Le CLEC — Restaurant in Melbourne

I don't normally write reviews for any restaurants because it is really difficult to be objective.

There are two reasons for me to write one this time,

1, They have something very delicious and you might not find anywhere else. 2, They make good coffee.

There are many restaurants and cafes on Glenferrie Road, this little cafe catches my eyes with its beautify white and "Tiffany Blue" colour decoration.

After walking into the cafe, at first, I thought it was just a usual little cafe mainly for takeaway coffees. After I found their AMAZING little garden area in the backyard, I know I should try its meal as well. After all, it feels so good to have a brunch in a bright, half open area under the decking roof with sunshine.

All right, let's talk about the coffee and food.

As usual, I order a flat white for myself and a hot chocolate for my son to start.

P.S In my opinion, a good coffee consists of 3 things.

Firstly, the milk must be frothed perfectly to create a creamy, smooth texture. Secondly, the coffee beans must be roasted and grind freshly. Last by not least, the temperature of the milk and the way barista mix the coffee extract and milk are the key.

The coffee they made was surprisingly good. The mouthfeel was warm (not too hot) and fresh, it is also smooth and mild in texture with a fruity flavour, though I prefer it to be stronger and more bitter.

I did not have a chance to taste the chocolate as my son finish it very quickly... lol

After about 20 minutes waiting, our main causes came together. We order two pork Belly, one avocado and one Glenferrie Breakfast (Their Big Breakfast). I normally order scrambled egg for big breakfast but the waitress convinced me that poached egg was a better choice.

Let me give some ratings to their food(5 out of 5):

coffee (4 out of 5) - explained above.

Bacon (5 out of 5) - This bacon was a must try. Bacon I had in other restaurants was normally pan-fried to crisp. It usually is oily and very salty. The bacon here was different. This thick cut bacon has a little chewy texture(I love it), very smoky flavour and it is definitely not salty at all. We ended up with ordering a plate of bacon separately. I asked the owner where to buy it and he told me the bacon was made by the chef.

Pork belly (4.5 out of 5) - I love this pork belly. Juicy, tender and you can not find the pork stink at all. The only downside IMO was the chef removed the crispy pork skin. (He dumped it in the bin... what?! Why?!) I will specifically ask the chef to preserve the crispy pork skin for me next time.

Poached egg (2.5 out of 5) - There were two eggs come with the big breakfast. One was overcooked and the other one was not as soft as I thought it would be. I should have sticked to scrambled egg...

Bun under the pork belly(4 out of 5) - Toast comes with big breakfast is usually very hard. I have to use some soup or scrambled egg to soften the bread before I can eat it. This little round shape brownish bun was so soft. It becomes more delicious after absorbing the pork belly juice.

Matcha Latte (3 out of 5) - My friend said it was not matcha enough. It was more like a milk with slightly matcha flavour.

Let me summarised my little review: Pros Great Coffee Bacon and Pork Belly are so delicious. The environment was good especially the backyard garden area Polite and friendly staff, I wish they could smile more.

Cons The wait time was a little bit long. If they have the confidence to recommend something to the customers, they should have done it better. I was quite disappointed in the poached eggs I got. You need to ask the staff to add salt and pepper for you. (I like to do it myself)

Anyway, I will give this little cafe a 4.5 out of 5 for...

Had a pretty bad morning that costed my soul, but this shop saved me. It was an impulsive move to go inside, but there were no regrets.

The food here is excellent! I ordered an Iced Mocha with Ice Cream and Son-in-Law Benedict.

ICED MOCHA - Five Stars. The presentation is just so beautiful. The taste is even more beautifuller (*lol jk, but it real). The blend compliments all the ingredients (the coffee, ice cream, chocolate). It's just spot-on.

SON IN LAW BENEDICT- Another fantastic meal. The presentation, the hollandaise sauce, the poached eggs, oh my. Just perfect!

I have to talk about the ambiance too! The space is really relaxing. Makes you feel that you are in another place. I even forgot the bad traffic at Glenferrie Road. LOL!

Amongst all, what I really wanted to highlight is the staff service. The staffs are amazing! Their friendly company and service made the sad-person-me feel much better. They were pretty receptive or empathetic too to know that I am feeling down. They cheered me up and was very kind to me. Those actions were very impactful to me and I wanted them to know that it meant so much to me. If only I was able to get their names to highlight them here in my review.

Will be coming back...

Where did all the old staff go?!?!?! Part of the reason Le Clec used to be my hands-down go to for brunch was being greeted by name by Darren and the team, as well as the mouth-watering, beautifully presented food.

Over the last two/three months though, it's gone from outstanding to just... eh. The new wait staff are nowhere near as personable, and the food isn't as good as it used to be (the sticky ribs are no longer sticky, why???). It's like the place has lost all the love and life it used to have which made it stand out.

Also, the new front of house/barrister is... really eh. The chai with leaves isn't steeped nearly long enough and the coffee isn't as good as it used to be. He also made sure to blame a new wait staff member when my drinks order was wrong, rather than just make a new one. I really didn't like his attitude and honestly haven't been back since.

I'm not saying it's a bad cafe; it's actually very good comparatively to others in the area. I'm just disappointed that the food isn't what it used to be, the service isn't what it used to be, and it's gone from me walking in being greeted by name to being just another customer. Really lost it's charm and...