Alfa. Seddon — Restaurant in Melbourne

I was debating whether to create an account and write this review for a while, but i eventually decided to just speak up about what i had seen and heard. I have been a frequent visitor to both alfa stores for a while now, and have continuously loved the food and coffee. My complaint today is not about any of the products served, but rather about the atmosphere I have witnessed in the past year. Seemingly to me, the employees have been mistreated by a particular manager. Whenever I come into the cafe and see this manager here, the atmosphere is negative. I have overheard this manager yelling about how all the staff are bad at their job and that she was going to fire them all and rehire new staff. As someone who went through a similar experience with a horrible manager when I was in my teens, i am appalled to see this behaviour so transparently in front of me. When I come to this cafe, I want to have a nice meal with my children, not witness young adults be yelled at by a middle aged women. I just want to clarify, the staff have always been so kind and nice to me, with the baristas and waitresses always laughing and making jokes. As such, I am especially appalled at seeing them treated in such a harsh manner. After seeing such behaviour, I feel as if I had no choice but to say something. I hope in the future this issue is rectified in the future and I no longer have to witness...

I stopped by Alfa in Seddon after work for a quick grab-and-go coffee, but unfortunately, the experience wasn’t great. I have however ordered food via uber eats which is FABULOUS. The set-up of the store felt quite chaotic and confusing. There didn’t seem to be a clear process for ordering coffee — no designated spot to line up, and the sandwich booth is placed in such a tricky location at the front door… that it makes the whole space feel cramped, disorganised and environmentally awkward.

As a customer, I genuinely wasn’t sure where to stand or how to make it clear that I was waiting to order. At one point, another customer was served before me, even though I had been standing there patiently for a while. It left me feeling a bit uneasy and feel a structure is needing to occur, staff were rushing around frantically without a designated spot.

For a café that seems to encourage quick coffee runs, the layout and flow really don’t support that kind of experience. In an area like Seddon, where there are plenty of excellent cafés and coffee shops nearby, this lack of structure really stands out — and not in a good way.

With a bit more attention to flow and customer experience, it could be a great spot. But as it stands, it wasn’t the smooth grab-and-go I was hoping for. My coffee did taste amazing, so...

I went there with 3 others at around 1pm, we dined in and the noise was loud with the open concept and the staff were rushed, understandably having minimal customer interaction besides taking orders. We ordered 2 coffees (latte and iced long black in picture 3) that were really nice, and a Strawberry Smoothie that was a bit sweet.

The food came quickly, in less than 20 minutes even with the busyness. Everything came out at the same time and was still hot. The BLT was balanced, with crispy bacon and fresh salad that was presented well. The Grilled Chicken Burger was juicy and had a lovely red capsicum relish that tied the flavours together. However, it did fall apart a bit. The Salmon Duluxe (picture 1) was a generous serve and the elements all complemented each other well, overall was really good and had great presentation. The Algerian Lamb (picture 2) was really nice, with amazing sauces and really soft meat that had great caramalisation. The sweet potato was firm and added great contrast in texture. It was very filling and presented very well.

Overall it was great spot and I definitely...