Whiplash Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

The area is starved for new cafes so Whiplash is a welcome addition, but the predictable Melbourne Cafe Aesthetic comes, predictably, at the expense of customer service and a welcoming vibe. We stood in line for a few minutes gazing up at a list of singular words describing each bagel. Once we made it to the counter and asked questions about our choices we learned why the line took so long. For some reason the staff presented us with a strange riddle. “If you want cream cheese it’s on these three options, for tomato, you can get the tomato bagel of course but we also put tomato on the …” When met with our blank stares he finally pointed out the tiny QR code camouflaged on the counter (and not even trying to be visible to anyone trying to make a decision before reaching the front of the line). This may sound petty but if we had been in a rush and ordered based on the physical menu, our original choices would have set off some food allergies. The food and coffee were fine and reasonably priced but ordering a bagel...

Bagels are good wishes it was great. Coffee is average and expensive and Menu is hella confusing. Says from $10 but nothing under that is $10. Why not just say from $1? Presented as a bagel place but there’s sandwiches. I reckon it would have been great just to be a bagel place, put whatever those sandwiches fillings are on a bagel and I reckon that is a winner. Had the salmon bagel, don’t get me wrong, it was good. But I feel like I can make the same tasting bagel myself for less than $15.50. I reckon to be great, it needs to be something I can’t make/taste at home from just buying ingredients and putting them together. Will be back again to try it again sometime soon for sure thou as when I went it...

The one flaw this cafe offers only exists if you're a true Melburnian... and a dogmatic footy supporter. This place is owned and occasionally staffed by a whack of current and former Collingwood Pies. Whilst there may be missing teeth, there is nothing missing from the power of flavour that each bagel and sandwich features.

Food is fresh, coffee is good, and the vibe is great. Simple interior which can fill up quickly, but the take away option means no-one has to miss out.

I am working my way through the menu and am about 2/3 of the way there. Can never say no to the Turkey BLT, especially when Chef Willie (also crafter of the house hot sauce) fries that bacon extra crispy...