meshino

despite the negative reviews here we still went with a group of friends for an evening meal. this was a mistake. several of us had the samemealbut it eventually arrived it came in a range of very different portion sizes for each of us. also why charge extra for a few vegetables - what a rip off!

i don't understand why this cafe has had such crap reviews. i actually found it very pleasant. i went there twice in one day as i had an appointment nearby.

i had a decaf mocha and gluten free choc treat first. the coffee was good and the gf treat was excellent, moist, rich with a molten choc centre. i was intending to share some with my son but ate it all while he was playing :/

came back later and had a delicious kumara, cream cheese and caramelised onion tart with a nice green salad which was piping hot (i am pregnant and it is always annoying to have to send something back to be reheated because it comes out luke warm and isn't safe to eat). summer lunch menu was very appealing and reasonably priced - all mains were $25 including the steak meal.

the environment was lovely, light and airy with heaps of windows, but enough exposed wood, funky artworks and black accents to avoid being washed out. nice outside table area with plenty of seating. staff were friendly and service quick.

it was really child-friendly. there was a sofa area with a box of toys, two good quality high chairs and a gated outside area with a mini table and chairs and small plastic fort.

the only bum note, which was a major one unfortunately, was that the environs needed a thorough clean. my son went for a 30 second crawl inside and when i picked him up afterwards the tops of his feet had gone from pasty white to charcoal!! there were a few too many deceased flies on the windowsill, the toys were very grubby (with soil in some, even though they were inside toys??) and both high chairs needed a clean, even when we first came in at before 8am, so it was unlikely they had been used that day. after feeding my son i gave the chair a thorough wipe with wet wipes and it was visibly cleaner than when we started the feed - not usually the way that goes!

apart from the cleaning, this is a great cafe and i would be keen to try amealthere.

dined here for dinner with a group of friends, we dine out regularly and enjoy discovering new restaurants and an opportunity to catch up with each other over a meal. five of us were satisfied with our meal, but one member of our party was not. she ordered the blanquette of rose veal, disappointingly what she received did not reflect the description on the menu. the potatoes were not the small gourmet potatoes as expected, the croutons were not croutons, they were hard melba toast, the onions were missing, the mushrooms were overly firm and the sauce was bland. she said the veal was nice, however the plate was returned with the 'toast' and potatoes untouched. she was offered a free hot drink or dessert by way of compromise after querying the meal. she was informed that the onions had 'disintegrated', no explanation for the 'toast'. in my opinion this entire dish should be taken off the menu, it earns this restaurant no kudos. one very disappointed diner at our table, and that is not acceptable. i was quite taken aback at the total lack of interest on the part of the chef, as to why themealwas returned virtually untouched. not good enough meshino, i certainly had high expectations as i was the one who recommended we dine with you. you need to be consistent, all your dishes should be of the same high standard and quality and the menu reflect what the diner receives.

i took a friend for dinner one night this week and themealwas excellent. beautifully cooked monkfish and apricot crumble. so when some other friends wanted to catch up for dinner later that week i thought we would support our local and went again to meschino. most of themealwas again lovely but my veal was very tough. when the waitress asked if our meals were ok i told her the meat was tasty but very tough. she didn't respond so when we paid the bill we asked if she had done anything about my comment. her reply was that she had told the chef who said the menu didn't say how the meat was cooked. i never realised that if a menu doesn't say the meat will be cooked tender it can be tough?????? pity because everything else was lovely.