Heronswood Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

Saw photos of Heronswood cafe thought what a beautiful place . Feeling disappointed 😞 Just wanted to go for a family lunch (1o'clock ) To find out $16 entry fee ! I thought it was very over priced ! Im not sure why its $16 the gardens weren't anything special very unkept dry in alot of areas the clippings from weeding where dumped over the side or left in the garden. If charging to see the garden you would think they are going to be something special! Maybe a smaller charge for different seasons 🤔

Unfortunately after deciding to pay the $60 to enter get to the cafe and we couldnt have lunch as they had run out of food 😕 they only had coffee and a couple of cakes Customer service at the counter wasnt great ,the lady seemed distracted and got my coffee order wrong ! On the upside the young lady who brought our drinks was lovely, it was her first day . The house that the cafe is in is lovely and the view was beautiful. It would be good if you could by pass the $16 entry fee for the garden ( not everyone's not into dry unkept gardens,sorry) and just go to the cafe . Also maybe Communication between the shop and cafe( that charges you) to let people know before going to the cafe that they have run out of food ! Not sure id return Unfortunately 😕 It could have alot going for this...

We dined a number of times at the old restaurant premises and loved it, so were looking forward to lunch in the new premises - the historic house (finally having the time after a few years). We arrived 5 mins early for our booking at 1o’clock, and pretty quickly ordered the bread and olive plate followed by two chicken pot pies. We got a chai latte and some water, but 1/2 hour later, no bread, and a nearby table where the people arrived at least 15 mins after us got their bread! I asked for the bread, then about 5-10 mins later the pies arrive. They are luke warm and not edible for me since I am in first trimester of pregnancy. I went and complained, we didn’t have to pay (we decided to just leave), but the excuse given, that they were very busy, doesn’t cut it. They weren’t too busy to give someone else their bread, and if you can’t give a customer bread in half an hour there is something more seriously wrong than being busy. I am very disappointed as we are diggers members and love the house, but I don’t think...

Trish at the Cafe made our visit to Heronswood incredible.

It was 2:55pm, and our day seemed gloomy, having not eaten yet, and arrived to Heronswood Cafe 5 minutes before close. Expecting to be turned away since the sign read 'closed' and they were packing up, we asked the staff if there was anything plant-based that we could order. They kindly allowed us to take a seat, and served up bread with dips and a pudding. Both were good, but my partner couldn't eat much of it being gluten-intolerant. As soon as Trish (the chef) realised this, she whipped up a super delicious salad that really made our day (this is not on the menu, and is usually served to staff on breaks).

Trish's kindness was so greatly appreciated, and we think that the menu should incorporate Trish's staff salad creation, along with more plant-based dishes. Given that it's a gardeners Cafe, fresh whole-food plant-based produce should be the hero of the menu!...