Lorna Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

This rating is solely on account of the rudest waitstaffer (Hi dyed red hair waitress with tattoos) I've encountered period. We stopped for an unscheduled stop with my parents in law, wife and our two little kids, and bumped into my wife's patents who live nearby and invited to join us. We had no booking and as the place was very busy i only asked for 6 seats for adults since I didn't think we'd even get that. A large rectangle 6 seater table was arranged and I then asked the waitress is we can add one chair at the end of the table so our 4 year old didn't have to sit on our lap the entire time and that request was met by attitude and a comment to me that I "need to communicate clearly" to her. She stormed off never to return. This was a simple request of only you made an effort to listen to me. I found spare chairs stored in a corner and I added one to the table myself. The rest of the staff were wonderful and the food was good. Thanks for your advice red-haired waitress. Perhaps you might want try harder at improving your service. I don't mind too much if the odd coffee mik is burnt, I don't mind too much if the food isn't amazing everytime, I dont mind an inadvertent clerical issue if fixed (which happened as we were charged for the wrong table but it was an accident and was fixed), don't mind waiting a bit longer if the place is busy etc etc because not everything can go right 100% of the time. I however do very much mind being disrespected by rude staff. You are only the second one I've encountered in my entire life in Melbourne so you in rare company. Congrats on earning...

Lorna is a local and a fave regular for me but today completely missed the mark for me unfortunately. Ordered the apple pie porridge from the vegan menu and asked to add a side of peanut butter. The dish arrived missing 2 components listed on the menu - the baked apple and the coconut yoghurt, which I didnt really register the missing apple til halfway through as I thought it was maybe pureed through, but upon paying was told that yes, the apple was left off. The waiter possibly subbed the peanut butter for the yoghurt? But I never asked for this, nor was it communicated to me, in fairness I don't think I was charged for the peanut butter, but I still found it disappointing to have an entire listed ingredient removed without clarification. What's more, my friend ordered the baked tofu dish, which was underwhelming - 2 slabs of unseasoned, plain tofu on top of a shakshuka sauce. It's 2023 guys, and although I know you're not a vegan specific cafe, I don't see the point in having a dedicated vegan menu section if it's going to come across as an afterthought, especially when the cost mirrors other animal based products on the menu. Also, 3 tofu dishes in a 5 dish menu? It was sad to see the people beside us getting delicious looking plates as we left quite disappointed. I appreciate the apology from the person behind the counter, but that wasn't enough in my opinion, and I won't be back while the menu...

Appalling service, table never got checked other than waters 10 minutes after we sat. Food never got checked until we asked 40 minutes after we ordered food, we had to go up and ask ourselves. The staff didn't seem too concerned, it felt like the manager at the time neglected our table after walking past us 6 times without saying a word. Didn't bother to ask herself how everything was going, seemed like she already knew. The same manager served the coffee shown below in a grumpy manner and it split after slamming it on the table, with no apologies. A table next to us that walked in at the same time ordered, finished their drinks, received their food, ate and left before we even questioned where our food was 50 minutes in. We watched as about four other tables finished and left after walking in after us. The young lady who served our table handled it well and seemed to do all the work and was apologetic, but the manager did not seem to care for our table. By the time we received our food, coffee was already finished and the unhappy manager and another waitress served with a grin on their faces, they don't know how to smile. Drinks on the house isn't enough to distract us from the service we experienced today, first impressions last and Lorna did not hit the mark. We are local and tried to enjoy it, but...