Cafe Melba at Goodman Arts Centre

We went to Cafe Melba at Goodman Arts Centre for brunch on Sunday and it’s a lovely green place with lots of space for the kids to run around. There was also a small bouncy castle and a slide (which was actually some kind of art installation, I believe).

Cafe Melba

bouncy castle

a little slide

The cafe seats about 120 and is very bright and airy. I loved the whimsical little touches like the camera charm around the vase of flowers and the fat glass water jug.

inside

inside

camera charm around the vase

We were generally happy with the food but it’s a little pricey. The pancakes looked like a small portion but were surprisingly filling. The sausages and truffle fries were good and Nav really enjoyed his Eggs Ben. The squid ink pasta vongole was really yummy and generous with the clams but could have done with more pasta. The carrot cake’s a bit dry but there’s a lot of cream cheese so it’s not too bad.

pancakes with berry compote, whipped cream and maple syrup

free range eggs benedict

full melba cooked breakfast with choice of eggs, sausages, bacon, roasted cherry vine tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms and home made toast

vongole of clams and squid ink pasta

carrot cake with cream cheese and pistachios

truffle fries

The service was quite uneven. They don’t take reservations on weekends and when we asked for a table for 4 adults and 3 kids, they wanted to squeeze us all around a table meant for 4. When we requested for the 6-seater, we were told that they were expecting a lot of guests and wanted to maximise their seating. We eventually got the table after reminding them that we were also their guests and that it was quite impossible for 7 of us to fit around the 4-seater.

It was also quite difficult to get their attention to order food and ask for things. But I think they are quite new so it should probably get better with time. To be fair, we had good service from some of the wait staff. The server who brought us our dessert made sure there were enough forks for all of us and also gave us lots of serviettes (which is quite important when you’re dining with kids).

The standard of the drinks was a bit inconsistent. Our first round of iced lattes were REALLY good but when we ordered another round, the coffee tasted slightly burnt.

Angie and her “OMG this coffee is so good” face

Anya

Isaac making eyes at the camera

the Lobos

playing with gravel

so much to do with a little pail, a ball and gravel

Adam had a great time!

On the whole, we like Cafe Melba and will probably make another trip there soon. It’s quite accessible and there’s no problem with parking. And I just love that there’s so much space and that it’s so green!