Olinda Deli — Restaurant in Melbourne

A local institution changes hands and increases quality! Lets begin with the new owner - Lubna. You could not meet a more warm, compassionate, motherly character than Lubna - and she says this is like her home kitchen (believe it, you will). We are used to the odd random visit when we are in Olinda, but to our surprise, the new owner (over 2 months) just adds extra charm and warmth to the cafe that its highly necessary to consider dropping in on every visit to the mountain. Our big breakfasts were reasonably priced and as described - big! Our wonderful chef takes the time to cook everything to perfection - no burnt bacon or sloppy spinach here! Just look at the images, fresh produce cooked with love. The deli offers much the same as before however there's about 30% more on offer on the specials menu and in that context, Lubna likes to change options depending on interest with delicious delicacies such as lamb cutlets and bolognaise sauce with many accompaniments - all home made off course! I really enjoyed the comfort of the place as in previous times it was a rushed experience (and I'm told it's still busy on the weekends) however this time around it seems calmer and empowered with the love of a household - as the old saying goes "good things come to those who wait" even though waiting times are very short here. The Chai was exceptional and not overloaded with leaf or too sweet! Just right! The experience feels just right overall, with all menu items offered with passion and a mother's love. Lubna certainly made it clear that her heart is in the right place here at Olinda Deli. And with that, I can heartily confirm the notion that it will remain an excellent cafe for breakfast, lunch or snack for many years to come. It's a 5/5 for service, environment, food quality and experience from me. Highly...

We went for breakfast, which wasn't bad. Maybe two, two and a half stars worth. Just got bacon and eggs on sourdough. Star of the meal was the sourdough; lightly toasted enough to still be able to get through with a knife and fork. Bacon was overcooked and extremely salty, and the scrambled eggs were yellow and grey. Not a good look, they most likely need to clean the grill. Also, no butter or marg on the sourdough, which was weird. The eggs weren't really buttery enough to compensate, and my wife had hers poached but said they were absolutely perfectly cooked. She also enjoyed their coffee, and although the serving person was exceedingly nervous, was incredibly polite and did pretty well. The real star and reason for the rating is the selection of local area smallgoods and cheeses. We took home some smoked cheddar and other goods and enjoyed the experience immensely. Overall, serviceable and likely to improve but hopefully the kitchen gets a little better a handle...

Pretty awful experience. The food was very average; the bread tasted stale and wasn't toasted properly. The staff were rude, disorganised and didn't seem interested in helping customers. Also disappointing to see a place that advertises vegan and vegetarian options only had 2 sad looking lunch choices. We ordered lunch and coffee to have outside and 15 minutes after we'd finished our coffees, checked in to find our food had been sitting on the counter for some time. When I mentioned we had been waiting outside, the rather unpleasant older woman was very rude, didn't apologise and acted as if it was my fault. They knew to bring our coffees out, so why wouldn't they bring the food? Sad lack of communication and very disappointing to be attacked for bringing up...