Auction Rooms — Restaurant in Melbourne

We visited Auction rooms on Sunday the 01/11 at 10:30 am. I recommend wearing sunscreen or wearing a hat. I ended up being sunburnt from waiting outside and dining outside. Auction rooms offer walk ins only on the weekend. We waited 35 minutes for a table of four. We were seated outside. When you arrive, you’ll need to put your name down for the next available table. They have two doors, and it’s one way to go in and the other to go out.

They were setting up the extra street dining section taking over the three parking spots in front. They were building the wooden fence barrier for their new outside dining area. There was the constant hammering of planks of wood the whole time we were there which we stood near by and ended up being seated in front of it. They’ve since finished the construction.

Once seated, we’re handed the menu and the QR code to check in. We were able to submit one form with all parties.

I ordered a dirty chai which was ok. The milk was steamed perfectly, the chai mix was standard.

The corned beef was plated with a lot of colour. The corned beef was shredded and tossed with the potato strips so it was crispy and crunchy and served with two poached eggs and a little bit of pickled vegetable and three pieces of flat bread. This was $21.5.

The chorizo chilli scrambled had a nice smoked flavour. We expected at least three full slices worth for it to be Chorizo included in the title of the item menu. It came with 4 pieces of small 1/4 slices of chorizo, it was disappointing especially to be charged $19 for it served one slice of bread. I wouldn’t order this personal myself.

There’s a weekend...

On Sunday, December 1st, 2024, around 10:30 AM, I visited the cafe with my cousin and my aunt, who had just arrived from abroad. This cafe has always been the first place I take friends or family when they visit, as it's been consistently satisfying. I went there this time with high expectations, but I was deeply disappointed.

Having lived in Melbourne for almost 10 years, this was the first time I had such an experience, and it was shocking. Since I’ve worked in hospitality for a long time, I understood that the staff might be having a tough time, so I didn’t file a complaint, but this experience was just too much.

A young female staff member with short brown hair and blue eyes took our order for coffee and food. The coffee arrived quickly, but we waited almost an hour for the food to arrive. The cafe was always busy, so I tried to be understanding, but the rude attitude of the staff member who took our order—her condescending manner—made me swear I would never return.

As we were waiting for our food, I noticed that many tables had become empty, and the cafe had calmed down. When the food finally came out late, they told me they wouldn't charge for the coffee, but when I went to pay, the coffee charge was still included. I asked about it, and the staff member who processed the payment claimed she had never heard of this offer, leading to a small back-and-forth. I will never return to this cafe and would never recommend...

Have been coming here for maybe 12-15 years, when Andrew was owner. I live 200m from here. The food is still good but the level of friendliness has vastly dropped.I used to come 4-5 times a week for years. The female floor manager & girl in flannette jacket were ok.

Came in today, the door S&G (had orangy fringe) gave me such a bored & indifferent look when I asked for a table. Certainly not very inviting.

Waited for maybe 5+ minutes to place an order. Was not that busy.

The other taller girl was just as bad when taking my order, emotionless, not a smile, just blank face. She is usually like this. The staff seem to have no energy or enthusiasm.

When I got my coffee, she just placed the coffee on the table, no eye contact and walked away.Teaspoon facing the wrong way (not a big deal but its the small 1% that is important). Treated all customers (i could see) in my area the same way.

Coffee was great, nice texture, perfect temp. Food good.

I tend to go to Roasting Warehouse nearby these days for sensational staff, managers & staff who talk/engage with customers.

It will be interesting when Code Black open into the massive space (currently AMPLE cafe) they bought earlier in the year (near their current...