Barwon Ebb & Flow — Restaurant in Victoria

Definite room for improvement and a review of health standards. The ambience of the place has so much potential as it sits on the corner opposite the ocean.

Dropped in to this cafe for breakfast and was seated on a table/booth right next to the coffee machine. The smell coming for the coffee machine was so over powering we actually shifted tables.

To begin with the table was dirty and after watching other tables left dirty after being cleared of plates etc. it just seemed the norm as the staff were not that busy. Seemed to be obvious to just wipe the table immediately upon clearing it.

A simple order of fruit toast ($12) and eggs benedict ($17) with fresh orange juice. Pretty standard & not that difficult right.

Table was dressed with cutlery and napkins and the waitress handled our cutlery from the eating end and placed them on the table. Goodness knows where her hands had been.

Meals arrived fairly quickly however immediately we found the toast was cold. The Eggs Benedict was so flooded with the sauce you couldn’t actually see the eggs. Scraped off the excess sauce and the eggs were lukewarm at best. The spinach under was soggy. OJ was ok albeit watered down with the ice.

Having to listen to the “barista" constantly scream out orders to staff and for take away customers to come get their coffee order was ridiculous. Other customers were commenting on her volume and rudeness toward staff and customers. Seemed to like the sound of her own voice. I can tell you the customers certainly did not.

Oh and upon leaving we passed the open out door seating area around the corner and nearly every empty table was covered with dirty dishes and left over food.

Clearly the importance of healthy dining takes second preference.

I will leave it to you to evaluate our experience but I can tell you even though it may have been an off day for the cafe, we certainly won’t need to visit this place again in a hurry.

Gordon Ramsay would be going...

I took my dad and his partner For here last week, along with my 5 year old son. My dad and his partner were over from South Australia, and wanted to see the Bellarine Peninsula. I took them to Ebb and Flow, as I thought it’d be a great spot to go for lunch.

HOW WRONG I WAS

We arrived at 12.30, and had placed our order within 10 minutes. With my sons order, a toastie, I asked if he could have vegemite and cheese, rather than the ham and cheese on the menu. I was told this wouldn’t be a problem.

After almost 40 minutes, the only item that had come out was my sons apple juice. None of the food had come out, neither had my Coke Zero, which I had ordered at the start.

When we questioned where our food was (despite seeing other patrons who had arrived after us, get served before us) we were told that they were “busy”, and that our food would be out “very soon”

After another 20 minutes, they finally brought my sons toastie out. He was presented with a cheese toastie, with a small container of vegemite on the side. I then had to open up the cheese toastie and spread the vegimite on myself.

The remaining meals eventually came out, all at different times, so that by the time my dads finally came out, the rest of us had finished.

When I raised my concerns with the waitress, that my dad had been waiting almost an hour, and whether there could be any form of compensation, I was given a VERY RUDE reply of “sorry, we’ve been busy” before turning her nose up and walking off.

To add insult to injury, when we paid for the bill, we saw that we had been charged AN EXTRA $4 for the tiny bit of vegemite that I HAD TO SPREAD MYSELF! I was NOT advised of this extra cost also

To anyone thinking of going here, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. I can understand that places get busy, but waiting an hour is not good enough, especially when your staff are rude and happier serving up an attitude rather...

I had an absolutely infuriating experience at Ebb & Flow Cafe. My party dared to make a legitimate complaint about the undercooked risotto, and instead of receiving a professional response, we were met with the most belligerent and combative head chef I've ever encountered in a restaurant.

This so-called chef not only refused to acknowledge the issue but had the audacity to storm out of the kitchen, thrust the pan in front of us, and tasted the undercooked risotto himself, as if he were some kind of culinary deity. He proceeded to shout at us, berating our taste buds and making a spectacle of the situation.

I must say that the front-of-house staff, in stark contrast to the head chef, were the epitome of professionalism. They promptly apologized for his disgraceful behavior and offered free drinks and cakes as a consolation. However, no amount of freebies can erase the taste of humiliation we felt at the hands of the head chef.

What made this experience even more appalling was the apparent racial motivation behind the chef's behavior. There's no excuse for such abhorrent conduct, and it should be condemned by the establishment and the culinary community at large.

In sum, I would strongly advise anyone considering dining at Ebb & Flow Cafe to steer clear. The head chef's attitude was not only disgusting but deeply offensive. I hope the restaurant takes swift action to address this issue and ensure that no other patrons have to endure such a disgraceful display of unprofessionalism...