Café 1809 — Restaurant in Melbourne

I have visited Cafe 1809 over a million times at this point. I have eaten the cinnamon French toast every time, if I were on death's row, and so far I have avoided any altercations with the law and the death penalty has been abolished in Australia, but IF I was, I would choose this for my final meal. The mascarpone whipped cream on the side, I wish I knew how to make it. It's also incredibly pretty to look at, with flowers and fresh fruit.

Anyway, other than the French toast, which I can never, ever get enough of, the staff are so lovely and warm. In particular, I furiously wave at Tiana when I see her, after she saw my over the top efforts to get my friend's attention, hopping up and down and perhaps not seeming my full 32 years of age 🤣 and I enjoy her waving back with the same amount of enthusiasm.

Further still, the coffee here is consistently amazing, the best around, so silky and not bitter, which is my preference! Jade made my coffee on my last visit and it was ✨ SO good ✨

I am sorry to the two of them for taking a week to write a review, I said I would and I am sure they are waiting with bated breath! You can breathe now. I hope you survived. Thank you both so much, please continue to keep the vibes high, the coffee silky, and the cinnamon French toast...

Went to Cafe 1809 with a friend after reading good reviews about it and wanting to support local.

We both ended up ordering the same items, namely the Wild Mushroom breakfast dish, mine with added bacon. Followed with coffees and Portuguese egg tarts and tea.

Presentation of food was lovely and tasty. Coffee was okay.

There were however two things that could have been better, one of which is a deal breaker for me:

Staff were not very attentive. This was made worse by the fact that it was a weekday and there weren’t all that many in-house patrons, so the staff weren’t exactly run off their feet. They really should have been better.

There was no heating turned on within the cafe. This is a deal breaker for me. Patron comfort is important. Nobody seemed to care that the inside ambient temperature was almost as cold as the outside ambient temperature. Everybody inside was rugged up with puffer jackets etc. I couldn’t help but think that the reason why there was no heating turned on (in an otherwise concrete rectangular shaped cafe) was due to a considered attempt to keep electricity heating costs down. This might work for a family home, but really isn’t acceptable for a public business.

So that’s why I score this...

Came in around 12ish on a Monday. I almost walked past the place as it looked dark from outside and I thought it was closed. It’s in a really quiet location, and on a Monday noon there was plenty of parking around. I walked in and was greeted by a server pretty quick. I said I wanted a table and they asked if I needed a powerpoint! Loved it. I had planned to eat lunch while doing some work so really appreciated that.

They were out of the breaky bowl so I ordered the poke bowl with chicken instead; drink was an oat cap. Everything came quickly. Poke bowl used some really fresh ingredients; the sesame dressing always tying the bowl together. Cap was good, and so was the almond croissant I ordered for takeaway (not pictured - but it was huge and had berries in it).

Everything came up to a $28 total. While paying, I think it was the owner who was on the register. He said Anytime Fitness members get a discount. Unsure if it applies on certain days/certain times, and what the percentage is but flash your key fob if you have one!

Overall vibe is welcoming and warm. Looks like a local fave for a...