Mother — Restaurant in Melbourne

First time visitor last week and been twice since. Live in the area and remember this as a milk bar but didn’t know it had become a cafe. My partner and I love it. The old living space has become an eclectic collection of rooms - cosy and comfortable (although I do find the 2 seater tables a tad narrow when you have your food and phone and glasses all competing for room). Menu is also eclectic. You will either love it or not love it. Must admit it’s not a menu where I like everything (not because it isn’t good - I’m just a fussy pedestrian eater). But I love their eggs (anyway) on 2 slices of toast to which I build up by adding sides. The eggs are perfectly poached and when cut run in to the toast. My partner loves his scrambled eggs. Only complaint, would be nice to have butter on toast. Today I got a side of mushrooms. Absolutely beautiful. Cooked just right. Not too greasy but with the right amount of (I assume) olive oil coating them and perfectly cook - not raw but not overly cooked). And a side of sliced potatoes. Perfectly done, sliced thing and fried. Best potatoes I’ve had in a cafe for a long time. Yum. Cannot fault the food. For drinking I had a banana milk shake. Real banana. Again delicious and I can imagine cooling in summer. Well done. We will be back. Service is also...

Walking into ‘Mother’ cafe you’re immediately greeted by Kates’ warm smile and welcoming personality. My husband and I instantly fall in love with the vibe and homely atmosphere. The quirky menu listing made us chuckle…The ‘Mother Bear’ porridge was like a warm hug from your mum. Best porridge we’ve had. And we’ve had a lot! The ‘Mother Hen’ eggs on toast was delish along with great tasting coffee which was actually ‘hot!’ I grew up a few houses down from ‘Mother’ back when it used to be a tiny little milk bar in the early 70s. My dear grandmother and I would always stop in after school to buy my packet of smiths crinkle-cut chips. Fifty years later I thank you Kate & Jansen for allowing me a wonderful trip down memory lane. You’ve transformed it into a lovely little gem. You even kept the original ‘milk bar’ signage which is a...

This was my fourth visit to Mother. Love the food and layout, friendly staff, good coffee. However, today I had the terrible experience of being locked in the toilet for 20 minutes ((without my phone). I had to bang on the door for attention- lucky toilet was inside cafe- and despite staff efforts eventually a locksmith was called, and door had to be broken into. I returned to my table - no one came to see if I was ok, no apology for inconvenience, no offer of coffee or anything else. Lucky I don’t suffer from claustrophobia! Upon leaving I saw others I knew - they asked if I’d be getting a free lunch and I said ‘we’ll see’. At the counter I was met with ‘we got you out’ (again no apology) and then charged in full. It’s not about the money - any gesture would have been appreciated. This did not happen- and therefore, I won’t ...