simon & lee

this little place has so much potential.  i love the decor and the menu is exciting and enticing.  my mum had the dumpling soup which was divine.  i had the pork belly on rice which was a little underwhelming.  loads of meat and rice, but not much else.  i would definitely gobackand try some other dishes though.  my main reason for only giving 3 stars is because the service was so terrible.  you felt completely ignored and almost like they resented you being there.  at the end of our meal we sat for so long with our dirty plates in front of us that eventually i moved them myself to the empty table next to us.  pick up the service and this place would be fabulous.

brunch without excessive eggs dishes
ate here at the weekend and there is even free parking across the road . lovely friendly staff.
heaps of options ,some usual brunch favorites and then a korean mix which is great
we had the original chicken nibbles ,super crisp and tasty so you can add spice using the sauces around as you like .
we then had the bulgogi beef spaghetti which was creamy and filling with decent amount of beef and heaps of pasta
i also had the quinoa bowl ,nice and fresh ,huge half a fresh avocado and great all mixed up ,again not spicy dishes as i'm expecting but you can add some spice with sauces as i did think it needed some pepper or something on top
definitely recommended and we will bebackin to try more options

i have visited simone & lee over a year ago, today’s visit made me wonder why i haven’t comebackearlier. the korean infused european brunches and the excellence in taste; the attentive and friendly services, are all the good reasons to love this cafe.

starving since the morning, we ordered a couple of small and main dishes.

the tteokggochi rice cake was crispy on outside and chewy on the inside, excellently flavoured with korean spices.

the garlic soy chicken nibbles was super delicious as well, one of the best fried chickens i’ve ever had. the nibbles were tender and juicy encased in a layer of crispy batter.

the bulgogi spaghetti was a hybrid from the menu. the korean styled bulgogi beef blended nicely with the creaminess of cheese. the spaghetti noodles were springy and tasteful.

the benedict was rather lavish. the kumara were fresh and soft; the smoked salmon and bacon were flavourful; the fried kimchi made, which added a mild spice to your palate.

to finish off, i ordered a flat white to go. their coffee was strong but smooth to drink.

if you like a korean style brunch with intensified flavouring, this is a cafe not to be missed.

taste: 10/10
presentation: 8.5/10
service: 9/10
ambience: 8.5/10
value for money: 10/10

price $25 per person

i love fried chicken 🍗 whoever decided to start frying chicken is honestly a genius and i want to hug them. korean fried chicken is my absolute favourite 😍 had a craving for it so i decided to finally try out simon & lee! ordered the chicken lunchbox ($17) which comes with korean fried chicken, slaw, pickles, shoestring fries and aioli (we never got given any aioli tho 🤔). for the chicken sauce i chose garlic soy and safe spicy 🌶 the chicken was sooooo good, cooked to perfection and juicy. this chicken looks like it does the korean 10 step skin care routine because it was glowing ✨ the fries were crispy and i enjoyed the slaw. pickled radish is essential to the korean fried chicken experience to cut through any greasiness. the pickles seemed pretty random but i still ate them cause your girl doesn't like to waste food 😂 i'd love to gobackand try the danger spicy sauce and other menu items!

overall rating: 9/10 🍗🍗🍗

will bebackfor the fried chicken! more than enough for the 5 or us. they even give you gloves to keep your hands clean. great place to hang out with friends :d

this is one of those places i probably need to revisit and amend this review accordingly. but i just can't connect with the place, i have also been to candyshop (which is another one of simon and lees establishments) which i also had the same issue with.

i struggle with the menu as everything just doesn't always quite sound right to me and nothing ever jumps out. which could be a positive as it may push me outside my comfort zone? but i'm not so sure 🤔.

the food and the idea of the chicken lunchbox was good but i'm afraid in my opinion it wasn't well executed. for me the presentation was average and the flavour was lacking, overall the meal was so so... my partner got the avo on toast and the same issue, just so so... nothing to rave about. this was disappointing as i have heard good things about the place. but the most disappointing thing was the coffee. if you want good coffee it is safe to say don't bother here.

the staff were friendly and was probably the best part about the place. the atmosphere was trendy but nothing special. overall good but a bit meh for me. i would like to gobackand hopefully get my opinion changed. but that's to come.

concise menu, packs a massive punch. ideal weekday brunch place. located conveniently just around from work so great for quick client lunches. i’d bebackin the evenings as well, if they didn’t close by afternoon.

it is a bit hard to find bit it is situated in the corner area with the door just beside the power box. we missed the entrance the first time around and went to hello mister next door.

the cafe is fairly small but does have quite a few tables. we were in thebackarea by the kitchen and it was comfy. we ordered a few things to share.

they have really nice fried chicken. we went with the safe spicy chicken nibbles and it was delicious. the sauce was more sweet than spicy but the chicken was crispy and juicy. they even gave us gloves so we didn't get too dirty for the next round.

we shared the dolsot spicy pork belly, bulgogi spaghetti and prawn dumplings (mahn du gok) with ttoek rice cakes. the bulgogi spaghetti was very moreish. creamy and rich with flavours of the mushrooms and beef. the mahn du gok was also quite nice since the soup was really flavourful. the only issue was that some of the ttoek were nice and chewy while others were way too firm. the dolsot had huge chunks of pork belly with a (not very spicy) sauce. the rice was nice and crispy, giving it more flavour and texture.

a really nice place to grab some food. the options are all very intriguing and you probably can't go wrong. just make sure to try some of their fried chicken.

food and beverages ordered: been here a few times and have tasted most of their food

environment: trendy and stylish

services: super friendly

costs: $30 per person on average

will i return: yes (and have been comingbackonce every 2 months)

comment: nothing much to say, other than just go and try it out for yourself. menu changes quite often and they are mostly korean fusion dishes. if u feeling a bit naughty, the korean fried chicken (kfc) is a must ! the mushroom on toast and the black waffles are amazing, but i personally loved the congee the best (no longer on the menu). old photo attached.

another korean fry chook (kfc) place fusion style, hidden gem atbackof main parnell shopping drag, i had the chook slider which is  sandwich style with pickle and slaw and felt like the chook is lost inside (or flew away), quite pricey at 6$ each. i really just wanted the chook and fries but must be on the lunch time menu i guess. like to come and try this next time i'm in area.
wonder if if this place has anything to do with this other hidden diner i saw in newmarket call candy shop? someone enlighten plz.

food is fantastic, but unless it's acceptable for you to have food being rolled off the plate onto the table when served, then being picked up and placedbackonto the plate like nothing happened? and finding hair in the melted cheese topped fries? do not dine there!! the attitude is appalling, and there is no apology whatsoever! and no, i can't forgive them for this, because we were the first table and only table in that early! felt as if we were forcing them to wake up early just to serve us!

i've had food at simon & lee twice now and coffee 4 times (coffee is always good, but strong and bitter, so if you have alternative milk i recommend soy over almond). the first time i had ramen and it was delicious but a bit pricy for the portion, the new lunch menu with items like the chicken box make it a more reasonable place to get lunch. the korean fried chicken is amazing! holy moly. but beware if you get the saucy options you're in for a messy time- thankfully they give you plastic gloves so you can gobackto the office still looking presentable. also special mention to the pickles, slaw and fries that were all delicious! i wish i'd ordered so kim chi to go with the lunch box, but i'll have to wait till next time to try it! my second experience won me over and i'll be visiting simon and lee for lunch more often!

so excited to have this place right next door to work, st georges bay rd used to be a bit of a food deadzone but it's finally coming into its own with goodness gracious bagels, sachies kitchen sushi, la cigale cafe food, the chiller pies and salads, winona forever just up the hill! anyway, simon & lee was the one i was most excited for, and finally finally got a chance to try today. i ordered the sl burger, and my friend got the black waffles. the burger looked amazing with a thick meat patty, fried egg, deep fried kimchi, mayo, slaw and cheese on a beautiful brioche bun. in theory it was fab, but it reality it was missing a sour-sweet element which i couldn't stop thinking about as i ate it. please could you guys try adding korean sweet and sour pickled daikon slices??? and maybe making it a little spicier as the kimchi flavour was almost completely concealed by the batter flavour. i also thought a little more cheese grilled onto the patty would be nice instead of a little bit stuck to the bun. the burger patty was great, super tender and yum. marinade could be a bit stronger. all the flavours were too much in moderation for me which didn't think matched my korean food experiences.i thought it came with waffle fries from another review on here, so was slightly disappointed to see normal shoestring fries, however these were really nice with the mayo dipping sauce. black waffles were pretty standard in flavour, came with very generous amounts of toppings,  whole banana, dried berries, icecream and more. blackness was just novelty since they tasted like golden waffles.

apple pie smoothie was just delicious, yum! true to its name. pretty friendly, fast service to top it all off. excited to gobackto try the ramen and the bibimbap!

i decided to try simon and lee on a super-busy saturday morning with my partner and her young child. they were super accommodating and found us the perfect table without a wait. we tried the dolsot bibimbap (my korean favourite), that was delicious, and the good bowl. every component of the good bowl was spot on especially the pickled beetroot! i did get a bit of food envy seeing the thick cuts of bacon rolling out of the kitchen - definitely on the list to try! i will be comingbacktime after time!