Now the dust has settled from the hype machine, Station Street Trading Co has quietly become a cool…read morelittle coffee and brunch hangout during the week for locals, dog walkers and peeps who work in the area. Part of a cluster of laid back venues away from the Port Vegas end of the burb, it feels like something of an oasis - being set across the road from the Pepper tree lined park at the 109 North Port tram stop. The building has a certain historic cham, once a corner store, possibly a grocer - the buildings in this area are some of Melbourne's oldest, dating back to the mid 1800's. Station Street's old iron verandah arches over the pavement tables and hanging baskets swing cheerfully above them. Across the road in Raglan Street, a local institution, the Railway Hotel, serves up beer, red wine, steak and horse racing to a ruddy cheeked blokey clientele. But at Station Street Trading Co. the menu is small and yet more interesting. I've seen wardrobes bigger than their kitchen, so you'll understand the direction they've taken with the food. Brunch tempters, sandwiches, salads, grills and homemade baked items rule. The little touches like bacon rippled along skewers and grilled tomatoes still on their truss make the food easy on the eye. It's tasty and uncomplicated. The staff are friendly and chatty. So it's easy to while away the time here staring across at the park, especially when the sun's out. A heads up that it doesn't seat that many people indoors, so if you're there on a Wintry weekend and can't get a seat, just use your Yelp Monocle and wander down to Little Rose, New Lots, Pure Pie or My Sister Says. All very fine establishments close by with a certain North Port synergy.

I've only had their OJ here but it's good enough for me to return and savour other items in their…read moremenu. It's nice to travel outside of the city for a brunch place. It definitely gives off a more suburban setting - peaceful, less noise, and more greeneries. The cafe is a tiny but quaint place with relatively interesting decors. It's quite simplistic and very Earthy with a lot of wooden furnitures propped around. The staff are all very friendly. It's just a nice place to go to if you want a bit of a change from the city cafes. Will put up another review when I pop back there the next time.

Found within the glass walls of Australian newspaper The Age's Collins Street home, Espresso Hub…read moretries to be as the name implies - a hub. This is where people meet. Be it outside watching the traffic pass at a safe distance, in amongst. The dark wood furniture for more of a meal or a quick takeaway for those catching a train from Southern Cross Station but unwilling to settle for street vendor coffee. The dub music playing adds a nice ambiance and covers the conversation that echoes against the flat surfaces. Sound travels well here. I'm sure I can hear a security door opening three floors up. Put the place is enchanting in a 2001: A Space Odyssey kind of way. The baguettes and Turkish breads the fruit salads all look tasty in a same same kind of way. The coffee is great and a man ten years my senior called me Sir. Stranger things have happened, and if you're after a new experience that is somehow a little unsettling with all the sounds of life passing you by, then defensively give this place a go.

Service is quick and chef accommodating to variations…read more Downside, eggs are not free range and have no flavour. Spiced apple porridge came without the apple. Coffee is good. It's the building cafe so I'm sure I'll be back again at some point for breakfast but no rush. Daily coffees will continue.

Getting lost in Melbourne isn't a complete tragedy, in fact it's all apart of the experience…read moreespecially when you stumble over randomly displaced but unique one-of-a-kind cafés in the middle of what seems like nowhere. Walked in the wrong direction whilst in a mad rush led me to Foxy Brown, I absolutely loved the 70s retro feel that the orange and brown hues of the cafe furnishings. The outdoor seating at this corner cafe provides some decent alfresco dining however at 8am on a foggy Saturday morning wasn't so appealing. Ordered a ham & cheese toastie and coffee. Coffee was pretty much amazing however the toastie wasn't so great, mediocre and the cheese wasn't all melted however it may have something to do with me telling them I was in a rush in all fairness to Foxy Brown. Overall my rating is a reflection of my experience only, however they made up for it with the wafting sweet smells of their freshly baked muffins!

Wow! Love this place. Unfortunately didn't find it on Yelp but on Beanhunter. However, this out of…read morethe way cafe is cute and friendly. The coffee kicks A with a Single Origin bean on tap. I had a great Piccolo, a frittata and another coffee finisher: a Magic Johnson- hopefully paying homage to the basketballer as opposed to the appendage. Will I come again? Yep. Me en familia.

Well here is a railway coffee shop that actually sells some decent coffee, though of course the…read morecloser you get to the city the better they end up being, as is the case with this one. Yeah, the coffee is pretty awesome, and the atmosphere is also really nice. Mind you, this place isn't really all that big, but I suspect that has something to do with them really only catering to those who dash past on their way to catch their train. However, as a cafe, I do really like this place, and it is certainly a nice place to kill a bit of time.

I love the idea that you can drop into a busy cafe like this and get served so quickly!…read more The coffee from here is great and offers a couple of different coffee beans and methods of serving up the coffee. I headed here with my room mate the bro (aka Aaron W) after fighting through the masses at Chadstone on a busy Saturday afternoon. We both opted for skinny flat whites and were not disappointed (see my pic). The waiter spilled on coffee on hos way over, and immediately took it back replacing the saucer and topping up with steamed milk. When at the register the person taking my payment ($3.50 per coffee) asked us how our day was going and seemed to really mean it! Definite return here! :-) **edit - I have decided to tKe my review back one star as my friend went to buy a coffee here and was in a rush. He stood there waiting for a couple of minutes, then a person who had ordered after him came forward and took his coffee! Will definitely be keeping and eye on this drop in quality of service.

This place was awesome. It just had that charm that I really like about inner-city cafes. I noticed…read moreit as I was walking past, and honestly it was the name that immediately caught my attention. As such I made the decision to step in for a coffee, and sure enough that turned out to be the correct decision to make. Yeah, the coffee was great, but that goes without saying, and the atmosphere was nothing short of amazing. I'm definitely going to have to come back here - this place is awesome.

Popular with the weekend family brunchers, this place is deceptively big. Not much of a wait if…read moreyou do have to wait for a table and quite frankly they are pumping out some delicious coffee. They would totally get 5 stars if they had more feta on the avocado with feta smash. Just not enough.

This location of the In A Rush chain of cafes is located on Little Collins Street between Queen and…read moreElizabeth (on the corner with McKillop Lane -- I think some of the reviews below are for other locations). This location is larger than most of the other locations, with plenty of spacious seating, whereas most of the other ones are grab-and-go type of places. They mostly seem to be a coffee place, but I normally go for the soup -- they have a clearly labelled vegan soup called "Vegie & Lentils." It's pricey for soup ($10.90) but filling and tasty, and nice in winter. It comes with a couple of pieces of sourdough bread. They also have za'atar (sandwiches) and some pre-made salad-type thingies, but none of them are vegan. (Some are vegetarian, though.) Looked like they had gluten-free options as well (including cookies/bars). Nice atmosphere for a quick coffee break or lunch away from your desk, but nothing exceptional.

There are several In A Rush soup chains in Melbourne. This particularly one is a cafe with a proper…read moredining area. Whereas other In A Rush chains I've frequent are food stall style cafes located on the street, lane ways or inside a food court. In A Rush are known for convenient premade hearty soups for less than $10. Eat in or take back to your office, it's your prerogative. If you choose to takeaway, you'll receive two slices of a baguette, spoon and a napkin with your soup to bring back to the office or wherever you're heading to. The foam container will keep the soup warm for a while. I certainly don't like cold soup! They usually offer between approx 6-8 types of soups, some are regular and others aren't. So if you happen to fall in love with a particular type of soup, it might be not available tomorrow or the next day. In A Rush do limit their soup availability to approx 2-3 types of soups during summer. In my opinion, their soup is a hit or miss. My favourite soups that I regularly get is their pumpkin, Moroccan meat balls or minestone soup. Their soups may not be as good as your mother's homemade soup or the five star restaurant around the corner, but it's good enough to satisfy your taste buds and warm your body particularly during the colder months. Also, did I mention "convenient"? They also offer various salads, focaccias and wraps, which I find are ordinary yet they still manage to be a hit with some people. I suggest you still with their soups. There are better places for salads, focaccias and wraps at a similar or cheaper price. Oh...don't bother with their coffee because it's quite ordinary unless you're not that fussed.

We had originally planned to eat at Monk Bodhi Dharma but didn't realize their kitchen closes at…read more3:00pm on weekdays. What! By then, we were starving so we decided to walk down Carlisle Street and pick a random spot. I spotted a bunch of people sitting outside at Wall Two 80 so we stopped and took a look. It wasn't too busy for a Tuesday afternoon (around 3:45pm) so we were able to snag s table outside. Cute that they have a takeout window which you can also order food at. The menu is small with about two dozen brunch options. There's one daily special that's up inside on the black chalkboard. - Avocado on dark rye ($14.00 AUD) - goat cheese, pickled red onion and toasted pumpkin seeds. The avocado was good but not seasoned with anything. The rye was a big over toasted but I did like the combination of goat cheese, pumpkin seeds and pickled red onion. But to be honest, I wasn't very impressed. Very small portion. I was still hungry afterwards. - Lemongrass & tumeric chicken ($14.50 AUD) - cos lettuce, pickled carrot, cucumber, red radish, coriander, sprouts, peanuts and soy lime dressing. This was my dad's order. I had no idea that it was a salad from the description. Again, incredibly small portion for the price. - Crispy bacon ($14.00 AUD) - multigrain bread with roasted cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, sriracha and sunny side up fried egg. Litaly stated he could make this better at home. We were all pretty underwhelmed with our meal at Wall Two 80. Perhaps it's a better spot to grab a coffee and people watch along the sidewalk. I wouldn't come back for the bland, boring brunch food.

I was disappointed with this place. Wall Two 80 is located on Carlisle street in Balaclava, an…read moreexcellent location for a cafe. The vibe is pretty cool, has an outside area to eat or dink coffee and people watch. The inside has little nooks so you can hide away and read a book, a large table to sit on stools or tables and chairs in a more open area. I came for brunch and was in need of a coffee, when it arrived I wasn't impressed at all with it. Lacked intensity and flavour. I ordered the house made baked beans with chorizo. It wasn't hot in temperature and the flavour was ordinary. It had a hint of chilli which was nice and was topped with fetta cheese that was quite lack lustre. Staff weren't falling over themselves to serve me either. When they say never judge a book by its cover, sometimes you just need to learn for yourself. Won't return.

As I was wandering around Hawthorn one afternoon (as I am prone to do every so often) I wandered…read morepast this café. Well, I had wandered past a number, but this one happened to be open and since I was itching for another pot of tea, I decided to check it out. Well, it turned out not to be all that bad, and they certainly did serve up a decent pot of tea. The service wasn't all that bad either. Sure, it might not have been one of the best that I have visited, but it was a nice enough place to kill some time.

A disappointing journey over the river. Come here because I…read morehad seen their amazing Instagram and thought that it looked delicious. So I was underwhelmed when the smashed avocado on toast came out in bread (not toasted?) on a plastic plate (pet peeve) and was less than tasty. (I don't know how you can make avocado taste not nice but somehow they did). The staff were really disorganised and all over the place and didn't seem to know what to do. They forgot my coffee and I didn't get it until the end of the meal. We came here for the amazing looking donut milkshakes they have on Instagram and again was disappointed. The donut was stale and hard- more than 1 day old. So while whoever is in charge of doing their social media needs to be promoted the actual cafe and experience was a let down. Sticking to the brunch spots in south east.