Major Mitchell Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

This was my first visit to this cafe for a catchup with a family member who chose it and also never been. The place on weekends always seemed to be busy on passing, and maybe due to the festive season today was exceptionally busy. Most seating inside and out were full for mid morning breakfast. I had to wait to be asked whether I was coming in to eat as several ppl were already lined up to pay. The staff member could have been a bit more attentive to her situation and acknowledged me and let me know she would get to me after the others. Anyway fortunately I was early for our booking, so not concerned. Staff member came reasonably promptly to take our order which we started with coffees. That did take a bit of time, but the Barista was pumping them out as quickly as he could. Definitely don't come here if your in a hurry if sitting in. It's obviously a very popular place for locals who come to chill. There's a nice separate areas with some comfy chairs to the back. The atmosphere and overall place looked great, but as with all these modern interiors. If you want a chat with friends I'd try getting one of the separate nooks or eat outside, but Melbourne is so fickle. It was windy today, so not ideal to be outside for us. As no soft furnishings on any surface, once it's busy it gets noisy. Bearable. I will start with the good. I ordered a Magic and it was very good. Strong and just right in temperature. The other coffee was a soy latte. That could have been a bit stronger in my relatives opinion. So good so far. We ordered a salmon bagel, and the mushroom dish with Potato Rosti. The meals took awhile to come. I won't say how long, as wasn't watching the time. They were busy,so can take that into account. Again don't come here if you're in a hurry on a weekend. My bagel was very vell presented slightly open lid style with a good amount of fillings. I was happy with my choice as it was hard to choose as the menu had alot of choices. Now with the bad - the Mushroom dish. This is where we were not satisfied with the dish, and maybe due to us not having the Potato Rosti before. But it came out burnt. It should never of been served out to us as it just ruined the experience. As soon as my relative tasted it, it was definitely wrong. We then asked a waitress if this was served correctly and she said that's how it is. Well. that was clearly not the case. We probably should of asked for it to be brought back to the kitchen to confirm. Please see other posted pic of the same by some other reviewers. Ours was litterally black. But as she had already eaten some, the burned taste was already in her mouth, so just ruined the rest of the dish. We had to say something again, but we asked another waitress. This time she immediately considered what we were saying, and tried to fix the situation. Which I can say she did her best, so appreciate her actions. By now my relative didn't really want the same thing, as we didn't want to wait again, but she did want to eat something substantial as mushrooms and poached eggs wasn't enough. In the end we had some toast and butter. Two things. Someone in the kitchen should of checked what goes out and the waiting staff should be trained or more aware of the dishes presented to know what is not right. I know things happen, but just looking at it someone should of picked it up. Also all staff looked well under 25 and maybe not experienced. Ok. At checkout we were given a discount. As you would expect given that dish which we didn't have to ask for. Can I say that given the pricing of the dishes the meals should come out on point. The coffee was priced reasonably. Magic $5 Ok with that. Would we go back there. Probably not for us....

Personally I'm not one for writing reviews but this cafe was, in every sense of the word, outstanding.

Myself and my partner had made plans to have a date night early Sunday morning and made our way down to the cafe. I had seen the building on my walks he and thought from outside that the building and layout was beautiful. Very cosy, late Victorian exterior with beautiful garden and a warm inviting interior that had a modern energy without taking away from the clearly early era architecture and garden layout.

When we entered we were met with nothing but smiles and kindness. One of the ladies walked us out to our spot and made sure to get us comfortable with drinks. The following ladies that helped us were friendly, talkative and welcoming beyond words. The coffee is well made, warm and definitely a perfect start to a Sunday morning.

We ordered our food and within 10 minutes it was in front of us. I had ordered the vegetable shakshuka. Now I'm not personally one to go for a vegetable based dish but this food was absolutely breathtaking. Each mouthful was an eruption of flavours and textures. We then had a desert of chocolate ricotta cannoli which was beautifully light and had a wonderful chocolate flavour without being sickly sweet. The chefs clearly are well learned in their trade and have a noticeable understanding of good food. Can only speak praise about all the foods we had.

We finished up the day with another coffee which was of the exact same standard of our first coffees. Knock out coffee made to a proffesional standard.

Overall this Cafe is an absolute gem to have for the Glen eira community and will personally go down for me as one of Melbourne's hidden gems. From warm welcomes to full stomachs, each minute in this Cafe felt like being at a family members home.

High praise for the business and everything they all do. Will absolutely be a...

This was our second visit to Major Mitchell, as I like to give a place a second chance if I didn't love every aspect of it the first time. The food both times was delicious. I loved the extra flavour the olive bread gave to my dish today. The coffees were also well made. The outdoor area is great and inside is plain but nicely decorated, however it does get very loud inside when the place is full. What lets this place down is the service. We sat both times for at least 15 minutes before someone took our order. Today, I had to beckon a staff member to come to our table to take our order. The food and drinks came out quickly which was great but we were told salt and pepper are behind us if we wanted any. I looked around and sure enough there was a place for salt and pepper shakers on a shelf behind our table, which was close but I still would have had to get up to get it. Shouldn't it just be on the table? On both visits we finished our meal but sat talking for about an hour afterwards and not once were we asked if we would like anything else. I would have happily had another coffee but thought they don't seem interested in making any, so I won't bother calling someone over again, as it seemed to inconvenience them. Today, about an hour later, someone did ask if we wanted another coffee before they turn off the machine as they were about to close. I got the feeling it was more of a reminder that they are closing soon, rather than genuinely asking if we wanted a drink. Such a shame, as I do like...