This place had a rather nice atmosphere, and also being off the main road gave this place a bit of…read morecharm as well. The service wasn't the best, but it wasn't too bad either. In a way I did like this cafe, even though it wasn't one of the best that I have been to. The coffee, well, that was okay as well, but once again, it wasn't one of the best that I have had. It's a nice cafe, but certainly not one of the greatest.

This is a hidden gem and easily only known by locals. My work colleague only came across this by…read morechance as it's a bit of a distance from the building but really not that far. We were greated by such bubbly staff, ordered my chicken risotto, my vegetarian friend got potato fritters with salsa and another friend ordered the gourmet sausage roll. We sat inside as it was such a windy day but were still able to bask in the sun before the clouds came over. The food was presented nicely and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Work meetings here needed more often!

The latest addition to Queensberry Street is Proud Mary's newest offshoot - Twenty & Six Espresso…read more This part of town has recently started to really take off, with the sandwich mecca that is Beatrix and the much-lauded Auction Rooms just a short stroll away. Easy to pass if you don't know what to look for, the cafe is housed in a nondescript space with minimal signage. Inside sits around 20 people with outside space for the taking when rain doesn't threaten. The team have kept things simple - white walls with decals by Melbourne artist and Rose Street Market regulars Able & Game. Above the cream-coloured La Marzocca coffee machine, copper piping frames the counter with coffee paraphernalia displayed on a wooden shelf. The sporadic but thoughtful splashes of colour include an art deco minty-turquoise in the cups and saucers and hot-pink spray-painted twigs, which breathes life into the otherwise understated space. Bare bones industrial lighting and wooden milk crates line the walls - some crates are topped with coffee sacks for extra seating - we especially love the rustic wooden chairs outside with their geometric paint-dipped designs. The coffee is the Proud Mary house blend - Angel's Wings. With touches of sweet orange, plum and light notes of hazelnut the team sticks with what it knows best. The menu is short and sharp. Egg-based dishes comprise of most of the four special offerings with a breakfast selection of cranberry and nut granola, sourdough toast and fruit bread with preserves to round the menu out. The shelf in front of the coffee machine has some of the sweet offering for those looking for a quick bite or something to take away. I ordered the Hulk Smash - but substituted the eggs for beautifully charred Istra Bacon. I don't tend to pick something from the breakfast menu, but in the absence of a lunch menu the sourdough, minted avocado and bacon with the wonderfully zesty-sweet addition of slithers of pink grapefruit is a well thought out inclusion. WordMonkey went for the safe option - mainly due to the fact that she was saving herself for dessert at Beatrix (review here) - the last time we visited Beatrix she was under the weather and unable to eat anything. She went for the poached eggs on sourdough - supplemented by a few forkfuls off my plate - why do girls do that? What's there to say about poached eggs? Runny on the inside and perched on two slices of crunchy buttered toast. It might not be about to set the world on fire, but it joins the ranks of Melbourne's solidly good coffee and brunch places. Well done folks.

Could this be my favourite new brunch spot?…read more The soba noodle Toyko salad was light, yet utterly satisfying. With plenty of roasted chicken, crunchy veggies and pickled ginger, it was a great alternative to "regular" breakfasts. Not that anything at Twenty & Six is "regular", each dish inspired by a different part of the world and presented in a fun and innovative way. My friend's Scandinavian breakfast of smoked salmon, poached egg and avo came with a 1.5inch thick slice of grainy bread, the avo splayed out and stood on its end - Opera House style. Coffee comes from a range of Melbourne specialty roasters and is made with care. The smoothie is creamy and the presentation in a little milk bottle is super cute. Everything *feels* a little expensive when ordering but there's no doubt you feel like you've got good value when you walk out after a generous meal served with friendliness and efficiency.

This place has some interesting-looking stuff on the menu -- North African Shakshuka (kind of a…read morebread bowl thingie); a Middle Eastern hummus dish; a variety of dips (hence the name of the place) and other share plates; and your typical Australian favorites like chicken schnitzels and burgers. They also have a breakfast menu, although I've only ever been here for lunch. (No dinner options -- they close in the evenings). Several of their dips are clearly marked as "vegan" on the menu: the Hummus, Moroccan Carrot, Tomato Relish, Roasted Eggplant, Guacamole, Spicy Green Tahini, Chimicurri, and Beetroot. You can order a choice of dips and in-house baked bread if you're a large group. Or you can do a share plate of vegan falafel balls with the Spicy Green Tahini dip. As for their prepared dishes, they're vegetarian-friendly, with several dishes that are already vegetarian (the Shakshuka, Black Lentil Quinoa Salad, Mushroom Madness, their smashed avocado dish, and their Veggie Stack sandwich), as well as several dishes that can be made vegetarian (i.e., swap the chicken schnitzel out for a Mexican corn schnitzel). I'm not sure how many of these vegetarian dishes can be made vegan -- I'm guessing the Black Lentil Quinoa Salad minus the feta, the Make Hummus Not War with falafel, and the Dip in the Smash minus the feta. But I didn't confirm this so you'd just need to ask. I think the Shakshuka would be cool but it has eggs, so not sure how easy that would be to veganise. I had the Veggie Stack, but I had to ask for no feta and I had to change the brioche bun (contains eggs) for one of their three types of sourdough breads, which are all vegan. (Their gluten free bun is also not vegan -- I think she said it has eggs, so just be aware if you're a gluten-free vegan.) It was a yummy sandwich, and pretty good value -- it came with a sweet potato fries and a little side salad, all for $15.50. As for their breakfast menu, looks like their açai with granola might be vegan, and possibly their "A Word From Our Nutritionist" (porridge with hazelnuts and dates, but you'd have to ask them to cook with non-dairy milk, which they should probably have given they also serve coffee). As for drinks, they have a variety of juices and teas as well as beer, wine, and cider. The atmosphere is fine, nothing to write home about, but it's a cute downstairs basement space with a big splashy colourful mural on one wall. It's actually a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. It's down McKillop Laneway, across from Red Spice Road if you know where that is. Their website design is also super-cute and they put effort into their chalkboard outside, which I walk past almost every day and always looks artsy and cute. Service was very friendly -- we had a tall blonde girl (Scandinavian? German?) who was really nice and made an effort to check that my food was vegan, without acting like it was a hassle, something I always appreciate. They also do catering if you're looking for some vegan-friendly catering. I enjoyed it and I'll probably be back to scope out some of their other vegetarian options to see what can be made vegan.

Dip in Cafe does Breakfast & Lunch, brunch hours. They have 17 dips that are all made fresh on site…read morefrom local and imported natural ingredients. That contain no preservatives and no artificial additives. 3 Dips $13 + Olive Bread $6 = $18. Beetroot - Tzatziki - Sun Dried Tomato Pine Nut Pesto With the trio dips we ordered a roll of olive bread, which arrived hot, fluffy and beautiful! The bread was perfect as was the beetroot and tzatziki dips, the pesto was too salty for my liking. Make Hummus Not War $16 - Next was a dish I founded recommended through reviews. It's exactly what the description says, I love menus that tell you exactly what the dish is. But what it left out this time was that it was spicy! The meat. The Tzatziki from our entree helped, though I couldn't finish my half. Lola would love this dish, which I see as more of a hearty warm winter dish. There was a salad drowning in balsamic vinegar that came with the bread bowl, which I like the idea of - the bread bowl. French Toast $14 - This was delicious! It was sweet but not too sweet and the cinnamon was beautiful. And the bread wasn't soggy even though everything arrived at the same time at the start of the 3 course meal. This is the best french toast I have ever had, and that includes my limited experience of a hotel in Malaysia and le beau's cooking. I'll be back for the french toast for sure! And the dips and olive bread to share. You could just get those two things as a 2 course lunch to share between two people, but get two bread rolls. Service depends on who you get. One girl was a bit friendly but had that 'I'm sick of you attitude' which doesn't make me want to come back. Maya Mex gives us that too but more passive. The manager (we're guessing she's the manager, as she was counting the till when we left) was great!

Should really keep this place to myself BUT seeing as it was already chockablock before this review…read moreI think the locals already know.. This place is hands down my favourite place for breakfast in Melbourne. Coffee is delicious, served at perfect temperature and they have bonsoy. We both ordered the big brekky $18.50 and everything was generous and cooked to perfection.. Perfect poached free-range eggs.. Mushrooms, pork sausage, potato rosti, 3 rashes of bacon, tomato relish and sourdough toast. We were both very happy and full after our selection but watching them bring out everyone else's plates was so tempting. Service was on point and you weren't squished into a seat or rushed with your meal despite the endless stream of people in and out. We were house hunting today and thought we'd try and found a local cafe and boy are we glad we stumbled upon Lolo & Wren! Will we be back?? Most definitely!!!

ex-colleague had described this place as her local haunt and I was ecstatic to try this place. Went…read morehere on an Easter Saturday around 9.45am. Lots of seating available both inside and outside.  Lots of free street parking (but 1P which is never sufficient when it comes to cafes).  I found the menu quite different as it had two types of burgers, a croque-monsieur, a lamb shoulder moroccan salad, chia pudding, some interesting pancakes, and a chickpea dish. None of these dishes had eggs in them. On the very left hand side, they had eggs on toast, the big breakfast, and smashed avo toast.  My friend and I decided to get the lamb shoulder moroccan salad which was shredded tender lamb (looked like pulled lamb, very fine and long strands), dotted with pomegranate seeds and submerged in sheep's yoghurt. It was nice but felt like it needed to be eaten with some bread, or pita bread. It seemed more of a side dish rather than breakfast/lunch or main dish so quite disappointing.  The roast chicken burger with 4 thin slices of chorizo, some jalapenos and some mayo was slightly larger than a slider and quite bland. I only liked the brioche bun but the filling was ok. My friend who was starving didn't eat all of her food.  The coffee was very weak and my friend did not like her white hot chocolate.  Service was ok. Split bills taken. They do ubereats for most of their menu items (brunch on ubereats - wow). Average food.

My new local brekkie spot is a winner! Sat in the back courtyard and enjoyed a chai latte and egg…read moreroti. Chai latte was a pass and the egg roti was delish! Egg roti had bacon, bit of cheese and caramelized onions in it. Yum! Everything else looked tasty too and I'll be back to try the lunch menu. Very friendly Ma and Pop type place.

Found this one Saturday for late lunch after sport. Cool courtyard very relaxing. Eggs benedict and…read moreegg and bacon roll. Dont forget the relish! Milkshake and fruit slushie. Yum. Will be back for more to continue our affair withis place.

Cafe with outdoor and indoor seating and ample street parking. Arrived here on a Sunday noon and it…read morewas almost empty inside but lots of people on the outdoor tables. Free wifi. A small selection of baked goods on counter. Menu consists of wraps, burgers and a handful of brekkie items. Despite being a small menu it caters to all tastes. My friend got the small victories sandwich which is bacon fried egg tomato in slices of bread. He inhaled it and liked the freshness from the tomato. I had the lamb wrap with pulled succulent lamb, refreshing pieces of cucumber and tomato, delicious undertones of the sauce and complementary sourness and crumbly texture from the feta. The wrap itself was a thin white wrap. I devoured mine too and the hot crinkly cut chips were a bonus Our coffees were robust yet creamy. Great value for money. Good friendly service.

Around the corner of my house Small Victories has taken my preference for a sit down breakfast. I…read morelike the brightness of the place as for a breakfast dimmed lights don't make sense. It is the meal that starts your day, it should awaken you like a beautiful sunrise when you just had a 9 hour sleep. Food wise always up to scratch, I have had soup, sandwiches and the small victories breakkie. Sucker for black pudding and love the way it is served. New age fun with a vintage feel. The space feels great, always feel welcome and most importantly they tolerate me just talking shit about everything and nothing. Recommended by me. But then again. Who the fff hell am I?

I like it here. The place took a while to grow on me, I first visited when it was brand new and…read moredidn't rate it, it took me a while to venture back and I am glad I did. The Californian superfood salad is my pick of the current lunch menu. All the salads are pretty delicious, but the heirloom tomato, grilled corn, goji berry, salted ricotta, wild rice and quinoa combination is pretty darn special. They also do a cracking smashed avocado, another measure of a good Melbourne brunch. Staff are cool, pretty much anything goes and coffee is always excellent. And check the specials board!

Was recommended to go to this place from a local Melbourne resident!…read more I went on a Saturday afternoon for some afternoon brunch! Expectations where set high , with a half hour wait given to us at the door (which in reality we had a table in like 10mins) and then told 45mins for food to come which came 20mins of us being at our table! (Such a Melbourne thing to do, create demand) I started with a coffee, and this was a great tasting coffee. we then ordered the waffles as my sweet tooth took over me! But wow what a decision I made! This waffle with peanut brittle and peanut sort of moose was such a delight! The interior of this place was spectacular, we sat at the back of the cafe in the outdoor section, and on a nice summer day this was beautiful! A must try for the cafe seekers, as food was sensational and coffee was up there! Glad to have visited and been recommended such a place and will defiantly return :)

it's a very nice place for brunch.,beginning from wonderful experience, and the service is very…read moregood . We ordered the pancake , which is fit for the c

It's a very nice place here. There's much to love. The space feels good although the tables for…read moretwo are very very close together and you inevitably share some conversation with your neighbours. As this is a busy place we had various people both sides of us throughout our brunch. They now know more about my life than I'd prefer. The dishes my companion and I had were mighty impressive. For a start, both dishes were visually stunning (see photos), impressively composed and very flavoursome. Mine was the Huevos Sucios or the Dirty Eggs. I cannot fault the dish particularly as the jalapeño flavour was so beautifully balanced that it gave a delightful length to the meal that lasted well after I finished it. It was never over hot either. The temperature was bang on. Plus, I thought it was good value for money. The Dirty Mary for $10 with this dish is a steal and it's a superb drink. This is better than any version of Mary I tried recently in Hawaii where they'd claim to make the drink better. They don't. My dining companion had the king salmon which he declared as delicious too. Our coffees to finish were lovely as well and topped off a pleasant and successful venture. I'd like to give the place a 4.5, but that option isn't available as has been canvassed here at length. On balance, mainly due to the squeezy tables for two, I'd round down to 4 this time not up to 5. Tough judgements these.