The Old Milk Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

I just left The Old Milk Bar and it will be the last time I visit there. On entering there were a large number of vacant tables as it was pobably only a quarter full with patrons. I ordered at the counter and paid then and there, at which time the young girl advised I 'could take a table anywhere'. I went to their outdoor area and chose a table out of the sun. A short time later, the young girl approached me and asked me to move to a table with only two chairs as I was sitting on one with multiple chairs. I have NEVER been asked to move tables at a restaurant where there were multiple vacant tables. Nevertheless, I moved to the inside room and took one of the tables in there. As I had my coffee and cake, I counted 17 vacant tables of varying sizes. Being 1pm in the afternoon and closing at 3pm, I would say the lunch time rush has passed, however the owner seems to think telling someone to move tables is necessary. I then observed him giving the young girl and the other female behind the counter, directions on tasks to do, such as filling the water bottles in the fridge which I could clearly see had more than enough on the shelf. It then dawned on me that every time I have been in there, the staff hardly smile and there isn't the welcoming feeling you get like you do at other cafes in the area. I think the staff might be better off working at a place where they are not micro managed and aren't directed to inconvenience patrons by asking them to move tables when there is more than enough empty tables available. Oh, and in the 15 minutes I was there, no one else came into the cafe. However, there were two tables with the previous guests dishes still on them. Lucky they still had so many available tables for that sudden influx...

I have tried this cafe a few times, and each time my experience there has been consistent in that it has been consistently worse.

Living locally in theory it would seem prudent and beneficial to have a cafe of note in your immediate vicinity, but this is not however the case with the Milk Bar.

My fourth and final venture into this business occured 13.5.18 I will not be returning and would wholeheartedly recommend the casual cafe to read on for caveats.

Upon being seated after moving a chair place randomly outside as a previous dog tether for myself I ordered food and drinks.

The cake and generally food selection looks like a bland throwback to a 1970's tearoom my grandmother would have enjoyed with nasty looking ginger slice styled cakes complementing generic unattractive looking muffins.

I was not asked during the order process if I was eating at the cafe. After seating myself my coffee arrived in a takeaway cup, fine no problem. I proceeded to read a book while my child did some Maths.

There were a large amount of empty tables within the cafe; which appeared to be booked out for a later date. I ensured I did not take any of these seats.

After being seated for a few minutes more a waitress advised, "Excuse me sir all tables are booked from 10am.". At no point was any kind of apology proffered or this advised during the order process.. The waitress waited expectantly whilst we vacated the premises.

The coffee itself was of average quality for a latte when taken in conjunction with the rude, abyssmal lack of service and communication I take no hesitation in giving this venue a...

Wonderfull Cafe, very modern. Quality food and presentation. That's the TLDR version. Here's the longer version. The Old milk bar is very nice. From the moment I entered the low fenced outdoor 'section' I felt positive. The place had a nice 'feel'- If you get my meaning. A more experienced and sharper person would comment on what was actually aesthetically pleasing about the place. But for me it's the instinctive feeling- the 'feel' of the place. It felt casual but modern, with a hint of rustic thrown in. As soon as I saw 'bacon and egg sliders'- I knew it: "this place is going to be good". Not 'burger' or 'muffin'. Slider. Modern, sleeker, very current. However that is not what I ordered- I got the T.O.M.B Breakfast (it's an acronym for the location, not because of any subtle hint about what the meal will do to you. Like I initially thought.) Basically the standard big breakfast. It was all good quality and well presented. Even the spinach was nice and done well. A cylindrical potato croquette also adorned the plate, the sausage cooked nicely to a point where it had a nice crunch. My tasty meal aside, my eating compatriots got the sweet hotcakes and the avocado smash. Through the little tastes I got from them, they were both very good as well. It was the presentation that stuck with me the most. It's almost funny- a tiny restaurant...