I love this place. It's a genuinely lovely brunch destination…read more The seating recently changed, it's a little more like a restaurant than a cafe like it used to be. Not necessarily a bad thing though! The menu is seasonal, so you'll have to have a look online for the most recent one. They try to use locally sourced ingredients, from farms and bakeries. The wait staff are fantastic, they really seem to care about your experience. If you have any problems, they are more than happy to help. I've been here multiple times and am never let down. It is more expensive than most other places around, but for what you get its worth it. I had a share platter recently and the choice was amazing. There was meat, dips and other yummies to choose from. Such a treat! We had two between four people and it was spot on. There's parking across the road, with a pedestrian crossing too.

On the corner of New and York Streets in Richmond, the aptly named New York Tomato is one the…read morearea's best cafes. It is housed in an ex-workshop, and retains all the industrial features, including a roller door that separates the courtyard from the street when it's closed. The courtyard is the best spot on a sunny day, and upstairs is super-warm in winter with big windows to let the light in. Despite being a local hang out not known to Richmond's footy and shopping tourists, it still gets packed on weekends, so it's worth calling ahead to book a table. On my must-eat list is the eggs baked in Napoli sauce and the banana smoothie. The coffee is consistently good (they know how to do the 'strong' in my strong flat white) and even simple fare like toast with jam is spot on. Give it's in the back streets, New York Tomato has remained a hidden treasure for years now, so enjoy a visit but keep it on the low down to stop it getting overrun!

I met someone here once for brunch and they brought their French bulldog. Therefore, I spent more…read moretime petting and playing with said Frenchie than paying attention to person, decor, brunch or coffee. Hence the clinical review. This space is airy and tres hip. Think lots of wooden tables and stools. The soy latte was creamy and generous, along with the banana porridge with cinnamon and honey. All in all, good experience but presence of Frenchie made it fabulous.

This is a great little local café, Ambiance is basic, strait…read more forward. The menu is uncomplicated. Servings are not large, that's reflected in the cost. Very reasonable. Jerry the chef seams polite and serves and picks up when busy. Zoe is front person, Makes lovely coffee. Economical place to eat. We will be back. Current trading Hours are Mon-Sat 8am to 2:30pm Sun 8am to 1:30pm

This place was a good find on a busy, noisy, and chilly morning. The welcome we were given from the…read moreowner was interesting - we had barely walked in the door and the first thing she said was, 'are you going to eat in or take away?' After that, she made us feel a little more welcome. The menu choices were not extensive but enough for us for brunch. I chose to have coffee with a cheese omelette, whilst my wife had her usual hot chocolate and one of the best apple crumbles which had not been home made. The disappointment came when we went to pay for our meal. There are many signs indicating that they take credit cards. However, nowhere is there any indication that there might be a charge for paying by credit card. 'It's only 50¢', she said, but that's not the point. I, and I know many people, object to being asked, no, forced, to pay a surcharge for using our card, especially when there is no forewarning. One of us left to find an ATM (cash machine) and return with the necessary money. When that took longer than expected, the owner got a bit embarrassed and offered to waive the credit card fee. We declined, saying that we would play by her rules. She seemed happy when we had paid our bill and were walking out the door. Food: nice. Service: average Attitude: poor

Excellent selection of wines and a few good bar snack treats too…read more I love heading in to Underwood of a Friday night...my drink is Pinot Noir. The staff are always happy to suggest something new to try or chat away about the week. It's our local and we love this place.

I think we all need this in our lives, a simple and elegant selection by Underwood wine bar. The…read moreservice is friendly and the atmosphere is on point. Have a chat to the staff as their knowledge is extensive, which creates a great place to enjoy a relaxing wine and simple feed to top off a Friday!

After eventually finding a park on this stretch of a busy road, we went inside, sat down and began…read moreto peruse the extensive menu that does offer a few different things than you'd normally find on a typical menu at an Indian restaurant. It is a shame, however, that the staff don't know what the items are, because when bringing out entrees, they gave the wrong items to the wrong people as a result, and they missed out on trying what they wanted (which could be problematic if you have an allergy or something). My samosas (which were SO GOOD) came out first and only after some questioning, the other items came out, but by that time I was done with them, because the wait was quite extensive. In spite of those hiccups, everyone loved their food. The mains were good. The food came out all at once this time, which was great, but there needed to be some juggling as the table sizes are small. The kitchen accomodated the few requests we had which was nice, and everything was delicious (except we just could not taste the garlic on the naan or see the chives, which makes me think they gave us plain naan instead). Basically, other than a few glitches with staff not being spot on that night, the food was great and the atmosphere was nice (along with nice, modern decor) and definitely worth trying again. Parking can be tricky, and so it might be best coming for an early sitting. Would I come back again? Yeah, if I'm in the area, for sure.

Piquancy is a new Indian restaurant in Auburn Road, Hawthorn VIC near Auburn station. It is a…read morefunky modern take on Indian with the decor terrific and the vibe great. Four of us went on a Saturday evening and it was vibrant and buzzing - having received a positive write up in the Herald Sun the previous week. The food was delicious (with most items being gluten free) and prices reasonable. Dishes were from various regions of India and some of the dishes included: Awadhi Lamb- Macedon lambroasted with spices and marsala Goan duck leg - - with a pumpkin cinammon sauce and lychee Prawns varuval - drenched in cocnut yoghurt with cumin fennel and cury leaes Matar ki Tikka - garlic infused peas and broccoli croquettes Butter chicken! with tomato fenugreek and cardomom Naan was great as well. Unusually we had desert that was also very nice: Gulab Jamun - indian donuts soaked in honey and saffron Wine list was also reasonably priced with a self serve beer fridge (there's a dangerous idea).

My friend and I arrived at around 8.30am on a Saturday morning to a half full cafe. The cafe is…read moresurrounded by lots of street parking which is contrary to what I was expecting. It is also located close to elsternwick station. My skim cappucino as we decided on our orders. The coffee had a unique taste. Creamy. Chocolatey and caffeinated and very satisfying. We decided to get a savoury dish and a sweet dish with out selection being the sweet potato waffles and the nutella panna cotta The waffles are tiny but delicious and come topped with some tender pulled beef cheek. The poached egg with hollandaise sauce was scrumptious but the greens on top were literally just for presentation. The portion is right for one person and not for sharing The nutella panna cotta was beautifully presented with edible flowers pieces of strawberry and sesame covered banana sushi. I didn't like the sushi. The panna cotta was quite rich and just tasted like chocolate with a hint of hazelnut flavour. We found the dish quite disappointing. The menu has lots of options. Service is great and they do split bills.

I was overwhelmingly excited to try their beautiful looking acai bowl. However instead I was…read moreoverwhelmingly disappointed. The tiny strip of acai in the middle that is visible is literally all the acai you get, and the bowl is not deep. There was more of each individual topping than all of the acai combined. You've done well to make it look good. Now try make it taste good.

Patch cafe use to be an amazing place to get a coffee or a great breakfast. However since the…read moreowners have sold up and the new owners have taken over, things have gone downhill very quickly. Coffee isn't great any more and the food is terrible.

I love Patch and the delicious range on offer. I always go for the Chilli eggs, I should really go…read morefor something else, but why change it up when it's always delicious. My partner in crime tends to go for the eggs bene - the best he's had apparently. Light beautiful Benedict, it does look delicious. There is one waitress that is absolutely fabulous - she has an English accent. My experience is always a zillion times better when she is around. Patch to me is everything breakfast should be, delicious, filling without the carb overload.

Choukette is a tiny bustling french pattisserie located on Sydney Rd - slightly hidden amongst all…read morethe Middle Eastern eating establishments. I went here for lunch with a friend around 1pm. It's mostly quiches for lunch with 3-4 to choose from with 3 salads. The quiche options are goat's cheese quiche, quiche lorraine and i think one other. The three salads were pretty drab looking - the green salad (which is just rocket or spinach - some sort of leaves), the potato salad and a sad looking rice salad. However, if you want baked sweet or savoury French items - then you are in the right place. Sweet include: choux cream puffs (or choukettes), palmiers, macarons (the filling is their own marmalade or other type of jam), and lots of cakes. savoury options include: le croissant, the snail, and some others. Quiches are 6.80 to have here and 6.30 take away. They are slightly smaller than average size so I feel they are quite pricey. If you add a side salad, then that's an extra $3. A small coffee is $3.80 or $3.90. If you order triple shot, you get a coffee in what looks like a bowl. Coffee comes with a macaron. The quiche was ok. It came with this tasteless tomato relish that was pale in colour (that tomato relish needs some colour. Some RED). The coffee was ok - at least it was hot! The chouxette was a tiny cream puff that was icy cold and the palmier just tasted like one I could buy in a supermarket. Nothing special. I guess this place is more of a cafe or a bakery where you go for your croissant or a quick cup of coffee rather than place for brunch/lunch.