mercetta

very accommodating & delicious food. walked into a full restaurant on mother's day without a booking. they quickly cleared atablefor us. staff were very friendly. orders taken quickly. drinks arrived promptly. food took about 30 minutes which was good given it was a busy mother's day. kids were kept entertained by reading the odd facts that were posted up on the wall. i ordered the steak sandwich which was served with a side of cranberry sauce which went really well together. would definitely go back.

first of all this venue is to die for. the menu, absolutely superb. mercetta mornington is everything i want my life to be. prices are a little steep but i am yet to recieve my order so we'll see if its worth it. but lets start from the beginning before i lose track. i arrive, bump into a waitress who was apologetic and honestly seemed real sweet. but that was where it ended, she walked away without asking what i was after, offering me a menu, or even seating me to atable(here's the thing about dining all by my lonesome, in the hustle and bustle of a pumping local cafe, a single girl can be invisible to waitstaff). so i stood awkwardly by the front door, pacing and looking around, trying to draw some attention to myself a little to obviously. i didn't mind that too much because the atmosphere was so electric it was a field day for a people-watcher like myself. a few minutes pass when a handsome young hipster points me to atable(with the menu i found on a counter while i was being ignored) only to then be avoided for another few minutes after i had contemplated the ins and outs of every dish and drink and changed my mind multiple times, back and forth between juices and milkshakes, breakfast menu or lunch menu. finally a bubbly waitress spotted me in my corner and with some refreshingly nice service from a human being (not a hospitality robot which i find so common) i ordered orange juice, the  mercetta hot chocolate and mercetta reuben sandwich. im not sure why places name half their dishes after their  establishment, perhaps ego? but hey, i guess it worked for mcdonalds. mercheeseburger anyone? it only took a few minutes for my hot chocolate to arrive with my orange juice but only seconds after, my sandwich too. now my plan was to enjoy my hot chocolate in all it's theatre while my meal was prepared, and to acompany the meal with my oj. didnt really work that way my friends. lets take a second to discuss the sandwich...

holy god of gherkins thankyou for this blessing of a reuben sandwich. ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between i have reached the gates of pickled heaven and they are here at 115 main street mornington. soft, lightly toasted dark rye, warmed pastrami (and loads of it), a well balanced amount of sharp dijon, swiss cheese which promised to be melty but wasnt quite there, and last but not least, 2 beautiful varieties of pickley goodness. long sliced gherkins, i'm assuming not house made which is fine by me, who has the time for that. and a generous pile of house made pickled cabbage, soft yet crunchy, juicy but not soggy, strong but not deadly. absolutely divine. i surrender, life could end now and i would be ecstatic. bravo to the chef for smashing this impressively simple but flavourfully complex dish together without messing it up. my hat goes off to you sir. (to all the readers, i type the previous sentence while eyeballing the chef through atableof mums and babies and the kitchens heat lamps. not creepy at all i promise.) finally, mercetta's signature hot chocolate was so much fun. i do love a bit of an experiment and theatre when dining. chocolate 3 ways with frothed chocolate milk and persian fairy floss. its a little fidly but i can't fault. a must try.
as i went to pay the bill i found myself awkwardly standing at the bar with the same waitress from earlier, directly opposite me polishing glasses and again, ignoring me. i realise now shes older than i realised at first glance. i hope she doesnt run the place because i frankly wasn't happy with her customer service. finally she looked up and i paid and left feeling slightly uncomfortable.

overall: food was great, this is definitely my new favourite lunch spot. the hot chocolate was beautiful, yet to try their coffee. service definitely needs work. not just a friendly manner when serving a customer but things like taking a drink order as soon as i sit down. simple things guys.

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ding ding ding round 2. busy busy day, the cafe smells amazing, this place is so trendy, all the customers look like they're famous on instagram or something. good news, i was served right away. i entered from the back terrace so i bumped into a waiter (not literally this time) almost immediately. nice latte! a bit heavy on the froth but hey it was delish, im no coffee snob. today i ordered breakfast. a plate of eggs and spinach and ham and tomatoes and mushrooms and holondaisey goodness is exactly what i need. im sitting at this cute ass littletablein an indoor-outdoor area, directly underneath a heater which is super nice. 1 oclock must be the first lul of the lunch service because all of a sudden the cafe is half empty and the staff have whipped up all the dishes in no time at all. impressive. im really happy with my dining experience today! my food was divine, although $4 each for the mushrooms and tomatoes was a bit steep, i guess they can get away with it! perfect poached eggs, yummy sauce, everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly. it was exactly what i wanted. my waitress brought me a second coffee and didn't clear my perfectly empty plate (i may have licked it clean but i don't think anyone saw so i think i got away with it), so mytablewas a little cramped but whatever. overall, super happy, on my way home for a food induced nap. well done mercetta. get used to me, im your newest regular.

too slow. my family went to 115 for breakfast on mother's day.

we arrived shortly after our booking time, and ordered our food shortly afterwards. our food arrived at ourtableover three quarters of an hour later. the kids had only ordered pancakes, and the adults had all ordered poached eggs (with various accompaniments).

although the place was packed-to-the-rafters; why it took over three quarters of an hour to serve six people relatively simple fair, i cannot explain; especially since we saw other (larger) tables served even though they arrived after us.

my brother and i had the same dish, and both of us were disappointed. whilst the poached eggs themselves were absolutely excellent, the rest of the dish was poorly executed. the (three) slices of chorizo were over done, the raw baby spinach (which i assume should have wilted under the topping) leeched water into the potato rosti base. in all this dish looks good on the menu but was not good on the plate. neither of us felt it was value for money, and we thought the concept of the dish was not well thought out, even though the execution of the concept might have been "as planned".

the atmosphere was somewhat abrasive, as the "ambient music", and the noise of the crowd, reverberated around the hard surfaces of the interior, making normal conversation difficult.

our plates were individually removed as soon as our dishes were finished, leaving us feeling unwelcome.

some of us enjoyed our dishes, but most of us didn't. the atmosphere (including the service) smacked of "haste". that might appeal in certain environments, but not this one. i feel that if you spend well over $100 for breakfast for four adults and two kids, you would like to think that you all walk away happy.

to be fair, mother's day always puts venues under pressure, and this place might be good for younger people during calmer times. but when the pressure was on, this establishment failed.

2 out of 5 stars for me.

absolutely terrible. i would’ve never stepped foot in this place if i had known how bad my food and experience would be. firstly we asked for atableof 7, we get escorted to the back and shown to ourtableand when we get there, 3 guys are sitting on it and we get squeezed on a smallertableof 6 with an extra chair cramped up. i asked the waiter if maybe he could politely inform the 3 guys that there is a party bigger than needs atableand if they could move to a smallertableand he refused. already in a not so great mood, we place our orders and wait for our food. a considerable amount of time passes and we are absolutely starving at this stage so i ask one of the workers to check on our food, said i’ve been waiting almost an hour (what it felt like) and he said to me it’s being plated up so i sit down, in fumes, containing my anger. then what really shocked me is he came back and told me that it’s only been 30 minutes, no apologies at all. what kind of establishment doesn’t apologise to customers about the wait and proceeds to tell me it’s only been that long? by this stage everyone is angry, unhappy and hopeful that the wait will salvage the situation. no. the people that got poached eggs were disappointed to see yolks cooked throughout. two of us got the piggy smalls sandwich and to our absolute demise, it had no flavour whatsoever. the chicken was bland, almost like as if it was boiled and not seasoned at all. i asked for cheese (which was an extra $1.50) to see it dried up as a poor attempt to melt coon cheese slices onto my turkish bread. bacon was chewy and not fresh. for the wait, the trouble, the terrible service - it was not worth anything at all.

i will never be back.

my favourite part of my meal was the hash browns i ordered on the side and they also were a little soggy.

sat upstairs. filthy tables, musty smell & the cutlery & cup that came for the coffees were very very dirty. waiter wiped 1tablenearby that had obvious mess all over it, but didn't bother to clean ours which was dirty & sticky & looked like it needed a good spray & wipe. nothing much to like about this place. staff were nice enough. shame as we love going out in mornington.

it was a great day out on main street today and as we often do we tried somewhere we hadn't eaten before, this time it was mercetta which i'm sure was under a different name prior.

i order the open steak sandwich (seriously i suggest you make this an actual steak sandwich) and my friend the orecchiette. the steak sandwich was dry, chewy and pretty bland, seriously steak that thin needs a maximum 2 minutes a side, had it not been for the bacon (also not amazing) there would have been bugger all flavour. i wish it was a proper sandwich and not half a sanga served on a chopping board so i could eat it off a plate and not thetablebut i guess being trendy is a high priority. the chips were actually great, highlight of the meal for what it's worth.

on the other hand the orecchiette was actually quite tasty with a good balance of flavour and texture. my friend found it too spicy but i'd call it mild, the good news was because it was too spicy for her i actually got to eat something tasty which wasn't happening with my meal.

the staff were friendly and the service was quick as expected on a lunch time friday, it's a shame the steak sandwich was rubbish, how something so simple can be made so bland always suprises me.

looked great from the front, has a court yard. quiet and appealing looking place. the pork sliders were amazing and pretty filling. i only ate 2/3. poached eggs cooked to perfection. somewhere that'stableservice. seat yourself but then had to wait over 10 minutes for someone to come take our order, drinks came out quickly and food not long after that. overall good place, only complaint was slow service to order

absolutely disgusting place to bother to walk into.

sunday lunch.....tableavailable for the nine of us (5 adults 4 kids). waitresses were snobby, condescending and basically rude.our drinks didnt turn up, they didnt bother to tell us we had to get our own water.

menu was nice enough.... some good options, and even a kids box.

then it gets worse.....

zucchini fritters tasted like soap

salmon bruchette was two mouthfuls worth... thankfully we both ordered additions.... then we got a snack on the way home. similar could be aiad of the avocado smash... barely a 1/4 of an avo

kids boxes.... wow. advertised with a bottle of water... cane with fruit juice. we queried this and the waitress told us we get whatever they have. now how many parents would be happy with that?

we did comment to the girl who we paid.... whether any feedback actually gets back to management is another story....

disappointed with the service firstly as the waitress rudely pointed out the water was self service when we asked for some for the table. badly lit room, shakytableand chairs and slow service. bruschetta was tasteless and extremely bland, eggs were overlooked and avocado was old. the club sandwich was over powered with salt, bacon was overcooked while the toast under cooked. the chips were a greasy unsalted joke and the aioli did not disguise this fact.
will not be coming back & advising my friends to steer clear.

very disappointed visitor. thought 115 looked bustling and interesting. was told that any dish would take at least 30 mins., whilst a little long, decided to order and have coffee in meantime. thetableremained covered with the remnants of the previous diners..unpleasant, we had to clear cups, glasses and plates onto a neighbouringtableto have some room. waitress did clean the tabletop after request to do so. coffee arrived quickly and our orders after ~ 40 mins, and one meal out of 4 was edible. the paella was so highly spiced with hot chili, pepper and ??? other spices, that one forkful of just the rice burnt my mouth and throat. didn't even try the chorizo. informed the waitress that i was unable to eat the meal. she returned after 10 mins and informed me that all the staff had tasted the meal and there was nothing wrong with it, this was the way they prepared paella. i told her that i had eaten paella all over the world and never had to return one. i enjoy spices but not destruction by spice.
two of the other dishes were steak sandwiches and the only thing that i can say about the cold meat is that they would have been more suitable for re-soling our shoes. i re-ordered something simple, a ploughman's platter, another 30 min wait, no priority to place 2 slices of cheese, 2 slices of cured meat, a few tiny gherkins, 3 small toasts, unidentifiable chutney?? and a tiny pile of salad on an attractive wooden platter. no further attention was provided until after we had finished and the waitress announced benevolently that no charge would be made for the returned paella.
if the owners want recommendations from diners, employ more kitchen staff and train your front-of-house people to be better ambassadors. mornington is no longer a hick-town. diners have lots of choices, returning customers are your best advertising. will try somewhere else that is recommended by friends next time.

sooooooooo dam good!. iv'e missed you all and your amazing coffee@ 115!
guess people will always have an opinion on sites like urbanspoon! urbanspoon is commonly known as a site for whiny, sad, pathetic people that have nothing better to do with their lives then post utter crap!
people tend to have expectations beyond anything they could actually achieve themselves.....
if you want to dine out, then take a good look at yourself and the way you treat people in the service industry.
115 has been established for over 15 years, and wouldn't be in business if it wasn't bloody amazing!
for that "every now and then person" that gets on urbanspoon to bag out a resturant to make yourself feel better! get a life!
people get pissed off for waiting for 30 minutes for a meal. seriously!
why don't you go home and cook for over a hundred people and see how long it takes you!!
if you don't work in hospitality, you have no idea!.......
keep up the good work bel, nerida kat and the team @ 115......


-----18 jul, 2013-----

it's good to see that ellen stevenson took down her false review about what happened at 115... and i totally agree with sevntimes that cafes and restaurants should be careful if ellen stevenson walks into your business with her angry mob of mothers, yells and spits on your staff and then ram them with her pram while her baby is it....
i'm still shocked at how these mothers treated the cafe and staff but glad she came to her senses and removed her false blogs...
maybe other people should follow suit and remove posts that are half truths.
there are always to sides to every story...:)


-----17 jul, 2013-----

i can't believe what that lady ellen wrote about 115.. i was thetablesitting next to the very poorly behaved mothers who yelled at the staff, let their kids run wild and when the manager belle stuck up for her staff she was the one who was set upon by these disgustingly behaved mothers...
one mother even rammed her in the leg with her pram with baby in it...
what these ladies have written is a lie and they should all be ashamed of themselves!
as should u urbanspoon for letting people have a one sided opinion..

waited an hour.....for french toast..... wow. what an experience. and not a good one either....

the staff at 115 are in serious need of some training in customer service.
exhibit a) if you notice that glasses and cups are piling up on a table, clear them. while you are there, perhaps ask the customers sitting on thetablewhether they would like anything else. perhaps their meals, which, after a 40 minute wait, you along with your co-workers have most likely forgotten about.

another little handy hint you might find useful dearest staff members at 115: when the customer finally builds up the courage after 45 minutes to ask you politely to go check on the meal don't look at them with that look of contempt on your face, as if it is a burden to do your job. maybe just smile politely back and say that you will go and find out.

then (if it is not too much of a hassle, of course) maybe come back to thetableand provide an explanation and apology as to why the meals are taking so long to be delivered.

do not leave the customers waiting another 20 minutes to debate whether you actually went in to check on the meals.

then, when the meals are delivered after exactly one hour, apologise to the customer again. don't act like one hour waits are commonplace (which they seem to be). it is not cool and definitely does not leave a good impression of 115.
i will not be returning to this establishment and i strongly urge you to avoid it at all costs. it ain't worth the hassle...

wish we had read reviews before spending over half an hour waiting to even be served before asking a waitress where we are to order who said they would come to us. 4 more large groups came and ordered before a waitress had even spoken to us, very poor staff and system completely neglected in the outdoor seating after 30mins we decided it couldn't and wouldn't be worth the wait and left to another cafe along the strip, followed by anothertablewho was also very disapointed.

food was okay (one egg was soft-poached, the other was overdone). service left a lot to be desired - i thought they might just have been short staffed, but when anothertablecomplained about the wait for any kind of acknowledgement let alone service they were actually told off. hmm.

rude staff, terrible service & overpriced meals. my family and i were out in mornington and by chance decided to eat at 115 for lunch.
from the time we entered the cafe and left our experience was terrible.
firstly there was no staff to greet customers and allocate seating. when i asked a staff member (who turned out to be the manager) for atablefor four, the manager dumped four menus into my hands and said nothing. we were unsure if we had to find our own seats, order at the counter first or if we would be allocated to a table.
i made the decision to sit at the only cleantableavailable. other tables were vacant but had not been cleared.
while waiting for our meals i asked for water and i was told they would give me a glass and the water is self served. i didn't mind that i had to get it myself but there was no sign to indicate where to get the water from and i never received my glass to even get the water!

3/4 meals took an hour to be served. two dishes of pork belly salad and one 115 burger. the pork belly salad consisted of 4 small bite size pieces of pork belly and a bed of rocket that was the size of a clenched fist.
i don't understand how such a meal could take over an hour to be served and how they could price this dish at $16 when it is smaller than an entree serve!

the 115 burger was not bad, however once again it was very overpriced for a dry, bland sandwich. it could not be described as a burger at all. i expect at least a sauce in a $20 "burger".

the final meal was a salmon sandwich. this took over an hour to be served and was the most simple dish out of all that was ordered. the first three meals had been consumed before we decided it was just too late for the other order. after asking the waitress to cancel the order she explained the restaurant was having some communication issues. i felt that it was a bit too late to explain this to us at this point when she could have informed us from the beginning.
after cancelling the order the waitress brought it out anyway and to our dismay it was a few slices of smoked salmon between two toasted pieces of bread with minimal greens tossed in!

we refused to eat the salmon sandwich and after hearing other tables around us complain we decided to leave. we were asked to discuss the issue with the manager when we went to pay. the manager was right next to my family as we were paying and overheard our complaint and chose to ignore and avoid. we only paid for the items consumed and for three people this came to $60!
after paying for the meal, the staff member at the register could not even give us the right change, needing us to count and remind him twice the amount of change required!!

overall the service was the major let down. i wish i had read some of the reviews prior to eating at 115 and i would have taken the advice of the majority and decided to give it a miss. my family and myself will not be eating at 115 cafe ever again and hope that if anyone takes the time to read this review that they will take our advice and not bother either.