BENCH COFFEE CO. Lt Collins — Restaurant in Melbourne

The menu here is simple - that is - they focus on the key thing - coffee. The centrepiece of the cafe is a standing bench which takes up almost half the real estate. Also, it has glass blocks that form the base (be it the counter or the sitting bench up front). This design, according to research, is inspired by an old French modernist building, Maison de Verre.

That said, I just finished up with work - two coffees into the day and was looking for a pick me up. This place almost didn't happen as I was of two minds for another cafe up the road. Glad I made the choice to visit here.

Service was great. Given sparkling water to hydrate / cleanse the palate. I was initially shown a spot on the bench and was happy with that. However, they must have known I was visiting (and a littler tired) so they also suggested a seat as soon as it opened (anticipating a need of a customer - great work).

Then, the coffee arrived and yes - it was a delight. The perfect coffee art aside - tasted great. This place is a resounding 5/5 - and a place I'd recommend for any coffee aficionados top 10 cafes to visit in the Melbourne CBD. This was also a place recommended by another Barista too. I can see why. Until we meet again Bench....

Visited a place for the first time with one of friend's recommendation. Almond croissant and two cups of coffee were ordered. Unfortunately, two things I noted and decide not to go or recommend to anyone. 1) Staffs. No basic communication manner. As we were told by the staff to wait for the table, all of sudden, some group visited and they took it over. No apology or comments as if we were invisible. Even, after that, I had to bring my own water standing on the bench(Now I get the meaning of this place's name). I guess they can speak English then please use their tongues instead of talking about their holiday plan among the staffs. 2) Croissant was good (but I am sure it was from outside) but the quality of coffee was not as good as we were told. Coffee was not hot enough and the presentation was not impressive. And once again no smile or comments but throw the dishes and cups to the bench (now once again I understood where the name come from). Felt like I am at the army camp.

Please do the basic. Being nice to the people with smile OR at least say the words they suppose to do. The words will...

I went to the Lt Collins Street Bench recently, it was a great coffee experience.

Celia and Morgan were really helpful and didn't mind me hanging around and asking questions about the coffee. Artem, Bench Coffee Roaster, just won the Australian Roasting Championship by ASCA. So you should visit if you're into your coffee. Another young gentleman was on the bar, but I never caught his name.

If you like your pastries, sorted! They have a delicious patisserie selection that's all baked at HQ in Brunswick. Croissants are really well made and have great lamination.

My coffees were filter, house espresso, guatemalan espresso, and a house milky. I enjoyed them all, and then batch brew was quite unique. Overall, I have no complaints, and it was one of my better coffee experiences in the CBD.

There's multiple Bench stores, each one has a different feel and aesthetic. My favourites are the flagship and the Lt Collins store.

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