laneway espresso dromana

found in a small laneway off the main road (hence the name) i loved thiscafeas soon as i walked in.

a bustling localcafelocated in the bayside dromana, the menu at laneway espresso isn’t exactly adventurous despite this, they do dish up a top notch, quality breakfast that’s well executed, well priced and generous in portion sizes.
for a tasty and reliable feed that’s bound to satiate your hunger, laneway espresso should be on your to-do when heading down the mornington peninsula!

i waiting 20 minutes just to order. the lady on the counter was slow and there was a line through thecafeand no table service. the whole thing was slow. really upset as it’s a nice venue but definitely not worth having to wait in line that long just to order a coffee and some breakfast. it was a long weekend so perhaps they weren’t used to it. may be better on a weekday when they can handle a lower volume of clientele.

unfortunately i came to thiscafeat peak hour this morning around 9am and it was busy. i joined the long line to order my meal, and then it took about 15 minutes to come out. two of my friends had their meals forgotten, i asked about them then they arrived as we were finishing ours..i ordered the heirloom avocado which was a crazy $19! 2 thin pieces of sourdough stacked with a blob of mushed avocado and feta on top... with a few cherry tomatoes. i would definitely not pay that much for that again, i was very underwhelmed. if you’re going to thiscafei’d recommend not going in peak times..

this littlecafetucked away in the heart of dromana provides a friendly, quirky and vintage vibe and the menu features some traditional breakfast items with some of melbournes classics such as smash avo, (never can go wrong with a smashed avo). coffee is always lovely with a house made blend and a changing single origin blend as well. lakeway espresso is a must when travelling down to the cost!

would i return? if i was a local for sure as it seemed to be the best café for miles. in saying that it is not up to melbourne standards but they charge the same price.

laneway espresso dromana is a large café attached to an antique shop. there is a cute laneway outdoor area which i imagine would be amazing in summer, right opposite the beach. thecafehas quirky decor with no apparent unifying theme other than retro. it is pleasant and gives the place a warming eccentric feel. a great place for large groups, families and everything in between. if you like antics and alike its would be great to be able to have a wonder through the shop before or after your meal.

the coffee came quick and was good especially if you were to compare to others in the area. we also ordered a juice which wasn’t fresh but from a bottle which is always slightly disappointing. our food ordered consisted of the old fashion bacon & eggs and the mediterranean breakfast.

the old fashion bacon & eggs was just that. two pieces of toast, with bacon and two eggs. simple! the bacon was definitely done in the oven and was a dark golden red - that's how bacon should be! the eggs were running and cooked well also. the mediterranean breakfast was something i haven’t seen anything like on a menu before. it was basically a greek salad on bread with eggs. that may seem gross to some people but my partner said it tasted pretty good so check out the images. overall both dishes were cooked and presented well however for the complexity of the meals and their ingredients it was a tad over priced.

service? would be better if you didn’t have to order at the counter…
wrap up: this place is a reasonable staple for brekkie in dromana.
hot tip: they have several newspapers to share around if you can grab one.

it’s the perfect place for a 3.5 score if only that score was available to award.

this is a good local option for a meal or snack. laneway expresso appears to do a bustling business on what we saw. there were plenty of people in here on a cool melbourne winter day today. thecafedid well to make sure they had enough people to keep up the service.

the place has quirky decor with no apparent unifying theme other than retro. it’s not unpleasant though and it gives the place a warming eccentric feel.

the world’s most beautiful woman chose a chicken and avocado toastie which she declared to be good and competently made. she liked it. i selected the mediterranean breakfast which was quite good as well. it needed the added side of bacon though i thought. the eggs were beautifully done and i was delighted they’d seasoned them really well including with some very good pepper. the accompanying salad was very well made and had excellent flavour including from some abundant and nicely blended feta. all in all, the dish worked well.

nice place here. i’ll certainly return.

my friend & i stumbled across laneway espresso after a night away in dromana. it’s a great littlecafeattached to an antique type shop. a cute laneway outdoor area which i imagine would be amazing in summer, right opposite the beach.

we ordered coffees & breakfasts which arrived really quickly even though it was pretty busy. the coffee was strong & both our dishes were delicious. they also have a great range of cakes along with take away options. the service was fast & friendly & i’ll definitely go back next time i’m in the area.

laneway espresso seems to be the busiestcafein dromana. inside, the venue is large & appears very hipster. we ordered coffee, hot chocolate & a blue berry muffin. coffee was not hot enough & tasted ok, hot chocolate was good & the muffin was warmed up which was nice.

no table service but they charge the same prices as acafein melbourne. tatty old menus that look like they were laminated back in the 80s. i asked for a strong soy latte and they brought me a regular. i could see from the colour that it was weak. the waiter told me that the coffee blend was too acidic for a double shot with soy. noone told me that when i ordered and paid in advance. i swapped it for a strong almond latte which was fine. the smashed avo with cherry tomatoes and balsamic was quite nice. eggs were poached to perfection. my wife had the smashing pumpkins which came with poached eggs on sourdough and she enjoyed her meal. the addition of chorizo for $4.50 was a bit stingy for half a piece. the apple juice was dissapointing as it was obviously out of a bottle. overall, not great.

first experience at lanewaycafei ordered the smashed pumpkin, iced coffee (asking for the mixture to be blended) and latte. food took some time to come out, although was good. iced coffee came out as a still warm latte with ice blocks, after i had asked for it to be blended with the waiter understanding my request. after an argument with a head waiter, he insisted it was a greek style frappe. although it was not what i asked for, i paid anyway. it was bitter and unappetizing.
the second time we went to order take away coffee and pre made juice, trying to avoid the wait of sitting inside. not worth waiting 1 hr!! after asking several times after 30-45 minutes of waiting, if we had been forgotten about, they insisted they were making the one soy latte next. another 20 minutes of waiting, (1 hour at this stage) we finally got our coffee, having still to ask for the juice that was pre made in the fridge behind the waiter. we were very reluctantly given a refund from the same man that argued with us about the ‘frappe/iced coffee’ situation.
will never go back, and have told friends about our experiences.

my first introduction to the cafes of dromana left me with mixed feelings. the highlight of this place is easily the design. not only is it acafebut it also features an antique furniture store, which i had to venture through to get to the cafe.
however the design does not make up for the reasonably average food. i ordered the smashed avo and was quite impressed by the focus on locally sourced ingredients. unfortunately this did not help a particularly bland meal. presentation was reasonably good too but it wasn't the most practical in my opinion.
and same goes for the coffee. the presentation was nice, particularly the use of a souvenir teaspoon. however the coffee itself was reasonably weak and too milky for my taste.
overall this place looks great but looks are often a bit deceiving

cutecafeat the back of an antique shop with lots of quirky and interesting things to look at. coffee is good, staff are all young kids but nice and the cakes on display are classic aussie favourites. food looked good too, next time i'm past this way i would visit again.

my friends and i went to mornington yesterday, and we found this vintagecafeby chance. the environment is full of the sense of art. and i really like the soft apple muffin. we had wanted to stay longer, but it would closed. anyway, no hesitate to recommend 🙂

really great atmosphere, nice touch with the retro pieces and artwork. had the crispy bacon and scrambled eggs - excellent! what a difference the free range eggs make, definitely can taste the difference. acafethat delivers on all fronts with really friendly, attentive and efficient staff and there seems to be lots of locals meaning thecafehas a great reputation. will definitely be back!