Now and Not Yet. — Restaurant in Melbourne

How this place got anything above 3 star rating is incomprehensible. Coffee came out quick and had good flavour, however was quite weak. Food came out relatively quick too, however, I had issues with them. The porridge was good in terms of flavour and ingredients but was absolutely tiny for what it costed! Then came the burgers, I had the southern fried chicken and my wife had the beef. My wife seemed to enjoy her beef burger, but mine, it lacked actual chicken meat and had too much batter and the patties were burnt! look at the photo it’s so dark that it almost looks like beef! It was so burnt and bitter that I couldn’t finish it, leaving almost half an expensive burger uneaten. We didn’t have the time to ask for a new one as we had places to be. The chips that accompanied the burgers were cold, unseasoned and tasted like cardboard. We couldn’t finish them either. Now onto the service.. whilst we were treated well to begin with, the young teenage waitress serving us seemed to try to rush us, asking us if we were finished when clearly we had so much food left! We drove 50 mins from Melbourne city to enjoy a family brunch, but left with a massive bill to pay and bitter taste in my mouth. Will know better next time not to venture...

21-Feb-2024 - our visit & experience today was very disappointing. We ordered cookies & pastries & 4 milkshakes. When the milkshakes arrived I tried mine & it was very weakly flavoured & even worse it was barely below room temperature. I checked with the others & all were the same. Not wanting to create a fuss I asked the guy we ordered from for some ice, hoping this may help. Even after adding ice it was difficult to make the shakes cold. When I was paying the bill I told the same guy that the reason I needed ice was because ALL the shakes were not cold. He told me there was some trouble with their fridges which were at 7 degrees. I asked why he didn’t mention this when we made the order (as we would most certainly have chosen a different drink) .. he chose not to provide an answer to that question & there was no attempt at apology. While in retrospect we probably should have just sent all 4 shakes back, I think it is awful customer service to serve & charge customers for a sub-standard product. I would not recommend this place, there is clearly a lack of care being taken. My summary of the experience =...

By far, the most welcoming and personable cafe in Warrandyte! And free sparkling...!

I have frequented Now & Not Yet for many years – almost every time I visit the beautiful township of Warrandyte. The setting opposite the Yarra is stunning, the ambience is calm and relaxed, the temperature perfect and the background music pitched perfectly.

I never cease to be impressed with not only the outstanding coffee (every time) and delicious food but the highly personable service. Derek and his extraordinary team go to great lengths to get to know customers and make them feel known ... Not just served.

In fact, I find it hard to compare Now & Not Yet because I don’t know another cafe – at least in Melbourne – quite like it.

In addition, they give away free (!) sparkling water… So everyone can feel special and live like a prince...