Convent Bakery — Restaurant in Melbourne

The Bakery used to be a great place for breakfast that was always packed and the food so beautifully yummy. Its clearly changed hands. It was practically empty this time, and once I and my partner began to eat we knew why. The food was at a very low 'cheap and cheeful' standard, but was still at the prices of the once quality food. My stomach was left feeling unwell for a large part of the day after the meal. I ordered a vegetarian option displayed on the menu and after the non vegetarian equivalent had come out and was very nicely sent back, a woman, seeming to be the manager or owner, came out and talked to me in a way that was accusing me of not having ordered the vegetarian option. I checked with my partner, I had and it had been repeated back to me by the person taking my order. Coming out and talking to me in a sceptical way, trying to lay the blame (which was unnecessary) at my feet seemed to have been done for no other reason than to attempt to express her own annoyance at having to replace the meal and place blame elsewhere for the mistake that I was not at all upset about. I was however upset after she spoke to me. I love cheap and cheerful food too, but not at this poor level of quality or price, it was not cheap at all. I'm really sad too, because The Convent Bakery used to be a really wonderful place...

I am well aware this was 18 months ago, but it still plagues me.

In February 2024, I ate a salmon bagel from this well known establishment. It was in an unrefrigerated cabinet and I expected that they would adhere to well known food safety practises. Salmon can be left out of a fridge and still consumed safely for a period of time.

I became so violently ill, I had to take a week off of work. I couldn’t leave my toilet let alone my house. At one point, I fell asleep on the toilet, hoping the good lord would take me as he did Elvis. I am not joking, I was so sick, I honestly thought it was it for me.

I reached out directly to The Convent Bakery on Instagram at the time only to be ignored. As this is something that still upsets me to this day (I can no longer eat salmon) I feel as though I should share my harrowing experience with future customers.

Avoid anything in this establishment that you think should be refrigerated as they do not adhere to common food safety practises.

The salmon bagel tasted amazing but ultimately was not at all worth it.

Edited in response:

Whilst I appreciate that you now refrigerate your salmon bagels, I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I didn’t message your establishment on Instagram. I will upload the screenshot of my...

We decided to have breakfast here before visiting the farm next door, and it was an absolute delight! I loved my eggs Benedict, the others including kids also enjoyed their meals and portions. An unexpected surprise for us was there was a farmers market on, which added some more liveliness to the area (on every second Saturday monthly, $2 entry). There's indoor dining but it's a bit old and gloomy. Loved the outdoor area though, wooden table and benches placed under very large umbrellas to provide shading from the sun in the summer. There's plenty of options for food and drinks. Reasonable pricing. We arrived close to 11am on a Saturday and both breakfast and lunch menus were available. Only paid parking available (supports both the convent and the farm though).

Price guide (as of Jan 2025): Eggs Benedict $24.90 Chicken burger and chips $24 Kids nuggets and chips $10 Small mocha $5

Parking: weekends first 90 mins $7.50 (a dollar less on weekdays), +$2...