New Order — Restaurant in Melbourne

Poor attitude and treatment by male waitstaff.

My partner and I were ordering takeaway coffee from the guy at the counter who appeared disinterested in talking to us, or any of the other customers ahead of us. After yelling "talk to me..." at us while walking away towards the kitchen, when he returned my partner - who has a non-Australian accent - gave our coffee order (2 coffees with different types of milk). Confused, and ignoring my partner, he asked me to repeat the order (which my partner had already given clearly), and then said directly to me that my partner "didn't say that" and that there was a "obviously a language barrier".

Ironically, even after confirming our order, we still received the wrong coffees. While waiting for the right ones, we asked the female server outside whether this guy was the owner. Confirming he was not, she asked us whether everything was ok. We explained the interaction and she apologised profusely on behalf of her colleague, showing genuine acknowledgement and concern.

While I appreciate that the male waiter was possibly stressed and didn't intend to use the exact words he did, it reflects an attitude and ignorance that is incredibily innapropriate, and has no place in any customer-facing role.

Fortunately the professionalism and care from the other server helped counter the behaviour of her colleague. Nevertheless, both my partner and I were really taken aback by the experience, as it's not something we would...

Located on a corner, not obvious at first but the closest coffee shop to the alfred that is serious about coffee

Drive past the petrol station and you will see it on the left, turn into the side road, you will have to search this residential street for a park but trust me it will be worth the search

Thanks to covid the guys have set up there own queuing system outside, hop on the assigned social distancing markings and wait, for a small cafe it pulls a large crowd especially at peak times morning, lunch and all smokos brakes inbetween

Service is quick, given the wipe down of surfaces between customers, staff are cheery and friendly, really keeping the moral up from people, a lot of which are the alfred doctors, nurses and other staff

They have a few key offerings for food, the menu short but effective and judging by all the other customers delicious offerings, can't wait to return when restrictions are lifted as the full menu looked amazing

Once you order, only one customer in the shop at one time, you kindly asked to wait outside and the serving staff will call your name when your order is ready to collect

There are a few single seat offerings but the competition is high for these, it is an excellent spot for people watching, don't get too distracted as the poor staff calling voice was broken and a soft bellow was the best

Fight past the anxiety of others and there coffee fix

Simply the coffee is...

I went this place 3 times before I made up my mind. Thought it was going to be my local. On first look the cafe looks quaint and the food delicious; it also supports a couple of great charities and products that do good such as Tony's Chocoloneys. However, I consistently found the staff rude and unwelcoming with a hint of discrimination, and the service below average. This isn't fair to say of all the staff, but the majority. My sister and I are latinas and never felt welcomed.

If you don't mind the rudeness, coffee is good when not rushed, and the brekkies are delicious. The hot chocolate is a complete joke for the price (and in general too). If you buy pastries be very specific about whether you'd like them heated up as they won't ask nor kindly do it for you as expected if you're having them there.

Oh, and don't you dare ask any questions about the occasional display of art, as they'll treat you as if you're ignorant and are supposed to know what everything's about.

They could do a better job of offering compostable take...