Rathdowne Street Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

Real score 4.4 out of 5.

I came here for the Middle Eastern brekkie option only to be told that the online menu on Zomato was an old menu. Oh dear. But, no matter was the wise advice. Try this Middle Eastern roll instead and you won’t be disappointed, I was informed. The advice was spot on. The roll with added fried eggs was fantastic. It had a great spicy flavour from the meat. Really nice haloumi too. Add some tomato and rocket and a very fetching sourdough roll and you’ve got a very agreeable and first class combo. I couldn’t fault my Açaí smoothie either. It was a cracker. Beautiful looking with gorgeous flavour and texture.

The service was noticeably good here too. Fast, friendly and efficient. There was great banter between the staff too which is always a good sign, I think. They were not only tending to customers beautifully, they were having a good time as well including singing along and dancing to the exotic playlist.

Before I finish, I’ll observe that about 15 members of the Australian Football League’s most unsuccessful team - a few of them household names - were here having meals and coffee here today. It was hard to believe that some of Melbourne’s highest wage and salary earners were in this group - they’d all earn many hundreds of thousands of dollars a year - including one player who is on a reputed $700k a year. These men conducted themselves well today. It was impressive given the difficulties they’re facing. They were quiet and polite including with the staff who several players engaged in lovely conversation. But, apart from their most experienced member who was rather ambitiously predicting a win this week, the rest of the men looked tense, distracted and worried. Some were like coiled springs. Truth is they’re no doubt feeling like many of us when things are not going well in the workplace and all they’re experiencing is...

I really enjoyed the coffee which was made with almond milk. Unfortunately the muesli is actually served as a fruit salad with yogurt and a sprinkling of muesli on top. Even the waiter referred to it as fruit salad when it was brought out. I would have ordered something else if I had known this. Their response to this misrepresentation was that they are changing the menus, which is great for future customers, but not much help to me at the time. There was also a spill on my friend's coat. Of course we are all human and accidents happen but their gesture of goodwill only went as far as deducting $3.30 from our bill with unfortunately did not even cover the cost of a coffee ($3.90)! My colleague had something similar happen to him at Little Billy in the CBD a few months back and the manager offered to pay for his dry cleaning bill - now that is customer service. Unfortunately this cafe did not have a generous spirit and I wont' be back, though I will be back to that strip of shops to try some of the...

We had breakfast at Rathdowne Street Cafe. Despite being the only people there when we sat down (other than a few waiting for takeaway coffee) and ordering off the menu with no changes, our food took a very long time to arrive (almost half an hour). When it did arrive, the bread on one of the dishes was mouldy. We didn’t have time to wait for another, so this was left untouched. When we told staff about the mouldy bread, they did apologise, but didn’t offer that meal for free, or even take any responsibility, just claiming that the bread was bought fresh that morning, as if they’re not responsible for the food that is served at their cafe. It wasn’t until after we were walking away that we saw a staff member come out to check the meal. Coffee was ok at best, which is why this is a 2 star not a 1 star review. Given so many other great options within a few doors of this place, I would...