Arena Café — Restaurant in Melbourne

Giving a 4 star as I’ve been here many times. Every other time would be 5 star however today I would give 1 star.

I ordered the chicken and mushroom soup of the day with gluten free bread. As I am a diagnosed a coeliac I can tolerate small amounts (a little in the soup) but would not be able to have wheat bread also.

When my soup arrived I asked if it was gluten free bread. The waitress took the meal away and soon came back with my receipt saying I didn’t pay $1 extra for it and I need to give her $1 more to have it gluten free. Surprised.. but sure, no worries. Gave her a $1 coin.

She came back a short time later with the gluten free bread changed however I asked if the slice of bread placed ON the soup was gluten free and she said she didn’t think so. Didn’t offer to change it- she walked away

We spent over $70 here today and I was left with that.

I’ve always had a great experience here however I was baffled by todays experience and the...

Absolutely Awful Experience at Arena Cafe

I rarely leave bad reviews, but my experience at Arena Cafe was so terrible that I felt compelled to warn others.

First off, the owner was shockingly rude and dismissive. Instead of welcoming customers, they acted like they were doing us a favor just by being there. The manager wasn’t any better—unprofessional, disorganized, and completely uninterested in resolving even basic issues.

Now onto the food: bland, overpriced, and honestly inedible. My dish arrived cold, poorly presented, and tasted like it had been sitting out for hours. When I politely brought it up, I was met with eye rolls and zero effort to make it right.

This place has zero customer service, terrible food, and a toxic attitude from the top down. There are plenty of better options nearby—do yourself a favor and avoid Arena Cafe...

This has been the worst experience ever. I was at the cafe this afternoon and we were waiting for our coffee. This super disrespectful lady who worked there, came up to us and asked me to get up. I am 32 weeks pregnant and even before ordering coffee, I asked the barista if I could sit there. And she happily said yes. After everything, she asked us to move immediately as she wanted to close the cafe even though there were still 15 mins left for the closing time. My brother even offered to put the chairs away after we were done. But that rude, heartless lady made sure we got up right away. She had no empathy, respect and courtesy for customers....