milkbar & co

here i was thinking the peninsula was a wasteland for cafes but i'm eating the best breakfast i've had in an extremely long time (the chilli cauliflower). customer service isn't a high point here but i'll overlook that.

couple months ago my husband and i came here for lunch. gorgeous little spot right near the beach, we sat outside too which was perfect for a sunny day!

my husband had the burger which he loved, and i had eggs on toast which the eggs were cooked perfectly.

i found the surrounding customers a concern. a young couple appeared to take one of their uneaten poached egg and wrapped it up in a napkin, i mean, i would do this with some banana bread, but a poached egg??! i found it so bizarre, i can’t get the image out of my mind! what would they even do with it??

anyways, wonderful experience with some questionable entertainment.

stopped here for lunch. sat at a nice table outside. nice little strip of shops. it was warm, i got the mango smoothie which was really good. partner got a thick shake which he said was good. in one of those glasses that feels like it’s for kid. meals looked very nice. i got the mortadella, mixer ella, tomato and basil panini which was okay. lots of greens very little meat and cheese and was nearly dripping with mayonnaise which did not go with the flavours i felt. but could be just me. my partner got the pear granola which he liked but the pear was very hard he said. overall the food was good and service very attentive. definitely worth a visit

got fed up of waiting to be served after trying to order at the counter. so walked out. if you tell someone to sit down then at least take their order in the first 10 minutes. really puts me off going back.

beautiful location and nice service. i got the poached prawn and crab bun which was delicious! however, my only gripe is that the bun was cut in half which made it extremely hard to eat, but yummy none the less.

my friend had chilli scrambled eggs and another the charred cauliflower but were not wowed but liked it none the less.

menus were not updated either, seemed to be a different one at the shop, online and on here ?

4.1

now here’s something troubling. i can’t find any place in mount martha which is rated 4 or above on zomato. either the places aren’t trying enough, the critics are too tough or, most likely, it’s a bit of both. i do know it’s not good enough and something has to give.

milkbar & co is a 4.1 in my book. it is agreeably fitted out in the modern style. this is apparently the result of a recent renovation which has been thoughtfully and tastefully executed. the style is good but is in no sense overdone. it feels and is pleasant. it helps the mood too that good music was playing as well when we arrived.

the food was great. my beef brisket burrito was recommended by our server. this was a very sound recommendation because it’s a cracking dish. it’s a really good thoughtful brekkie brunch dish and one that’d be very at home st any of the well rated melbourne brunch cafes. i could barely fault it. it had just the right amount of good flavoursome meat. this was accompanied by perfect melted cheese and great black beans. the salsa was a beauty too. finely chopped and very flavoursome as well with even some carefully chargrilled corn. only the bed of rocket seemed a bit rough and ready and even then my judgement might be a bit harsh. i was worried the dish might be too small when it first arrived but again i was wrong as the size ended up being spot on. there was a slight understated spice to the dish which i thought was lovely. sadly i didn’t get the chance to make enquiries about that.

this was the best of this style of dish that i’ve had for quite a while. it really was very nicely composed and beautifully made and cooked. it had me slightly in awe actually and i’d have great trouble ordering anything else if and when i come here again.

my partner had the ham cheese baguette which she enjoyed very much. she was particularly taken with the bread which were were advised came from laurent.

our coffees to finish were excellent too. up there with the best.

so why is this place not rated higher? we can only speculate but we did find the service here a bit languid. we had to chase a server to put an initial order in. my dish was put down roughly in front me of dislodging some of the carefully arranged garnish. my milk in a jug with my coffee had little blacks things in it too. none of this is serious stuff. i gained an impression that there were a few details holding things back.

we will definitely come here again. if they iron a few of the little details out, this place could easily score more than 4.

really lovely cafe! such unique and nice flavoured dishes. great fresh and quality ingredients used in the dishes. the cauliflower was delicious and the avocado was so fresh! there was a lot of variety to chose from. the staff were lovely and overall really nice cafe for food.

service wasn't overly pleasant. cutlery and glasses were dirty. i had the smashed avo dish which came with roasted chilli cauliflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, miso mayo, edamame and kale to which i added poached eggs and bacon. the meal was very nice apart from the bacon which was pre-cooked and very dry. my wife had scrambled eggs which were as expected. we shared the granola which came with a poached saffron pear and raspberries. that was nice and beatifully decorated. soy latte was spot on and the oj was fresh. overall, quite enjoyable.

38 degree day and down at mount martha, we quickly popped in here for a pre beach feed.
the restaurant was busy, filled with summer vibes where customer service was prompt providing a quick turnover to cater to all the beach goers.

we ordered the milkbar breakfast & the breakfast bruschetta. we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and thought the presentation of food made the meals more appealing. the downfall of the breakfast bruschetta was the price of $19.50. despite the meal was a great combination of flavors, it can be considered on the pricey side given it was one slice of bread with boiled eggs, tomato and goats curd.

second time i’ve tried to eat at this place when on the coast for holidays. this time with 6 friends we were seated out the back near the toilet on a scorching day. after waiting over ten minutes with no service went inside and asked two of the staff members if we could be moved inside when a table became free as it was very hot in the back with no air flow and told them we were also ready to place our drink and food orders. waited and waited. another person from our group went inside three more times to try and get someone out back to take our order to no avail. we decided to go elsewhere and as were walking out saw two available tables inside that would have fit us all! terrible service with staff who ignore their customers. never going back.

stayed in the area and came here for breakfast, the shop got out and vibes looked pretty cool. we got there around 1 and overheard a staff member telling another customer that the kitchen was shutting at 2:30. our food was all nice, but a little small for the price tag, coffee was great though and ingredients were quality.

yum! delicious, great service, great location and good value. would come back if i’m in the area again. i had the brekky burger and the egg was perfectly cooked, the bacon was crunchy and the bun was delish. great coffee too.

friendly and professional. the staff here are lovely, polite and friendly. we had a nice sourdough toast and fruit toast and the tea and coffee were tasty and good quality. i was happy to come back a few days later. very professional.

came here for breakfast
espresso was ok with sugar
nothing to special
very friendly staff
food came quick
great location
asked for 3 eggs not sure i got it

please fix that toilet door! too many accidental open doors when on toilet!! 😱.

stop on way home from mp. i do like the village! lots of choices but picked this and enjoyed my mocha. indoor outdoor seating. 🐕 friendly.