fitzrovia

a gem. reallygoodfood and great value for money, the only quibble was the push to order more wine.

this place has nice modern cuisine and is moderately priced. they have a variety of dishes that will appeal to a range of people's tastes. there are also some home made style cakes at the front. each day there are different pasta specials which are probably my favorite dishes to try. on a few occasions with the pasta, my friends and i found it quite salty, however the dish overall was still full of flavour. last time i had a pork sausage roll and there was a hair stuck on side of the roll when i received it. the roll had a better texture than other rolls. the salad was made with a variety of leaves and people who appreciate salad should fine it has lots of flavor.

the service staff are verygoodand they are proactive with the service. they do like to suggest those polenta chips. this is definitely one of the more popular places in their area you should try.

great experience. i have heard a lot ofgoodthings about paul jewson; so , i decided to go there and try his breakfast on monday. i'll break it down like this.
the food was fantastic. we had "thick cut bacon"and "smoked trout" dish, which were both delicious and well presented. coffee wasgoodtoo. service was really attentive and friendly. and the atmosphere was something that can make you sit for hours.
all in all,the chef has done a great job. it was such a great experience. our group was impressed with everything. would we return? definitely but this time we'll try dinner menu. can't wait!

ever since i heard about how great this place is from a workmate, i know that i have to check this place out. i came here on a saturday morning. if i remember correctly, we were there around 10am and oh boy was it busy. we had to wait for 15minutes for a table of two. word of advice, if you are planning to be seated fast i assume you should get there extra early especially on a weekend. coming in we were greeted and informed of the possible wait. i must admit that the staff were not as friendly as i have hoped for. i am not sure maybe because they were busy that they couldn't be bother or the culture is as such because they are a popular cafe. i had already checked out the menu prior to coming here so i already know what i want. i had creme brulee french toast with banana, whipped mascarpone, toasted pecans and grilled instra bacon with vanilla box grove verjus syrup and a cup of skinny latte. i have to say i was very pleased to know that there's a bacon with that pancake! that surely made my day. the coffee was also good. overall, food and coffee made it agoodexperience, unfortunately i can't say the same regarding the customer service. that means minus one brownie point.

have been here many times, lovely outdoor section getting agoodview of the city, consisting food with great flavours. always look forward to it, brunch is better than dinner however.

came here on sunday which was mothers day last week and was surprised that we (2 pax) didn't have to wait too long to be seated. my fears of a large crowd taking their mums out for a brunch treat were wrong! 

we sat outside (which was lovely) and quickly ordered coffees. we then browsed the menu and ended up ordering x2 of the sweet potato and caramelised onion fritters with mushrooms, pea shoots and poached eggs (+ saganaki -how could i forget!). this caught our eye when the menu hit the table although there were many options that sounded enticing. 

the dishes once they came out didn't just lookgood- it tasted wonderful. i was actually surprised at how much better and flavourful it was then i had assumed. the sauce mixed through the mushrooms and shoots (which acted as a base for the fritters) was delicious and layered. i really liked that i could enjoy the crispiness of the fritters whilst lapping it up in the juices of the sauce and mushrooms as well as the gooey yolk from the eggs. oh, and saganaki makes everything better. 

all round i was thoroughly impressed and will be back for food again seeing as this is one of my locals. my only discretion with my experience was that i found it very odd that the table we were seated on could be considered communal? it was way too small and i voiced that i'd feel very uncomfortable with anyone else sitting there. it would be too close for comfort.


update: i've come again fro brunch mid-week and have again enjoyed my time at the cafe. i sat inside this time and the food was consistently delicious.

worst service we have ever experienced!. when deciding where to to go for an enjoyable sat off for lunch a friend suggested fitzrovia and as i hadnt been there for a while thought would be a great idea to enjoy the sunny day!
well i wish we had decided on our second choice of the grocery bar as at least we wouldnt have all left in a bad mood after being treated with such bad service!

we walked in to be told to wait for a table after about 10min the girl told us just to sit anywhere so we walked in and sat down after 15min of being seated we still werent acknowledged and i had to walk up to the counter to ask for some water and menus in which i was given a distasteful look by the man.

he proceeded to follow me to our table and threw down the menus and walked away still no water!

after another lengthy amount of time we were about to leave as the man (who we think was the owner or the manager at least) saw and came over to ask for our order. i asked a question about a menu item and he rolled his eyes as if it was a huge effort in which he said i guess we can do that for you. he was extremely grumpy and to be honest downright rude.

i wanted to leave by this stage and was really quite disturbed by such lack of customer service especially when there are a million other amazing cafes out there to choose from!

long story short in the end we received our meals in which they hadnt made the change i asked for by this stage i just gave up had a few mouthfuls.
my friends said their food wasgoodbut unfortunately for all of us because it was such a bad experience and the way we were treated as if it was a nuisance they had to be there working it left a bad taste in our mouths!
horrible horrible service!!!
there is a difference between busy and so not being able to give much attention to friendliness which is understandable when they are so busy but to be flat out rude in which he was is not ok.

this is one place we will never return to which is unfortunate as it used to be great!

verygoodfood and service, made and delivered with care. perfectly poached eggs, and the mushrooms were gorgeously roasted in thyme. coffee is very good. fritter was crunchy on the outside and sweet on the inside. would’ve loved a larger saganaki serving and our table needed to be stabilized. we definitely recommend this place for a fulfilling breakfast.

i really like this restaurant.
nice and comfortable
i love the polenta chips and the steak
high quality food for agoodprize

this chic cafe on a busy strip at st kilda is such a gorgeous place to visit. with a european feel and pleasant atmosphere, we are always made to feel welcome here. subtly decorated with a light ambience the focus at fitzrovia is on the food and service, both of which are impeccable.

we have wined and dined here on several occasions, and the meals have always been exceptional; but my most recent visit was for coffee and cake. they have a divine display of homemade cakes and pastries, and it's always so difficult to choose. however, you can be guaranteed that whatever you pick will be fresh and delicious, and that little bit naughty!! team that with perfect coffee, and it's plain to see that fitzrovia has a loyal clientele that continue to return for verygoodreason.

came here on a tuesday lunchtime, the restaurant was quite busy and the outdoor seatings were almost all taken. the waitress was friendly and interactive and introduced some of the specials on the meals including the pulled pork burger which was massive! but it was very well cooked and seasoned to perfection, with juice floating everywhere. does not recommend if you are on a date and want to eat neatly...

the potato gnocchi was light and fluffy, like a delicious salty pillow for my mouth! the porcini mushrooms and portobello mushrooms were surprisingly juice. the goat cheese provided a much needed tanginess to complete the whole dish. however i think it could use agoodsqueeze of lemon juice too to cut down on the richness. there was a significantly longer wait time than other brunch spots though. overall a very enjoyable lunch and will be back.

ambience: 4.5/5
food quality: 4.5/5
service: 4.5/5
overall rating: 4.5/5

p.s. i didn’t encounter or witness any especially rude staff except a slightly indifferent waitress who brought about the coffee.. i do get the vibe that they are understaffed and the servers are under a bit more pressure than a normal cafe. keep in mind if you are looking for consistent extraordinary services as it may differ depending on which waitress/waiter you get.

terrible service, appalling customer service!
there were three of us plus a baby who regretfully dined at this cafe for lunch today. despite the little things we encountered from the moment we went into the cafe, from inattentive staff to not being child friendly. as a group of 3 (plus a baby) we were having agoodtime celebrating a birthday. but as soon as we asked for a knife to cut a cake we brought in (cake was in full view and on the table from the start). we were aggressively told off by the female manager that we weren’t allowed to have the cake in there and there will be a $3.50 per person charged if we wished.
look we understand the charges plus we would’ve been happy to pay and also would have genuinely replied with “oh whoops sorry we didn’t know”, but the way she talked down to us and aggressively told us the rules was uncalled for!
so we decided not to let this go as it’s not fair to be talked to in that way. well, i don’t know if that female manager gets pulled up about her attitude ever, wished we’ve filmed the whole ordeal but she was not apologetic and proceeded to be more aggressive. so disappointing to end our lunch that way. appalling way to talk to patrons and will never come back to this cafe ever!
please: if you are thinking of going here, don’t waste your money and time, go to another cafe nearby who will appreciate and serve you kindly.
note: not child friendly

i ordered the picnic set before actually eat at restaurant and surprisingly the food for the picnic was reallygood(the truffle sandwich was unforgettable). that's why i decided to eat there after i returned the picnic set.
🥪 i ordered the bacon sandwich and mushroom.
both was beyond expectation! it was one of the best brunch dishes. the portion quite big.
☕️ the chai latte wasn't special.
i'm going back there asap ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🧺 i also recommend ordering the picnic set, it was a really cute set with a fantastic menu.

wouldn’t eat here again. table of 6 for breakfast. hardly anyone else in the cafe. food was nice, always has been the many many times i’ve been here. this was the 5th time i’d eaten breakfast with these 5 people at the same cafe. and i’d been here many more times for takeaway and smaller groups. however on this occasion they refused to split the bill, saying they don’t do it. (after we’d eaten of course). every single other time i’d been they’d done it. but that wasn’t even the issue, so be it if that’s what the policy was for that day. it was how the man serving chose to behave after we asked why that was because itd been done before. the man first replied rudely that it was too busy to do. it was 7am on a monday, there was hardly anyone there, other than two others at the register ordering a takeaway coffee, which he served before us anyway. anyway, he continued on with his attitude whilst we paid. this man was so arrogant, argumentative, rude and disrespectful to all of us. i could go on and on about the particulars of conversation with this man, but i won’t. let’s just say it ruined a perfectlygoodbreakfast, like the many we’d had before this occasion. but it was so bad that i and the 5 others with me will never ever eat here again, nor will it be recommended to anyone we know. this is the first cafe i’ve ever said that about, i’m usually very easygoing and forgiving of experiences eating out, but this was above and beyond. do yourself a favour, eat elsewhere on fitzroy st, where the staff will treat you nicely.

i went to fitzrovia with my partner for my birthday. we arrived around 1.30ish and got a table for two. we placed our order and waited for around 25 minutes and one of the waitress came to our table to inform that my order just ran out and i need to change. we were pretty upset because 25 minutes is considered a long time to wait for a food, however i changed to another menu and wait longer. ( but at least she was polite and offered us coffee).

after another 25 minutes we complaint again and ask to talk to the manager to cancel our food. this waiter who claimed to be the manager was so rude and said "i just placed the order 15 minutes ago" which was not true because we keep track of the time. not long after, another waiter bring our food and we started to eat. the manager came back to our table and ask us "do you still want to cancel your order?" while we were eating our food which was super rude. then he turn around and said "what do you want me to do?". i feel like they are blaming  us for not being patience, but in my defence we were waiting for almost an hour to get our food and as a manager he should be able to make the situation better and not blaming the customer! this was the worst experience ever and i will never come back to this place!  i really do not understand how fitzrovia gets so many great reviews.

today is a public holiday and the restaurant charged an extra 10% for service fees which i am ok to pay. but, with this service, really???????

i can only hope that the owner respond to all these bad reviews, and  not only thegoodones. you seriously need to review your team especially" the manager". i really can't believe that's how a manager react to a situation!!!!