Market Lane Coffee - Sydney Road — Restaurant in Melbourne

I came in this afternoon for a simple "coffee" (hot chocolate) and sweet before an interview. I can say with absolute certainty that this is the most pretentious, arrogant, uppity, coffee snob cafe I have ever visited. There was an air of superiority and unwelcomeness that immediately made me feel like I wasn't worth their time. I was somewhat prepared for the drink to be expensive. However, for a one-size 10 ounce cup, I was shocked to be paying $7.50! The total with my peach danish came to $17! Things went from not great to worse when I attempted to taste the danish. It was SO stale, I could barely get my teeth in for a good sized bite. I had two more attempted nibbles, thinking it might be softer closer to the center, it was not. In addition to that, the water tasted like vodka??? It wasn't sparkling, it wasn't still, it wasn't even lemon water. I was happy to try and replace the danish for something else of the same value before asking for a refund - as I know servers are generally reluctant to process refunds - but the replacement plum danish was just as stale! I could not even cut through it with my knife. I received the refund for my food and left. The only okay aspect of my visit was my drink, and I'd give it a 4/10. Just...

Always wonderful, precisely made coffee with a well considered standard espresso blend often beside a daily single origin alternative. The staff tend to rotate through the other Market Lane stores, but in general are not just nice but interesting people. Of course i would prefer certain staff to be here more permanently. But staff seem quite happy in an industry otherwise known- at worst - for high staff turnover and bad working conditions made usually worse by managers who stress under pressure and create or worsen workflow issues that they then blame on staff and see themselves as having to solve (as someone with both a fine arts degree and a degree in philosophy, I have worked in the past at my share of badly managed cafes and know many other hospitality workers, lol). Thank goodness no such ineptness have I ever witnessed here - never a sarky or shouting manager, and staff seem genuinely quite content: always a sign of a decent business! But, we come here for the coffee… and have long since stopped going anywhere else in Brunswick as it is always good, music is never overly loud, never overbearing pop bilge or cafe ‘beat’ crud, and always in good taste. Highly...

I like this place a lot. While yes the coffee is pricey, it is what you expect from a premium coffee offering.

The black coffee and take home bean options are great and the design of the place is really nice.

Unfortunately its the customer service that on some days has me second guessing whether I should go in, which is a shame because the coffee like i said is great.

The customer service is just inconsistent. Some staff are great, welcoming and attentive, while others, i'm embarrassed to order, because I feel so uncool and unwelcome, and feel embarrassed to ask if I can have some carbonated water, while they are offering this to other customers around. This happens so often when we attend. Like I said inconsistent service.

Maybe open up the water taps to customers so we can serve ourselves, like they do at Bench Coffee or Acoffee,...