The Merchant Benalla — Restaurant in Victoria

While most of the food and drink tasted good I encountered a number of problems. Firstly, the chilli eggs whips is listed as vegetarian contains chorizo. When I questioned the staff about this they responded that it just has an option to be vegetarian, but when you look at the menu it is very clearly listed as V for vegetarian, not VOA for Vegetarian Option Available. Why have a VOA code if you’re not going to use it? Luckily I saw this before ordering my vegetarian eggs or I would have been very disappointed and the restaurant would have had to throw it away when I received it and make me something else. Who knows how many other times this error was made on the menu. Secondly the cafe encourages you to use ‘skip’ app, which I love using, however the skip app actually take you to the menu for their other restaurant in Mansfield (65km away) which uses different recipes. I don’t know why the skip app does this when I am in the restaurant and the first suggestion it comes up with based on location is the restaurant I’m in. So the item which I thought I was ordering was very different to the order I received. Again I raised this concern with the staff. The staff made me feel like these issues were my problem and would not concede they made errors, nor offer me anything to make up for these problems. I know this is a small business, and you can see they want their business to be professional, but when you have multiple silly errors such as listing a menu item with chorizo sausage as vegetarian it clearly has a long way to go to be taken seriously. This is a real shame because the food and the coffee tasted great, particularly the snickers smoothie. But because of the errors and the way I was treated when pointing out these errors I am reluctant to go there again and would not recommend it to...

We thoroughly enjoyed our brunch at The Merchant in Benalla. Quality locally roasted Merchant beans, expertly brewed and served at the perfect temperature (for soy drinkers like us). The barista is a master of his craft and the coffee beans are right up there with Melbourne’s best.

Our hearty meals looked appealing, were extra delicious and featured quality local ingredients. The avocado with whipped semi sundried tomato and capsicum mousseline on sourdough was topped with a perfect poached egg and finely shaved ricotta salata and the spicy baked beans, served without the typical tomato based sauce, was the perfect choice for a cold winter morning.

The wait staff were extra friendly, efficient and attentive without being over bearing or “in your face”. The venue was clean (as were the restrooms) and the retro playlist was the perfect choice for a relaxed Sunday brunch.

There’s a range of toasties, croissants, muffins and slices available for those after a quick bite on the run and the constant coming and going of takeaway orders was a clear indication The Merchant is a favourite choice among local coffee lovers in Benalla.

I wouldn’t hesitate recommending The Merchant to anyone after a quality...

Great staff. Quality coffee and well made breakfast. The place has a nice atmosphere to it and worth the visit. But… I do question the 20% public holiday surcharge which bumped up my large vanilla latte and egg and bacon roll to a kings ransom of $29.00

Standard prices were: Egg and bacon roll with cheese and relish $18 Large vanilla latte $7

Knowing the food industry and the mark up on coffee and food there already was a good profit margin here. The lovely guy explained to me about the rise in wages on public holidays and I get that. Competitively, the standard menu prices are already at the upper end of the scale. It’s hard (as a customer) to swallow a small meal and then swallow the large bill. As a business owner, it’s even harder to afford staff and keep this running while trying to get repeat business from customers. It’s a challenge and I have no answer, although I personally know that I cannot pay these prices. That’s just me.

Great cafe, no complaints about its operations. I’m going to have to go back to pole dancing to pay for the...