Hutch & Co Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

Some friends and I stopped into Hutch and Co yesterday morning to grab some brekkie, but after looking at the menu we decided not to stay for breakfast. One of our party mentioned coming here before and that the place was mildly pricy but delicious. Unfortunately we ran into a few issues.

One of us had an issue with spice and was really feeling an eggs hollandaise this morning, but she had an issue with spice and the staff mentioned to us that unfortunately, all the hollandaise sauce had been infused with chipotle. One of us was vegan. And to their credit, Hutch and Co offered two reasonable vegan options; a bircher muesli and the smashed avo on toast. Unfortunately I have smashed avo for breakfast nearly every day so I wasn’t vibing that dish, and the Bircher muesli, though it sounded nice, was about $22.50 which I felt was a bit pricy. On a similar note one of us was a celiac and the price for swapping out gluten free toast seemed a bit steep too, as did the average price for any extras. For the prices they were charging in the restaurant, I was also put off my the drinking water glasses high were all covered in thick stains, even when the waitress brought us additional ones. At the prices customers are paying here, I think it’s fair to expect cleaner glasses. Also, there was a lack of a conventional “big breakfast” option, minus the “sharing board for two” which came in at $60. And one of our party felt the staff were rather rude and didn’t feel comfortable there.

Personally, I kept thinking about going to the La Porchetta next door instead. Our party eventually paid for our drinks and moved to another spot without ordering any food. I can’t judge this establishment based on the quality of its food because none of us ordered any today, but I felt there was enough I learned from being there today to say I wouldn’t want to go back. Our party had the natural biases of our different diets, and naturally not every facility can accomodate based on our own personal expectations which is fair enough. But we moved on to another cafe in Lillydale and found better options...

I used to love Hutch & Co. This experience was horrible though.

When my Low Gluten order arrived at the table I immediately noticed the beer battered chips rather than the sweet potato chips had been plated next to my Low Gluten sandwich and queried the waitress. She returned to the table to let me know that there would be mild contamination via the fryer. I again clarified with her that my concern was the chips (likely beer battered) and the absence of my normal sweet potato chips. She assured that these chips were in fact low gluten.

I excitedly tucked into my meal.

Mistakes happen, most kitchens and staff will get mixed up occasionally. My interaction with the owner after I finished my meal was just horrible….

After I finished, the owner popped over for a chat and kindly confirmed the meal had gluten (I’m still questioning what motivated the chat). I was devastated.

I recounted the events as above and was adamantly told that that was not what had occurred. There was then continued back and forth which I was so embarrassed to be loudly subjected to in front of the whole restaurant. She highlighted she had a training regime, rejected the possibility of miscommunication and refused to entertain any possibility of fault. Instead the owner sort to educate me publicly. Eventual she concluded “this is a he says vs she says situation”.

I would have loved to just provide some discrete feedback, or even go home none the wiser for a few hours... So upset, a bit shellshocked, and very disappointed - I...

It started well the staff were nice and the interior fit the classic look of a Melbourne cafe. My friend was running a little late so I ended up ordering my batch brew early. After my friend arrived, we chatted a bit then studied the menu and were ready to order. I realised my coffee still hadn't arrived. I asked about it and apparently they had to make a fresh batch which was perfectly fine but it might have been nice to know. Being post Christmas celebrations I was trying to order a healthier option and had a couple to choose from. I went with a classic, smashed avo with a poached egg. It was unfortunately lacking in much flavour. It was served on GF toast although one slice was not sufficiently toasted and ended up being more like cake as I could easily tear chunks off with my fork. When the batch brew arrived (it's my go to if it's available) it came in a surprisingly and disappointingly small cup (the type I'd expect for a long black - my back up order if there's no batch). It was delicious coffee which almost made things worse because I really wanted more but didn't want to pay another $6 for an undersized cup. I can say the restrooms were clean, there was ample room for prams (there were some present while I was there) and the staff were pleasant. They seemed to have sweet treats that I could have eaten (RSF) but I was too...