The Hatter and the Hare — Restaurant in Melbourne

Came back and they changed the menu a lot! Lots of things I had were not there anymore. Tried their prawn katsu from lunch menu, and both me and my friends were surprised that it was a burger, i think it wasn’t very clearly mentioned that it was burger! But it tasted very nice, plenty of sauce (messy!) and you can actually taste the the prawn. Tried thai tea latte and it was very nice too. Bread and butter pudding was nice and very pretty! Unfortunately this time the service wasn’t great. Staff was not giving us extra bottle of water after asked twice.

The decor in this place is truly amazing!!! So cute and whimsical, changes every season and on holiday seasons. Good place to take people for different experience. Have been there quite a few times. You need to book for weekends and your seating time is limited. Their cakes looks amazing, although they aren’t cheap. I found out later on that they are mousse cakes. I am not usually a fan of mousse, but these aren’t too sweet and they all are very light. Tried the apricot, limoncello, macadamia, and another yellow one with butterfly (cant remember the name). I would say the macadamia one was the best. The menu is very interesting, and the drinks menu is more creative than most cafes. I saw cherry blossom latte on the menu and had to try it. It was ok, kinda like rose water with milk. Tasted ok but i am not crazy about it. When the food came, it looks so pretty (my ice cream was square, i thought it was cheesecake at first). The sticky date waffle was rather dry. Ice cream and strawberries made it nicer but unfortunately there aren’t much of both so it was still dry. Otherwise the idea of it, appearance, and the peanut crumbles are amazing!! Had their king’s roll which is pulled pork burger with additional hash brown for extra. I would say it isnt a big portion though. Vietnamese coffee was very sweet, so I had to add some water to it. It’s a shame that seating time is only 1 hour 15 minutes, and on weekends they really do kick you out. I really think they need longer seating time.

I went there again on weekdays and had their crispy chicken burger which was ok. The chips are amazing and so generously seasoned. I dont even need any sauce with it. Matcha latte was ok, more towards bitter side. Although staff did warned us about 1.5 hours seating time, we ended up staying longer and no one seemed to care, maybe because it was weekday. It was busy but not completely full.

Back again another time, this time had their white tea and peaflower latte, and their prawn toast with pork floss. While white tea latte was nice, the flowers not very edible, quite tough and not chewable. The prawn toast was ok but not amazing. I started to feel this place is great for decor but foods can be disappointing.

Their mocha was pretty nice. Tried einspanner which was Viennese cold coffee which looked amazing but so sour!!

Came back here again. Had their caterpillar’s riddle which is basically a rolled omelette which sauerkraut and lots of mushrooms and some paste which I am not sure what they are made of. Overall this dish is nice, I love the variety and amount of mushrooms in the dish. Omelette was very soft, cooked well. Even the paste which I didnt know made from what tasted nice, overall the dish goes together really nicely. The only disappointing thing was there was a hit of too much salt here and there in the omelette. It feels like they were not sprinkling the egg with salt, more like lumps of it here and there, so I really got hit with too much saltiness a few times. I like salty food but that was just too much and worrisome for my health. New drink the lavender latte was very pretty and very nice & right amount of sweetness. I am not a lavender person but I gave it a try since I feel like I have tried almost every drinks in this place, and I love it. The lavender was quite subtle. However at the end when you might eat the real lavender flowers they sprinkled on the top, it was pretty bitter so...

Upon booking online, communication from the venue was excellent. We received a follow up text, confirming our 1.5 hour sitting, advice to arrive early and leave plenty of time to park (parking onsite is very limited) and a link to their menu.

We dined in for brunch on Sunday morning around 11am. The venue was pumping and jam-packed full of diners when we first arrived. Well-staffed, we were quickly shown to our table, offered a menu and our drinks order was taken.

Our Five Senses coffee arrived within minutes and was a credit to the barista. We took a moment to browse the clever “Alice in Wonderland” themed menu and were approached three times within ten minutes, asking if we were ready to order. The table staff in our area were super attentive and friendly, though it was clear we were dining on a limited time frame and this was a well oiled machine, there to turn over tables as quickly and efficiently as possible. We ordered shortly afterwards and spent time soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying our coffees whilst waiting for our meals.

The interior styling is an assault on the senses. Lavish Christmas decorations hung from the ceiling and freestanding displays occupied every corner, creating a magical Wonderland feel. Two crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling in the main dining section, which added to the magical ambience.

The venue was loud (you struggled to hear the background music over the noise of diners) and has a high turnover during busy times. I wouldn’t recommend dining inside on a weekend if you were after a quiet, chilled dining experience. There is a relaxed outdoor dining space that would better suit diners wanting to chill and enjoy conversation amongst themselves (weather pending).

Our meals arrived within fifteen minutes of ordering and were super sized brunch dishes compared to most places we’ve dined. I would definitely suggest coming hungry and sharing a meal between 2 people if you also intend to try out the heavenly range of designer cakes or sweet treats, which is an absolute must! We both struggled with our meals and could barely finish half of them, leaving no room for cakes. We saw hamburgers & chips coming out that looked incredible, but were huge! In all honesty, our meals were a 3.8 (most likely because the kitchen staff pump out a huge number of meals in a limited timeframe, so execution wasn’t a five).

There’s several glass display cabinets offering a wide variety of cakes and sweet treats that are hard to resist. Each cake is perfectly executed with a wonderland theme to please even the fussiest of customers. They are bright, colourful, inviting works of art that seriously look too good to eat. We couldn’t resist temptation and purchased a few to take home as we were too full after brunch. We enjoyed them at home and they were worth every cent! The taste, craftsmanship and presentation was flawless.

You can purchase a wide variety of themed celebration cakes and a standard variety of everyday cakes and pastries to take home.

The cakes fully deserve 5 stars, as does the coffee, but unfortunately, the meals and busy/noisy surrounds reduced the rating...

The cakes here are gorgeous as they are tasty! They have a LOT of options to choose from, the variety in their savoury and drinks menu did not disappoint either. I tried as much as I could during my visit and here are my thoughts:

Orange poppyseed: my favorite! Classic zesty taste, moist texture with just the right amount of sweetness, creamy and thick mouthfeel, light but distinct flavors. A very enjoyable treat that feels like home.

Ispahan: very fragrant and melt in your mouth, the rosewater and lychee jelly provides the very high moisture content that makes this mousse cake feel extremely light, refreshing, and unique! Also loved how well the sweet and sour flavors were balanced.

Pistachio and raspberry dome: a wonderful combination of creamy, crumbly, and crunchy textures accompanied by the classic pairing of pistachio and raspberry.

Coconut chocolate caramel: I can't remember the exact name for this one but those are its three major flavors! The coconut mousse was very smooth and was complemented well by the crumbly biscuit layer and sticky caramel mouthfeel, though the chocolate felt a little intense.

White king's toastie: beef brisket cooked to tender perfection topped with melted provolone & swiss cheese, a timeless combination with a little upgrade from your regular patty and cheese. The sourdough bread was soft and chewy, though it does get soggy towards the bottom of the toastie due to the moisture from the meat and caramelized onions. The fries were very salty and flavorful and fried to just the right level of crispness that gives you a crunch but still retains the velvety feel of mashed potatoes as you bite into it.

Catterpillar's riddle: this was one of the less impressionable ones. The filling in the hoisin duck & shiitake dumpling was rather lacking in volume, the ginger scallion sauce was bland, and the sambal olek was quite sour without any hint of spiciness to it. I wouldn't say I hated this dish, but it can certainly be better.

White tea & butterfly pea flower latte: delicious, fragrant, light, and foamy, all the makings of a good cup of latte.

Dreaming alice smoothie: the ingredients listed for this in the menu are ones I normally like consuming individually, but somehow when combined altogether does not taste very good. I felt that the flavors didn't harmonize too well, especially the maple syrup that kind of sticks out a bit compared to the rest of the flavors.

Overall it was a lovely experience, the place is decorated very nicely and is quite spacious as well. One visit is simply not enough to enjoy the massive selection they have here, and I will definitely come again to try more of what they...