Village Cafe & Wine Bar Flinders — Restaurant in Melbourne

Whilst the high score of previous reviews makes what I have to say redundant, as everyone else is seemingly equally aware of how good this new and beautiful venue is, I still would like to express why my daughter and I are going to call this friendly, welcoming and satisfying café, "our place".

My daughter, making a spontaneous visit to my home, suggested that she wanted to drag me away from my study and take me out for coffee. I expressed that, having had a busy and somewhat stressful week, I would like to go somewhere relaxing. It was with that in mind that she searched on her phone and found the delightfully named 'Village Café" which, very cleverly generated a vision in my mind that turned out to be exactly what it was in reality.

First of all, the exterior was so pretty that I found myself relaxing as soon as I saw it. There was something in its homeliness that brought to mind much more remote, back-of-beyond, lost-to-time locations in my mind; its appearance graced with a bright and airy frontage that reminded me of the cottage gardens of my beloved home. I was immediately enthusiastic. What ever was awaiting us in terms of culinary adventure or simple, country-fare was all right by me. For now, I was happy with just the venue as an immediate remedy for the oft-wrinkled brow that had descended upon my forehead this week. But, dear reader, there was better to come.

There is nothing that can turn my expectations for joy into a hasty, irrevocable retreat march as rude or ambivalent serving staff. This is not what we encountered. We were warmly and genuinely greeted, swiftly seated and quickly assisted by three different staff members, each of whom seemed genuinely interested in showing off just how good the food and experience could be. Perhaps the phrase, "showing off " is a tad cheeky on my part and should be replaced by me saying that they were confident in their knowledge that they could provide us something memorable. Et sic fecerunt

For myself, I couldn't decide between potato and leak soup (more so what I would call Vichyssoise - a personal favourite of mine) and the fact the fish of the day was barramundi. My daughter proposed a solution - that we should share. What the wait staff then did, I have never encountered before (and I was so chuffed that my growing regard for the café began to buckle itself into a Space-X falcon 9 rocket, all ready to being an ascent into the stratosphere of expectation of what the food would be like to taste) which was that they brought an extra bowl so we could share the soup! That is service!

But, expectant bons vivants, would it not all be to nought if the taste did not match the courtesy of the staff? Perhaps. But, that is not what this excessively loquacious epicurean has to report! Nay, fair friends. This soup was, without exception, the best potato and leak soup I have had outside of Wales. I was so surprised by the intensity of flavour of the stock, that I actually had to ask if it was indeed vegetarian, as it had such a wonderfully poultry-like allure.

But then...ah...the fish! Fresh as the morning dew, succulent, crunchy on the underside and perfect in portion size.

How has all this glory come to nestle in the confines of one set of walls?

Well, I had the good fortune to speak to the owner of this new café, and I grew to understand why it was so good, and why I will return again and again, and many, many more times. His vision and desire to give to his customers is what I believe most people want; a place that is a haven, a centre for the community, and the type of kitchen you thought that only your Nan had the requisite magically prowess to conjure up.

So, I will be returning a couple of times later in the month and I would like to invite you to join me. However, please don't all come at once. I want to be able to have a seat!

P.S. Also, please don't drink all of the Sullivan's Cove scotch. ...

We've been twice this weekend. On both occasions our reservations were lost. One made 10 days prior by phone and the other made a day in advance. No drama as we were there early enough to get a table but if we had been later we would have missed out. We had requested a specific table inside but on arrival there were already people there and no mention was made of it and we were sat elsewhere.

Staff were very lovely but service was hit and miss. We were often forgotten and food /drink refills needed a second asking (we were made aware early on that a couple of staff were not able to take drink orders due to age and these were not the members asked).

The dinner menu is very limited but the snack menu is sufficient if you want a tapas night. Wine by the glass choice is also limited but if you're having a bottle there's plenty to choose from. Food is expensive but looked lovely with reasonable portion sizes.

All in all if you want a low key, slow, friendly and very early dinner this is the...

A real gem! Cafe owners take note of how the pros do it here at Village Cafe. Clean and welcoming vibe, exterior and interior seating- takes bookings as well as walk up. Menu compact to ensure quality and freshness but reasonably spread on options- PLUS a reasonably priced special. Coffee pricing was low, up-front and simple. Service was polite and professional, always there to look out for your needs but not cloying. Food came out uber-quick- hot fresh and perfectly cooked along the 6 (SIX) different breakfasts served. Consistency counts. The price was super reasonable ($20 for breakfast with coffee) but, for me, the piece de resistance was that they do not charge card fees! A real sign and symbol of customer care for the final flourish. (Reading back over this review i am certainly gushing- but more because i am so happy that there exists a cafe that actually cares about its customer and wants to make the experience a total win.) WELL DONE- I wish i was a local to enjoy...