Brewhouse Cafe & Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Victoria

Visited The Brewhouse for Mother’s Day. It was moderately busy, but not sold-out concert busy. We stood at the entrance like forgotten extras in a play, while staff briskly walked past us for ten full minutes without so much as a nod. Eventually seated, we then waited another 20 minutes before anyone came over. At this point we had glasses on the table, but no water… a trend that continued for quite some time.

We finally gave our coffee orders, which dripped out over a ten minute period like they were being individually sourced from a mountaintop. Still no water. Sugar? We asked several times. No sugar appeared. Ultimately, we resorted to borrowing sugar from a more successful table nearby, which honestly felt like a bonding moment in shared disappointment.

It wasn’t until the owner did a quick lap of the venue and spotted our parched table that we were finally given water. He noted the oversight casually, like it was an amusing quirk of the day, and then proceeded to tell us how busy they were and how they’d brought in a special new chef just for the occasion. A quick scan of the existing reviews will tell you the new chef has nothing to do with today’s debacle.

After waiting 40 minutes for food, the meals arrived. Sadly, not worth the wait. Two smashed avos featured soggy bread, a smear of avocado, and what I assume was feta, though I can’t swear to it. The eggs had the texture of something steeped in a vinegar bath, and the “rocket and pear” salad only had a sliver of pear and a truly awful dressing.

Some of the food (like the pancakes) was okay, but the “Big Breakfast” looked like it had been plated by someone halfway through their resignation letter. A burnt mushroom here, a stubby sausage there… it was more “last call fridge raid” than breakfast.

We let the owner know we couldn’t eat two of the meals and didn’t want to pay for them. He agreed to 50% off and, in a now-ironic twist, asked us not to leave a bad review.

When we returned to clarify the surprisingly high bill, the tone changed. He grew loud and argumentative, attempting to engage other diners as witnesses in what felt like a reality TV moment no one asked for… loudly declaring that we’d left nothing on our plates (those had been cleared before anyone could verify anything).

He insisted no one ever complains, a bold claim easily debunked with a quick scroll through the Google reviews. While you’re there, feel free to look up the owner, Adem Cengiz, and form your own opinion. Let’s just say the reading is as interesting...

When we arrived, the woman who served us appeared less than welcoming when we asked to be seated with space for a high chair. She placed us on the two couches at the front of the building with a coffee table to eat off. I had to tell her that we might have to go somewhere else due to me being almost 7 months pregnant and not being able to eat off something so low to the ground.

She then directed us to the back room which was more of a large storeroom area. We had to walk past the kitchens and down 3 large steps to get to it. The staff lockers were to our right and the table we sat at was sticky, and had old dishes, a high chair table attachment and a bottle of cleaning spray left on it (which weren’t moved until we were packing up to leave). The general area was overcrowded with random chairs, and was not functional for anyone with a pram or mobility aid.

We ordered two hot drinks and a meal each. When I asked for a kids pancakes the same woman said "we aren’t doing those anymore". No further explanation, let alone any remorse for not having it available. I then asked for a kids milkshake and she gave the same response. In the end, we had to order something completely different to what we had originally planned for our under two year old.

After 45 minutes of waiting, a random plate of pancakes came to our table. The waitress appeared flustered when we mentioned that I had tried to order some earlier but was told they weren’t available. She tried to give it to us anyway, even though we explained we ended up ordering something else. The waitress left and returned, saying the pancakes were for the table next to us. The family seated there denied ordering pancakes at all, so the waitress huffed and took the plate back to the kitchen.

When our actual meals arrived more than half an hour after that, we still hadn’t been given any cutlery or napkins. My husband’s Eggs Benny toast was smaller than my daughter’s kid-size one, and it was soggy on arrival. The bacon was burnt in parts and full of stringy fat (looked like cheap offcuts rather than short cut).

During the time we were there, the other two families in the room had either got the wrong orders or didn’t receive part of their meal at all. One family left after eating less than half their meal.

Overall it was a disappointing experience considering we don’t get the opportunity to eat out often. I don’t think we will...

As an avid reviewer and an ex frequent visitor of Brewhouse, I have to say I am quite disappointed with my visit this time. Attached is a photo of one of the dishes that were presented as " French Toast " .

As a start, the service is sub par considering even with ample vacant seating indoor, we had to wait a good 10 minutes as there were no dedicated door or welcoming staff to sit you.

The coffee took a significantly longer amount of time which is fine compared to Melbourne, which is where I am from. The quality of the food is quite appalling actually.

The French toast, if I may call that, came with two slightly densed toast lacking in flavour, overly sweet and paired with HALF of one strawberry . HALF. The ice cream, as you can see from the picture, is mostly if not all melted , leaving a puddle of cream on one of the toast. The puddle of good paired with cold maple syrup on a dense toast, would not what I would call even slightly decent. Maybe they should change the description of their French Toast on their menu, for better clarity of what patrons can expect.

Disappointedly, this may be why most visitors get coffee takeaways instead of dining in. Their coffee, in particular the long black and latte was fairly decent.

The waiter was kind enough to fix up some issues with the orders, accompanied by a decent amount of bacon and a complimentary hash brown on the side. Whilst we really do appreciate the service , we would probably only frequent this joint for a nice arvo coffee instead of a...