Cafe Melzar — Restaurant in Mount Gambier

I had an awful experience here. Ordered an item labeled vegan on the menu. Everything felt decent until I bit into spinach. It was clearly made with bacon. i was puking and sick on my way back. Why label an item vegan if you’re serving with bacon? Deceptive! Avoid this place if you have any intolerances!!! Parking is great and a great space for meat eaters tho! Staff is great too! I really wanted to like this place but couldn’t.

2/26/2025 Responding to owner’s response because it didn’t allow me to respond to them directly: First of all, I didn’t write a review in anonymity. It shows my name. And, yes I have food allergies and intolerances and have chosen to go vegan. So, I expect restaurants to be careful when an item is labeled vegan. I checked the ingredients and the menu listed it as vegan so I thought it would be safe. Even if I was vegan by choice, do people not deserve to get what they ordered? First bread didn’t have spinach with bacon. The leftover that had to be to-go’d did and that’s what made me sick. I said it was a good place for meat eaters and just was trying to warn people who are vegan or have food intolerances; I didn’t think about how aggressive the owner would be. Given their response, I guess you should decide whether you wanna go there or not. If you’re a vegan who can handle cross contamination, then the price, portion etc are great. If you’re someone who is likely gonna get sick, see my review and the way the owner responded and make your own decision. The owner could have just apologized for cross contamination...

Came in with a friend today around 11:45 am. We were sat at a vacant table and given menus. We decided to order coffees and cake to start while we caught up and decided on lunch. We were approached multiple times over the next 30 minutes to check if we were done eating/drinking which we stated was uncomfortable to the staff as I have just left hospital and am unable to eat or drink quickly. We then had a reserved sign placed on our table for someone else with the time stating from 15 minutes from then. We thought this was abrupt and rude as we had no intention of immediately vacating, as we had not even ordered lunch at this stage. When the next table arrived we were asked to leave as we had been there "for 1 hour" and apparently our patronage was not as valued as the next customers. We have never been treated by such rudeness or lack of hospitality in any venue to this extent and for no actual legitimate reason. This was also doubly upsetting to my friend who was suffering from a recent bereavement and we were left to find alternative premises for our long over...

Service ☆☆☆ People behind the counter were polite enough, but disinterested in me past my order. No complaints, just nothing to write home about.

Food ☆☆☆☆ I had the blueberry and lemon pancakes. The flavouring was lovely and it was beautifully presented, but the pancakes were reasonably average. I also had a chai latte, it was well made, leaning towards a tumeric taste in the spice department. All in all, I was very happy with the food.

Atmosphere ☆☆☆ The overall atmosphere seemed to be one almost entirely made up of regulars. I was eyed warily by multiple other customers and somehow felt as if I were an intruder of some description. This isn't the fault of the business, it's simply what happens in a small cafe (it is somewhat hidden unless you're looking for it), in a small town. So I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is alternative, but if you're of the older generation, it would be a lovely little spot.

Overall I decided to lean towards the ☆☆☆☆ rating because they were genuinely polite and there are no actual complaints regarding the...