The Hardware Société — Restaurant in Melbourne

One of the very best brunches I’ve had in a long time!

We chose to go to their flagship café on Katherine Place. Weekends are walk-ins only and we got seated within 5 minutes on a Saturday at around 12:20 pm.

They have two daily specials — one sweet and one savoury. The sweet one was gone, which wasn’t a concern as I prefer savoury brunches.

I opted for the Cold Brew and my friend got a Hot Chocolate.

The Cold Brew is served with a slice of orange and is delicious; most importantly, it wasn’t acidic at all, which I really liked.

For the Hot Chocolate, you receive a small jug of milk with chocolate powder and you then pour it into a cup that has chocolate ganache at the bottom. It was rich and delicious.

I ordered the Baked Eggs Deux (yes, there’s Un too), which come with Chorizo, Potato, Piquillo Peppers, Queen Manchego, Almonds, and Aioli. This dish was superb! I don’t know how one can pack this much flavour into such a small ramekin, but this dish just slapped from the very first mouthful! It’s served with three slices of toasted baguette and I just couldn’t get enough of it! The explosion of flavours was exceptionally well balanced too!

My friend asked for the Mushrooms on Toast — mushroom Bourguignon, French onion croquette, shallot bread, and poached eggs. He said he loved it. I didn’t want to taste it as I didn’t want to mix the flavours.

The service was also fantastic! We were looked after by four staff and they were all extremely lovely and attentive!

One of the staff recommended that I try their Yuzu Cold Drip next time, so I’m already looking forward to that!

We paid $78.54 for everything, which included the 10% weekend surcharge and 2% Amex surcharge.

Absolutely sensational! This place deserves more than 5 stars! I’m already planning my next visit!

(On a side note — Someone from Management, or Marketing should write to Google to change this from...

Having read a handful of the mixed reviews of The Hardware Societe of Melbourne, honestly, it doesn't garner the praise. All 'negative' notes are a reflection on food and not on service or overall experience. The staff, service, decor and environment were top notch.

High on the list of 'trending' brunch hotspots to visit among others, I visited Hardware on two occasions. Well three if I count our late arrival and long waiting times, which mind you, added to the suspense. On that note, we skipped over to #Hash (or is it #HashTag?) for brunch instead and vowed to return early the following day - Give them a try, I enjoyed my food and coffee more.

Before diving into the review, it should be noted, ARRIVE to Hardware early. We arrived a few minutes after 8:30AM and beat the queues that amass Hardware Street.

I can't for the life of me understand the appeal. Sure the decor is cute, pretty and had the overwhelming feeling I was at high tea (dining inside). But, it attracts mobs of patrons. I think it may have been the Deux - Lobster and eggs. And with that in mind, I decided to give it a try.

Combining lobster with eggs didn't add much to the dish. I would have happier with smoked salmon or something cured on the side. It looks pretty but my recommendation is try something else, not the pork belly. I had a few mouthfuls and found it to be a normal breakfast meal.

The second visit I had the duck special. It was a few weeks ago and I don't remember the specifics but it was essentially a duck pate chaud. Again, it was OK.

There's not much else I can say other than, good coffee? And perhaps visit #Hash or White Mojo (which I've yet to visit) instead? It's not...

I visited Hardware Société for a business meeting and chose the confit duck, clearly marked GF on the menu. Which any reasonable person would interpret as gluten free. As someone with coeliac disease, I’m always extra cautious and was initially alarmed when the dish arrived with a slice of bread. I gave the bread to my client, suspecting it wasn't gluten-free, and made a mental note to raise it with staff.

Midway through the meal, I asked about the GF status of the dish and was told it was gluten-free optional. Something not communicated at the time of ordering. Apparently, there's a fine print note at the bottom of the menu explaining this, but when a dish is labeled GF in bold, the assumption is that it’s safe for gluten-free diets, not that it can be modified to be so. This kind of ambiguous labeling is dangerous, especially for those with serious dietary restrictions like coeliac disease.

I was told that team members had raised concerns with the owner about the confusing menu but no changes have been made. The gluten-free bread, which I was told would come as a side, arrived at the end of my meal. At which point it was of no use.

At the cashier, I mentioned my experience and was met with a defensive and unkind response. I was offered a complimentary coffee, but still charged the full $34 for a meal that put my health at risk. Needless to say, I won’t be returning.

If you have coeliac disease or gluten intolerance, be extremely cautious. The menu is misleading, and the handling of dietary requirements is...