Brick Lane Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

I visited Brick Lane Café with my family. The day before, we had noticed it was completely packed with about a 25-minute wait for a table, so we decided to come early the next day, around 8:30 on a Sunday, and managed to snag a seat.

The atmosphere was lively but also extremely loud. The café was so busy that we had to lean across the table just to hear each other.

One of the first things I noticed was the lack of physical menus. Instead, there was only a QR code, which was not very user-friendly in my opinion. Navigation on the page was poor, and for a while I was convinced there was not even a drinks section. I initially tried to order an omelette without capsicum but was told it comes premixed and could not be adjusted. I found that disappointing, especially considering that even a standard hotel buffet allows you to customise an omelette, freshly cooking it in front of you in a matter of minutes.

In the end, I ordered the big breakfast along with a banana and mango smoothie. The food was fine overall, though nothing particularly special. It was the kind of big breakfast you could find at many other cafés. The clear standout was the Turkish sausage, which was delicious, rich, and nicely spiced. I am not usually someone who enjoys spices foods, but I loved it. The rest of the dish included mushrooms, one tomato, two pieces of sourdough, and two eggs cooked your way.

The first few bites of the meal tasted oddly sweet for a savoury dish. The sourdough was on the thinner side and unfortunately very tough. It gave my jaw quite a workout and even caused some discomfort. It tasted stale, with one slice burnt on the end and another undercooked, leaving it far from evenly golden.

My smoothie also did not arrive until I had nearly finished eating. I had to flag down a waiter to ask about it, and when it eventually came there was no apology for the delay, not even a smile when presented.

As for the service, the staff were friendly enough, but almost every interaction felt rushed or as though they were only stopping by on their way elsewhere. It seemed as though only one staff member was truly handling hospitality and food delivery, while the other two on duty had plenty of time to sit around, even though the café was packed and drinks were still being delivered right when people were ready to pay.

Overall, the experience was not terrible, but it was not memorable either. The food was passable with one highlight, the Turkish sausage, but the service, atmosphere, and attention to detail left a lot to be desired. For a viral café that attracts so much attention, the food and service did not live up...

I visited this café with my partner today, and while the atmosphere was lively and the gentleman who seemed to be in a managerial role was extremely polite and attentive—which I sincerely appreciated—the overall experience was unfortunately disappointing due to one particular staff interaction.

We were seated around 10:46am after a short wait, and by 10:51am, we were ready to order. I was interested in having a salad, which the menu noted was available from 11:00am. So I asked the server—a female staff member—if it might be possible to place the salad order just 9 minutes early. She responded with a very firm “No.” That in itself would’ve been acceptable, had it ended there. But instead of allowing us to wait and order later, she insisted quite forcefully that we must place our full order immediately, claiming that tables are only given 10–15 minutes for dining.

We were never informed of this supposed dining time limit—neither when we were seated, nor while waiting. When I questioned this, she curtly replied that it’s “on the website” and again pushed us to order now. Despite being taken aback, we complied to avoid further discomfort. My partner ordered the eggs Benedict, and we both ordered two hojicha lattes.

The food and drinks arrived promptly, and my partner was satisfied with her dish. However, the rushed nature of the service left us feeling quite pressured. To make matters worse, the same staff member returned a few minutes later—now past 11:00am—to ask if I’d like to order the salad after all. I found this sudden change both ironic and frustrating.

The inconsistency and the lack of clear communication—especially around a policy that, to this day, I cannot find mentioned anywhere on their website or social media—made the experience feel unnecessarily stressful. We had come expecting a pleasant brunch date at a well-known café, but instead left feeling unwelcome and disappointed.

It’s a shame, really. I would’ve loved to recommend this place, but given how the situation was handled, I don’t see myself returning—and I certainly wouldn’t suggest...

First of all, if you’re going to go to the highest Trip Advisor rated cafe in Melbourne on a Saturday, you should probably expect a wait. We waited for 10 minutes in the lane. I’m glad we got there when we did, because any later and the wait would have been much longer. Aim to go at 11am, which is a slight dip in activity between lunch and breakfast.

Despite the fact that it was extremely busy, the service was fast, friendly and efficient. 9.5/10

Standard coffee order of a latte and a short macchiato. Nothing above average in Melbourne terms. 7/10

We ordered the Big Breakfast and the Baba Ganoush.

I feel like it can be hard to stand out when you’re doing dishes which just involve basically cooking some eggs and toast. But then again you’d be surprised at how badly some people can mess up cooking bacon.

That being said, the Big Breakfast was good. As with the coffee, nothing which blew my socks off. But it was a good, satisfying meal. The mushrooms were nice and tender. The poached egg was maybe a little overdone for my liking, but I understand they probably try and consider those who don’t like them runny (ie: the wrong way). I enjoyed the Turkish sausage. Something different from the usual full breakfast. I do wish I’d had a bit of butter or something for the toast. 7.5/10.

For the Baba Ganoush, the actual BG wasn’t great, but the rest of the dish was. 8/10.

Lastly, I will mention that the portion sizes are pretty chonky, so to speak. Pessimists will complain about that, but I say it’s value for money.

It may not be the most Instagramable cafe, but if you go here you’ll get a decent...