an experience" - an expensive experience to get a whole bunch of food you don't particularly care to eat (and why did I get the impression that she'd had to 'sell' this idea a few times now? Clinging to the "it's an experience!" sentence like it was her lifeline). Much more discussion was had; we noticed that there were only 2 chefs cooking so they really weren't equipped to make individual meals at all. Urgh. Fine. We caved, and had the waitress pick a few dishes for us (not all 10 - we just wanted 5 or so of the dishes because some of them sounded really unappetizing) They were okay. Not great. Not worth $60 a head and offering little in the way of a culinary "experience". Warm olives with sourdough bread was quite nice for starter. Monkfish with fennel in a creamy sauce (a blandness extravaganza!). Lamb riblets that were more fat than meat. Really nice lemon-y chicken wings was the most plentiful meal of the bunch. Carot salad which some raved about and others picked at. Bratwurst with Brussel sprouts, red cabbage and a poached egg. Each dish came out one at a time, with 3 or 4 plates between us - the bratwurst was the most confusing, because you only got 1 bratwurst on each plate that had to be cut up (so between 8 of us, we got one mouthful each). To be honest, we may have been more accepting of the tapas-but-not-tapas menu if we'd been fore-warned of the 'sharing experience' and how pricey it would be. If it had been explained on the website or, heck, even at the top of the menu! As it was, we felt blind-sided and forced into this "experience" which I can only describe as a bastardized, 'hipster-ized' attempt at tapas that fails miserably for the so-so, overpriced food on offer and inflexible menu if you're not up for a not-tapas "experience." The Auction Rooms even shuts at 10PM (on a Saturday night. In Melbourne.) read more

I love the vibe and the energy of this place. Being able to sit in an indoor garden in winter, that has an outdoor feel is awesome. The breakfasts are clever and tasty. An early arrival is a must on weekends, otherwise expect a 30-35 min wait. They are happy for you to order a takeaway coffee while you wait - which is fantastic as this usually the craving on a lazy weekend morning. Great for group bookings too - I organised an evening work function for 25 people with a fantastic set menu - with not complaints. read more

I like the decor. Service was friendly and efficient. I had iced coffee. It was tiny but the taste was good. My food was yummy and filling. They split bills. So yeah overall it's a thumbs up. read more

Great coffee...food was "different" than what you would normally get for brekky - but not so much my taste... but the coffee is highly recommended! read more

Absolutely loved my first visit. The ambience & the food was perfect for a chilly winter brunch on a Saturday. Was seated under the tree in the little courtyard box. Warm & cozy with good food & drinks. There was a slight wait for the table however we were offered free samples of filter coffee and it was good too. Very attentive service. Highly recommend. Perfect to catch up with friends over coffee or that first brunch date. read more

Great coffee, great food, good service. Way too busy on weekends. Try the corned beef hash with poached eggs and Sriracha hollandaise!

I've tried perhaps 60+ brunch places around the city. Most of them I find to be over hyped and just average quality in food with fine presentation. But Auction Rooms was real good, though, on their savory and sweet dishes. Finally a place that serves good food, good coffee and beautiful plating. Worth the hour wait. read more

Had a long black & it was way too strong. Didn't finish my cup. The service was great though.

Apparently they were rated a top cafe by some magazine. It seems to have gone to their heads. The food and coffee is good enough, but marred by indifferent service from too-cool-for-school staff who clearly think they are much cooler than they actually are. Not worth waiting for a table, and with Hot Poppy just up the road no reason to go there. After three visits, I have concluded that they have no idea of service, and think they are doing you a favour by letting you in. read more

Excellent staff, coffee, food, atmosphere. Love the place.

New menu and still the same consistency in food taste & quality and service. Superb coffee and very knowledgable staff. Just a lot busier now as our "local" has gone mainstream. read more

All their coffees are spot on and any of the staff can guide you in the right direction to suit taste. North Melbourne is an underrated part of town but deserves way more hype for all the great stuff going down like Auction Rooms. The atmosphere is nice and open and actually has a relaxed feel unlike a lot of other successful cafés. read more

Nice atmosphere, busy so expect a bit of a wait but great coffees and breakfast. Shared Pressed pork shoulder and Corned beef brisket both could have been a bit bigger but I am American. Pastries were also good as an after brunch snack :) read more

Food is wonderful here but it can be rather difficult at peak times to get a seat and service can be a little hit and miss. That being said the food and coffee always makes up for these inconsistencies. I recommend their fruit salads as they are out of this world. Also iced chocolates are to die for :) read more

Great and tasty food selection. Strong, bold and confident. Great atmosphere to have a lazy Saturday brunch. Restaurant with great airy environment, with a enclosed backyard, cone complete with a tree and ivy on the walls. Love it read more

Coffee 4/5 and that's impressive. Breakfast...doing the whole build it yourself egg deal isn't what I want at 8.30 in the morning and adding your extras to the poached eggs got expensive. The onion jam that I had to compliment my salty bacon was served straight out of the fridge and ruined the whole meal. Everything else looks good on the menu and is worth the visit read more

Came for lunch, everything was great. They make their own flavoured soda - try the strawberry fizz. Waiter was so pleasant and accommodating of my friends 3yo. I had the bagel, she had the knuckle sandwich, would love to go back and try the breakfast board. read more