Elster Elsternwick — Restaurant in Melbourne

I visited this cafe since it was the closest to me, but unfortunately, my experience was far from pleasant. I ordered a cappuccino and eggs on toast, both of which were just average—nothing special. The service was the real disappointment. The waitress with short hair and glasses didn’t seem friendly at all and didn’t crack a smile during my visit.

The situation worsened when I went to the counter to pay. There were two servers behind the counter who completely ignored me while I waited to be acknowledged. It was obvious they saw me, yet they chose to act as if I wasn’t even there. After a few minutes of waiting, I approached the same waitress who had taken my order to ask where I should pay, just to be sure I wasn’t mistaken. She then walked over to the counter where I had been standing. As she approached, she saw another man standing there and immediately shifted her attention to serve him instead of me, despite me waiting. The man even pointed out, “But weren’t you serving this lady?” At that point, she finally turned her attention back to me and allowed me to pay.

I couldn’t help but feel that if my skin color had matched that of the man, I might have been treated with more respect and kindness. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it certainly left a bad impression. I won’t be coming back...

I don’t often write reviews but just had a terrible experience with a friend this afternoon. We arrived around 1:45pm and our order was taken by a male waitstaff just after 2pm for a couple of salads. Close to 40 minutes later we were still waiting for our food so I approached the counter where the same waitstaff asked me if I would like to pay - I had to tell him that we were still waiting on our salads and asked when we should please expect them. He then flippantly walked to the kitchen and came back to our table after clearly realising the order hadn’t been put through and asked “do you want that taken off your bill or do you still want the salads?”. We had nothing else on “the bill” to pay for. We then asked if they were even being made and he quickly walked off to speak to the kitchen staff and didn’t return to explain anything or apologise. We then just decided to leave after almost an hour of waiting and still not having eaten anything. Not the best first impression...

We had an impressive experience with Elster for our event! From start to finish, everything was seamless, and the team were an absolute pleasure to work with.

The planning process was made so easy thanks to their clear communication and attention to detail. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and their professionalism made the entire experience stress free.

The venue itself is stunning—beautifully designed with minimal need for extra styling. The variety of furniture available was a huge plus, making setup effortless and allowing us to focus on the finer details.

A special mention to the onsite team, who went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. They were hardworking, accommodating, and genuinely committed to making the event a success.

Overall, an outstanding experience! We highly recommend Elster to anyone looking for a top-quality venue with an...