Review The Unicorn Ballarat - Ballarat

I was there for my lunch after walking around Ballarat central during Ballarat Heritage Weekend 2018. All the staff were well mannered, friendly, and quick service. Loved my savory waffle and cappuccino. I'll be a regular customer here soon.

The unicorn used to be a favourite of mine. But after the last visit I was left disappointed. The cheese burger we ordered was tiny and served on a supermarket bun with ingredients missing. Definitely not worth $18. We didn't get any cutlery with our meal, and tables were not cleared when we arrived. Eggs and bacon we're good and the coffee was wonderful, but overall I'm dissapointed.

Been here a few times interacting with different staff and they have been down to earth and really helpful with discussing/fixing my coffee. Actual coffees have been on point as well along with the food, baked goods and fresh juices. Great cafe to chill and to get some work done. Cheers boys & girls!

Went with the family for lunch twice: first and last. We sat down and no one came over with menus, I had to take menus myself. It took more than 20 minutes for the coffee to arrive. The food arrive after 45 minutes cold and not tasty, it was as if they had forgotten the food on the counter. The size of the dihses was ridiculous specifically with the price. I have eaten better hamburger in MacDonald, the bun was supermarket quality, the patty was small with only pickles, onion and mustard and that's it. If you think about eating here just go to MacDonald, it will be better and half the price.

Awesome service, friendly atmosphere. Food was pretty good. Will come back

Excellent food including a good choice in vegan. Amazing coffee and fantastic staff. They're focused on sustainability and supporting local farmers. The ambience if so chilled and relaxing. Great music. Has something for everyone. The Unicorn is one of Ballarats finest!

Had breakfast there. Great food - lots of flavour and interesting. Excellent service. Kids menu. Coffee was good, as was the tea. Music playing on old school record player. Sat on comfy couch surrounded by unicorns - the kids absolutely loved it! Highly recommended.

Went for breakfast and left disappointed. The meals were overpriced for what they were, and took too long to come out. The coffee was good, but even that took ages. Adding a second star because you could tell the only waitress was trying her best. Not planning on going back.

Under old ownership, this place was great but now they have given me NO reason what so ever to come to Ballarat (Other than Myers). The pathetic menu a scrimp of what was, to then be served microwaved pumpkin soup that was barely luke warm at best, pockets of it were cool, hence the microwaving - BAD. It only went worse from their, my chips were obliterated with Cajun spice, I mean i like Cajun spice but i still want to taste my chips. The pulled pork was incredibly dry and flavor less, at one point i though I was eating roast chicken. My wife's "Spring Creek Vegan Lunch bowl", hmm I wish I'd brought the dog. This staff sprouted potatoes, veggies, onions, celery and stuff!!, on receiving the dish, it was a bowl of diced potato, slithers of onion all covered in?????? you guessed it, Cajun spice. It certainly was the most disappointing meal my wife and I have ever had the displeasure of, we didn't stay for coffee as I just couldn't bare the thought of handing more of my hard earned over into the till. So sad, it used to be such an iconic place to now lower itself to what it is today. On the upside, the doors will close soon and someone will have the chance to take it back to its former glory..

Don’t waste your time, because they have no issues wasting yours. The lack of service is the first and foremost isssue, it took 1.5hrs for coffee and breakfast, after asking numerous times on the location of our orders we were told different wait times every time the service with the staff was disgusting, when our orders eventually came my husband was missing his, it then took another 15 minutes for his to come out. <br/>And even when the food does come it’s mediocre at best. I wouldn’t go back and I highly recommend anyone that is considering going to not bother. <br/>Overall such a disappointment and lacklustre experience and it seems I’m not the only one to experience such a disappointment.

First time here, and I was disappointed. Service is non-existent. Not the staff's fault as there is only one girl serving tables. Coffee is ordinary, and they take roughly 30-45 minutes to take your order. <br/>Plenty of other places to try in Ballarat. It's a service-industry guys!

We were lured in by the “New Management” sign. Unfortunately it felt like the management is also new to the business. Our coffees got served 5 minutes after the food, and they were watery. I ordered the poached eggs, which did not really have runny yolks. Service was a bit clumsy across the board, the barista sometimes having to step in at the till, and a line of 6 people queueing for payment. Let’s hope they find a way to correct, because today they fell short.

Would not recommend this place. We went in for brunch and ordered 'The Fresh Breakfast' for which we were told that they had no tomatoes. Then we got told they had no tomato ketchup. We offered to pay for the breakfast right at the start however, we got advised that we should pay only at the end. We then finished our breakfast and went to the counter to pay where we had to wait for 15 minutes and got totally ignored. Terrible service. Moderately decent food.<br/><br/>Just ensure you have all the time in the world to wait for staff.

Great location, ambience and great food. Tasty, fresh and friendly. Super smoothies, milkshakes and friendly staff. Wirth a drop in if you're in the area.

Apart from the yeasty white bread, the food was home cooked style and delish. I had polenta shashuka with chorizo. It had lots of veggies and was very filling. My partner had the fresh breakfast with poached eggs. The coffee was also good & the waiter did a great job dealing w the rush & the people staring at their screens, getting in the way while waiting for a table. If it wasn't for the bread I'd give it 4.5 stars.

Every time I have been to the unicorn I have left with a smile. A good standard cafe in Ballarat. Good prices, and haven't been disappointed yet.

Friendly service in a locally loved cafe restaurant. The Unicorn baked eggs with capsicum, feta and chorizo was served with two thick slices of toast and tortilla chips. The daily special of BBQ chicken toastie was a reasonable $15 with a generous side of fennel salted chips and aioli. A thoroughly enjoyable lunch in Ballarat! Highly recommend the regent cinema as well! The theatre was beautiful

Whilst the atmosphere and place itself was comforting, aesthetic, fun and enjoyable, after our food took 50 minutes (ordered when no one else was sitting down) we quickly realised it wasn't up to scratch. We had to check out and take our food away in takeaway containers without any cutlery and...

Slow, distracted service. Corn fritters were not cooked. Menu stated sourdough bread but it was white bread, like a thick tip top slice. I wouldn't go back.<br/><br/>Positive - nice coffee

Was super expensive for what it was, which wasn't great. The waffles were chewy and drowning in fake maple syrup and the "Fresh Breakfast"... well, I'd have to write an essay to describe everything wrong that one.<br/>The place in general looks like it needs a good scrub and the Uno cards on all the tables stopped being cute when they became filthy and covered in greasy fingerprints.

Not great to be honest. I mean really? Running out of food for lunch at 12:30/1?<br/>The chocolate milkshake was so weak all we could taste was milk. Won't be back!

Don't usually write reviews but pretty p'd by the young guy and girl at the counter.<br/>Had brunch here and food was alright, coffee was great.<br/>Paid and bought a caramel slice to take away.<br/>The girl made sure I was taking it away and then the young bloke proceeded to take the whole plate of slice out the back. Didn't think anything sus until we opened the paper bag a couple of hours later and realised the slice must've been there for a while as the chocolate on top had gone that white colour when it goes yuk!<br/>Check your cakes before you leave people!!<br/>Won't be back :)

The unicorn is a nice place to have a coffee. We had French toast, scrambled eggs, and omelet. The staff were super nice and they went out of their way to get us some maple syrup.<br/>Matthew son

Quite a hipster and retro cafe, one of the more popular ones in the Sturt Street area. They put up some nice and generous breakfast and lunch dishes with a few interesting gourmet touches, without being too elaborate. They have a superbly extensive array of drinks within each category, from healthy smoothies to many kinds of teas and milkshakes, to hot drinks and fresh juices just to name a few. It might be my new regular stopover spot.

Had a Sunday Café lunch at the Unicorn in Ballarat over the<br/>weekend.  It is a relaxed café with a<br/>unique mixture of décor and food styles.  The Pulled Pork<br/>Po-Boy with coleslaw and chips was tasty, but I don’t remember and walnuts as<br/>the menu suggests.  The coffee was good<br/>and the staff were pleasant. If you’re in the area and hungry then give it a<br/>go.

Best coffee in Ballarat! Fun and relaxed atmosphere with consistently good food and coffee. The Fresh breakfast is a winner as well as the Cajun chips with aioli.

Hmmm. Interesting and eclectic menu. I think we chose badly. We had breakfast rolls and they were a bit tasteless with kinda plastic cheese and overcooked eggs.<br/><br/>Sat outside so can't comment on the decor. The guy at the next table has to be one of the heaviest chain smokers I've ever come across, made me want to leave as soon as possible.<br/><br/>

We visited during the Christmas break and the place was quite busy. Service was slow, a number of items were not available like pulled pork po-boys and sliders. I settled on the Cajun Chicken Po-boy. Was OK. Nothing spectacular... chicken meat dry, seasoning light on. Not sure what everyone means by generous serving of fries. Was sufficient but certainly not generous. Overpriced in my opinion for the quality of the food. Having said this, it is cool to sit in a retro setting on chairs that take me back to my childhood and listen to LPs from the 70s.

Super friendly staff. The large portion of chips is honestly HUGE. I was stuffed afterwards. Deliciously seasoned and heaps of dips to choose from. Didn't try their coffee but my friend said it was great.

The Unicorn Café is in Ballarat and is participating in the Foto Biennale. Here the Unicorn café is small and homely and its the ideal spot for uni students who are studying in Federation uni nearby. They did smell like a gingerbread, baking house the moment that I walked in. All the lovely spices and aromas filled the air. I was after one thing though and that was tea and maybe a cake or two since that is what Ballarat does best in as well as the boiled sweets. I wouldn't mind taking home one of these one day and sending it to China.

Funky place, great atmosphere so ended up having two feeds here, lunch day one then brekky the following morning. Lunch menu was different and enjoyable. Brekky was excellent with again a different range from your standard big brekkies. Service spot on both times which means I'll definitely be back when we visit Ballarat in a couple of weeks time.

I was looking for a place that my girls might enjoy as well as us old foggies. Given my daughter has an obsession with unicorns my interest was peaked. Okay, okay it was the other reviews that sold me. <br/><br/>Anyway as soon as we entered, there it was. A little area with a couple of couches, a coffee table with musical instruments and soft toys. Guess where the kids hung out? Yatzee!<br/><br/>Now for the food. Well the menu was quite different from what I'm used to. It's the first time I have seen kangaroo on the breakfast menu. But I hope I see it more. The tiger toast (Vegemite & cheese) was as expected just plated with stripes of cheese. My husbands breakfast was gobbled down and the food was served in a really time fashion by friendly waiters. If I lived here I would return regularly.

Nice atmosphere and good service. Found the place via a website and it suggested the cafe for the ambiance. But the food was a great, pleasant surprise.<br/>Coffee - asked for strong cappuccino and got it. Foam could have been denser but certainly not bad.<br/>Quinoa with grilled greens on toast with poached egg (i asked for the poached egg as extra) - fresh and really well seasoned. The grilled beans and mushies were particularly tasty. Poached eggs perfectly cooked.<br/>My wife's kangaroo steak with poached eggs - just as nice. Beautifully cooked (although could have done with a touch more resting but that's nitpicking).<br/>Decent kid spot too - kids menu had a fair few items, and of course they had highchairs. There was also a spot for kids to play with musical instruments and toys!

Good for something different. Nothing special. Have a few couches but hard to eat at them and too far away to talk to people when busy. Good coffee and friendly staff

Grabbed coffee from here first thing and headed back for another later in the morning yesterday. Staff were welcoming and coped with the large masses of brass band folk that migrate to Ballarat this time every year. You can always judge a place by how good their soy lattes are and I was a little scared as I've had some corkers in the 'country', these guys delivered however.

Pulled pork po' boy - delicious! Not to mention the Cajun fries. Coffee good too.<br/><br/>Cute decor, friendly staff. As a Melbournian, this is a bit of a Ballarat gem.

I went two days in a row to this establishment. I was accused of not paying for my coffee on my second visit by a blonde haired man - even when I had paid for it and pointed out to the waiter who I paid to. This blonde haired man still continued to be rude to me and didn't offer an apology. I can definitely not recommend this establishment to anyone, as I assume this man is the manager or owner; and I can only imagine how he must speak to his staff.

I love this place...... Atmosphere, coffee, service and food.<br/>It's my go to venue when friends from out of town visit, they are always impressed.<br/>

I had the perfect bacon and eggs on toast. It was the tastiest bacon I can remember eating. Service was easy going and attentive. Coffee was very good.

Great coffee but the duck omelette (special of the day) was incredible. Best omelette I've ever had

Please ask your staff to be nicer. It feels like the 'cool kids hang out' at High School, where if you're not in the 'cool group', you won't be welcomed as warmly as everyone else. Wake up call- it's a cafe/ restaurant, the nicer you are to people, the more likely they are to return. <br/>The music on the record player is okay, although at times monotonous. The food, very average and almost everything is over priced. <br/><br/>Would like to sit outside, but is hard, because of all the smokers and the outdoor furniture is very, very grubby. <br/><br/>The attitude of the owner is very strange and not particularly welcoming and the attire that his staff wear is very bizarre.

Funky. The Unicorn is my favourite ballarat destination. I love the atmosphere and the staff were exceptional. The Unicorn ballarat is the only place I will by hot chips as I found they weren't soggy or greasy and had perfect amount of flavour and herbs. The coffee was the best in ballarat and is every time I go there (about 5 times a week), strongly recommend this cafe :)

Breakfast... yum!. We enjoyed a delicious breaky & great hot chocolate @ Unicorn. Funky surroundings & very attentive service made for a relaxing, great morning.

Great spot!. Sammy and the gang at the unicorn are all friendly and the coffee and food is great! The brekky is delicious and the smoked trout salad is an absolute winner. Get down there and give it a shot!

Most excellent breakfast. We ordered the truffled scrambled eggs, fresh breakfast and banana bread. Service was fast, attentive and friendly. Food prepared and served with sensitivity, care and flair. Creative and delicious! Great music and the bathrooms are worth a visit! Highly recommended.

Best Breakfast I've ever had!. Walked in and the breakfast smell was making my mouth water and it did not disappoint. I had the truffled scrambled eggs, absolutely fantastic. My partner had the fresh breakfast, and the flavours worked so well together. The coffee was perfect. The staff were friendly and smiling. The food and coffee came out really quick, even though it was a very busy morning. Music was great, i loved everything even down to the cutlery and crockery. I can't fault this place. Perfect way to be welcomed in my first visit to Ballarat!

Fail. We were looking forward to going here for something to eat but left quite disappointed. The staff looked harried and no friendly greetings were forthcoming. My sister had the fish and chips and she did not enjoy it. The fish was way overcooked and greasy and the chips soggy. She should have sent it back. My vegan burrito was ok but nothing special. The prices are too much but it seems a few Ballarat eateries are overpriced. If you are going to charge relatively high prices make sure the food is spot on. In our case it wasn't. Won't recommend or go back.

I'll be back. Unfortunately we lighted upon this gem in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, when the kitchen had already shut. As a result all we ate were spiced fries - delicious, especially as breakfast had been a long time previously. The coffee was great, service friendly and efficient; loved the atmosphere - T-Rex on the turntable and an amazing collection of vinyl inside. Shall just have to go back to try out their menu!

A good experience in Ballarat. We recently visited Ballarat, where we needed a coffee & lunch. We chose the Unicorn in the Main Street. We had coffee and an all day breakfast. I had the scrambled eggs &beacon, my wife the poached eggs & beacon. We can only say that that both meals were the best for a long time. The coffe was great from a good barrister and piping hot. The service was friendly and courteous . The decor was quirky and interesting. <br/>If your ever in Ballarat try it out. They also had free grapes !<br/>Visitors for NSW

The Unicorn. The unicorn is an amazing cafe, with amazing food that not only looks great on the plate but taste 100 times better then it looks, with an amazing vibe and the friendliest staff I've ever come across it is by far one of the best places I've been too! <br/>Amazing food <br/>Amazing staff <br/>Amazing vibe <br/>What more you could you want :)

Fantastic. Great service! great food, had the pumpkin toasty and it was amazing! Coffee great! Reasonable prices and relaxed and comfy atmosphere! Highly recommend it!

Fantastic fresh breakfast. Had the fresh breakfast with fresh squeezed orange juice this morning. Great flavour and value for money. Nice to eat at a venue that makes their own. Will definitely be back. Not sure where the comments about poor service are coming from our wait staff were very friendly and attentive.

Excellent coffee. Went for mid morning coffee on a Week day. The coffee was easily the best I've had in Ballarat and fairly priced. The service was fine and I liked the feel of the place. The menu looked comprehensive and included a vegan option but I was surprised there weren't more. I like that it's open until 5pm & has wifi.

A great let down.. While we were served promptyl (yet very rudely) we waited a long time for our meal, they weren't accommodating to dietary needs (rude again), their menu was poor and limited and over priced for the half effort food we eventually got given that just wasn't worth the amount of money spent. The cutlery was blunt and wouldn't go through the food and the man on the cashier was the rudest yet!

Decent Brekkie. We dropped in for brekkie on Saturday. Good herbed scrambled eggs and bacon. Bacon was really good - tasty but not too salty. Coffees were pretty good and I had takeaway coffees later that were better than some of the other offerings around Sturt St. I'd go back.

Faulty Towers. After waiting close to an hour for a snack and then being asked to pay a bill so expensive I felt like I was actually just pickpocketed I have to say I won't be back. Attitude of staff was horrible - put a real sour taste to our weekend away. The only consolation was finding other customers feeling much the same way.

Waited 50mins for food & paid too much. We visited this cafe yesterday. Arrived at 1pm and sat at a table near the counter. Wait staff gave us water and menu's promptly. We then waited a few mins to have our order taken. We ordered two pots of tea, one ham, cheese & tomatoe toasted sandwich, and the grilled tomatoes and mushroom open sandwiche. A few minutes later we asked to move tables as the noise from the counter made it difficult to hear each other talking. Wait staff said it was no problem at all to move.<br/>We then waited for our tea. I could see it on the counter sitting there for a good 10mins while a heap of other drinks went out. We got our tea then waited and waited and waited for our food. I watched out order go to the table we originally sat at! Some 40mins later we asked a wait staff - the one who originally seated us - how long our food would be and why others who come much later had been served. She said she check and never came back. Five mins later I ask another staff member - they go and female wait staff returns apologises for the wait and says "but it's only been 20minutes since you orders so that's not too long and we've been very busy". I explain that we've been waiting 45minutes and she's says "No, the time stamp on your dockets say 1:29" I reply that we ordered well before 1:29 and that we have been waiting for 45minutes, my mum who is a very quiet person echoes my words, to which the young woman agains says, "No, the time stamps is 1:29, it's only been 20mins". She refused to listen or believe us and walked off!!!<br/>I have never ever encounter such rudeness in a cafe before. Having done waitressing through uni I have a great deal of empathy for cafe staff. She didn't return and apologise. My mum - who is 69, was really upset at being spoke to like that.<br/>Another 5mins lapsed and someone came to our table, smiling with a breakfast meal - to which I said we didn't order it. She looked shocked and I told her what we ordered. Few mins later my mums toasted sandwich arrived - warm, barely toasted with bacon not ham. I'm told mine will be out shortly. I wait. It's close to 2pm, still no food so I cancel my meal. <br/>We go to pay & the person I assume is the manager is at the till. He asks how everything was, I tell him we had to cancel an order, he apologises then says that's $24!! No offer of a discount or anything! My mums toasted sandwich cost $14!!! <br/>The waitress who took our order did apologise for the mistake and was lovely. The manager was also nice but should have offered a discount for such poor service.<br/>The waitress that argued with us needed to get her facts straight before assuming we were wrong - at the very least should have gone and checked again and then come back and apologised for being so rude.

Service is very poor. Staff doesn't seem to care.. Disappointing.. Food was ordinary especially when considering the price.

Expensive and too concerned with being 'quirky' then providing efficient service or yummy food.. My visit to the unicorn for lunch was very disappointing. <br/><br/>It was incredibly expensive for two coffees and two cafe meals. <br/><br/>The meals themselves lacked flavour. I bought the paprika poboy and it was boring in flavour and close to $20 for a tiny portion of chips, jalapeño aioli (that lacked jalapeño and tasted of mayo) and a 6" bun with letters and tomato. <br/><br/>No tastey kick that made me want to eat more. <br/><br/>The staff were too busy being quirky to provide good table service. <br/><br/>Won't be back.

An Amazing Restaurant - Unicorn Ballarat. The best Gumbo ever!! I love the quirkiness of the Unicorn and have always found the staff fantastic

So expensive. The two of us dropped in for lunch, not expecting much and were stung $55 for two coffees and two cafe dishes - jambalaya and toastie! Couldn't believe it. Coincidentally noticed another table complaining long and hard about the bill. Looks like we weren't the only one.

So inconsistent. Rude. Expensive. We had been frequenting the Unicorn since it open very regularly. Unfortunately, over the past few months, the service has deteriorated incredibly. The staff seem to have disappeared and the owners appear to be waiting now? The coffee can range from average to awful within a week and the menu is now very expensive. $4-00 for a small latte which is tastes burnt and has no crema? No thanks. Not sure what has happened here, but we have chosen to go elsewhere.

Started really well then didn't quite make it.. The first time I went to Unicorn I was very impressed. Loved the friendly, attentive waiting staff, especially the blonde guy with the beard (a natural hospitality guy), the vinyl record collection, the decor and especially the food. Having kangaroo on the menu mixed with Creole food...genius. My favourite meal was the potato rossti with fried beans, spinach and cherry tomatoes. I was so excited that I took friends there and told my parents to go there. My parents are real foodies. They were so disappointed. They couldn't believe that I sent them to a place with such bad service and terrible food options. I said "are you sure we are talking about the same place?"<br/><br/>I was there yesterday after not having been for sometime and I found out what they meant. The wait staff were run off their feet, understaffed. It took half an hour for my order to be taken then another twenty minutes for the waitress to come back and tell me that the fish was off the menu so by the time my rather ordinary sandwich and chips arrived I'd been there at least an hour.<br/><br/>The menu has been dumbed down to a 'chips and gravy' mentality. Instead of having lovely food that had an emphasis on vegetables, grilled meat and a healthy portion of carbohydrate they now serve food like every other place in Ballarat that is 'would you like some carbohydrate with your fat on your carbohydrate with some more fat on the side?' Which is generally a large portion of eating out.<br/><br/>I think I'll stick to Chat for Tea as it seems to be the only place to eat in Ballarat where they serve vegetables.<br/><br/>Bring back your old menu Unicorn and I'll be back!

The staff are friendly, the food is beautiful and the coffees are one of a kind! Whenever I go to the Unicorn, it's a real treat!

Terrible service. Restaurant wasn't even half full and the waiting staff seemed overwhelmed. Had to get menu ourselves and waited close to 10mins before the wait staff even glanced at us. Was about to walk out when he finally came over and we were hungry so decided to stay on. Big mistake. Ordered the mushroom pie and the pumpkin soup. Soup tasted blend and the pie... Was BURNT! The pastry was so hard that I couldn't cut through with a knife. Sweet potato fries were also burnt. Told the staff and he says it's how its done here. What a disappointing meal. Expected so much more for a $40 meal. Will never return.

Good for breaky. Great breakfast, friendly staff, good Earl Grey tea!

Service is appalling. Prices are over the top. Bad first time. Will not be back or recommend to anyone.

So so.. Too easy to offer a free drink AGAIN for a poor meal. Po-boy, hold the cheese & aioli . Menu said battered steak, not herb crusted piece of gristle. Bun spread with aioli . Hey I only ask for these items to be held for a genuine reason, not to be difficult. Too bad if there was a medical emergency! Unicorn you need to lift your game. Once is maybe bad luck, twice is poor kitchen skills. Comp's don't always work and yes I declined the offer of a free drink.

Trendiest place in ballarat! A shame about the younger audience who buy one drink and sit out the front for hours smoking taking up seats.. Other than that pretty good coffee, can be a little bitter at times though.. And really friendly service, I enjoy my time here :)

Great music, swampy blues. Great decor, friendly service. Tasty tasty tasty steak po'boy made me extremely happy. This place is a winner, hands down. In a wasteland of fast food and white bread, the name is apt.

No good. Undrinkable coffee, The cakes we had were stale, and the waiter was rude. Overpriced, tiny portions. I REALLY wanted to like this place, but I've been disappointed every time.

Great, fast service, great cheap food, good atmosphere, good coffee, friendly staff. loved it

Nice venue!. Group of 4. We enjoyed our meals, although the dips board was a tad disappointing. Yes i would definately go back!

LOVE IT!. Great Vibe, Friendly staff. I love the featured artwork on the walls and there's always something a little quirky to listen to as well. The food was fantastic; full of flavour, fresh, quality ingredients and plenty of it. Great coffee too! The milkshakes are amazing! Turkish Delight or Lavender - I highly recommend this place and if you happen to get a gorgeous waitress called Billie, you'll not be disappointed - she's the best waitress I've had the pleasure to be served by!

Disappointed. I was really disappointed with the poor service I received today. It seems to be a common theme in this town . I felt rushed when I asked questions about the menu and waited a fair while for service. After 10 minutes I left. As I made a point when I left the girl didn't really seem fussed. I won't be going back. No wonder businesses are going bust quickly in this town. Typical example here.

Overpriced, poor service, lacks atmosphere.. Tiny steak sandwich came with only one slice of bread, half on top and half underneath. When asked which cakes contains nuts, the answers was "probably all of them, the chef doesn't know what's in them, his mum makes them."<br/><br/>Service very slow, and cake was stale.<br/><br/>The music was terrible, playing old records is cool if they are actually interesting, but best of Roy Orbison and Hot Chocolate hardly add atmosphere. Maybe get some music from somewhere else apart from an op shop.

Great first time!. Stopped by with the kids and we had fantastic meals, great service and great coffee. Will be stopping by again when in town! Great atmosphere and lovely staff.

I have frequented this restaurant very regularly of late and have never been let down by the solid and well thought out food. The staff are extremely friendly and the service is generally good. I admire this kitchen for going the extra length to use great quality produce whilst still making their food affordable. If most other restaurants in town followed their example the food scene in Ballarat would get very exciting. Well done Unicorn.

Disappointing. Very Disappointed! I got a fruit salad which was only pear and Apple & found a hair in it! For the price I paid I expected a little more variety on fruit and no hair.. The rest of the meals on our table were average! I would not go back! It is a shame because the decor of the place is beautiful.

I should love place...cool decor, great music & place looks great. However, pretty bland breakfast & just ok service are two pretty big reasons not to love this place. Happy to try again, but I'd choose a lot of other places before eating breakfast here again.

This is exactly what it says it is, beautiful fresh breakfast. High quality ingredients used very well. I added bacon and found it great value for money. I will definitely be back for more.

I have just experienced the unicorn for breakfast for the first time. I have to say both myself and friend agree it has to be one of the best breakfast menus in ballarat. Especially mentioning the sweet potatoe rosti and hollindaise. Their poach eggs were almost done to perfection and both coffee and iced coffee were delicious. We will definitely be coming back to experience their mains menu.

No no no!. Guys, a quarter of an avocado on bread for $14? I do not think so. Pathetic.

Went looking for a good coffee on Sunday morning and found it at "The Unicorn" ... Yum !!!

Yummy food, prices range from reasonable to ridiculous! I was very excited to order different types of teas - only to find they were bags and expensive!

Best coffee ever!!!no one knows how to make latte with soy milk as good as staff at unicorn.Very consistent too every time i go coffee is perfect regardles which barista will make it.it makes my morning every time!thanks guys:)

Divine!! The eggs sardou for brekky - a taste sensation! Coffee great. Service great. *****

Great place, but $6 for a one-person pot of tea? Tea bag tea? With soy milk, but still.

Number 1. Best caf' in B'rat - thoughtful food, great coffee and quality service, except for a one off day last week where i sat down for half an hour out the front and didnt get served - waitresses walked past 4 times while i just sat and waited. i ended up leaving - maybe i had my invisible pants on, i dont know - but i'll let them off just this once as this is much needed in b'rat - lets hope they can open upstairs too & get a beer garden happening out back..

Came in for lunch again today, was amazing, had the chef suggested gumbo and it was delicious! Hats of to drezy and the team! A great experience as per usual 10/10

Great food, poor value. I dined at Unicorn for the first time today, and had the pasta special - pappardelle with leek and lemon ricotta. The food looked, smelled and tasted superb - problem was, it was the smallest portion I have ever seen as a main meal in a restaurant or cafe. It was smaller than an entree serve, and it cost $18. I had four bites and my plate was clean, and cleared quickly. I remarked to the waitress that it was lovely but seriously too small, and she said nothing in reply. I like this cafe, it has a wonderful and relaxed style and the menu is a breath of fresh air in a very mediocre food town, but this does not represent good value. For that price at lunch I expected more. I won't dine at Unicorn again.

Surprise visit. We were in Ballarat to see an art show and called in to the Unicorn by chance for a light lunch. The first thing that struck us was the friendly staff and friendly atmosphere and some Leon Redbone music which was my era. I had the fish and chips - beautifully fresh and beautifully cooked. My wife had the chicken breast which she really enjoyed. We noticed some people eating the breakfast menu which was available all day. Didn't have any wine as I was driving back to Melbourne, but the coffee was outstanding. Will come again next time we visit Ballarat

Finally consistent coffee for Ballarat. The Unicorn have mastered the grinder and deliver great tasting coffee time and time again. I would recommend to the serious coffee lover and fine diner. Fresh food with real taste.

Went for coffee the week it opened. Staff, coffee, atmosphere and old vinyl excellent! However after 2-3 weeks later returned for lunch and waited and waited and walked out unoticed. It appeared staff were confused and not trained to keep an eye on new arrivals. Perhaps it could have been me and I needed to order at the counter. For a new place to dine out in Ballarat I was most disappointed. Doubt i will return.

What a pity it has great potential. Visited for lunch and it was very disappointing. Food was very ordinary and extremely overpriced for what we got. Wine was good but so it should be at $40 per bottle. Based on our meals we could not recommend.

Lose the larva lamps. We went for lunch and on the plus side we could still get lunch at 2pm. However, spiced fish was were average and not spicy, the curry Laska was good though. The menus were confused and difficult to read. We were disappointed in the atmosphere, it was dull and have done with character, junk it up, its too clean and bare. The original art on walls was kind of lost in the barren atmosphere. It might help to look at a few of the Melbourne art cafes for some ideas. Also the chocolate cake was stale and the vanilla slice was bland. Service was good through and friendly and the price was good

Nice atmosphere and nice food. The tagliatelle was nice and decent portion, which is in contrast to the rabbit gnochi, whilst nice tasting, was so little it was disappointing. They also surprisingly didn't have the fish & chips, and that was early lunch time (11.30-ish)! At least the food tasted nice and service was ok.

I really wanted to like this place, nice atmosphere, old school vinyl, good service, but our food was really terrible. I had a chicken burger, which was really an open sandwich, chicken on a dry piece of bread and tough watercress sticks. The beef burger the same and $18 x 2 for bad food was pretty disappointing.

Well worth the wait.. I'm one of the few who went to the Unicorn when it was a pub in the 1860's. And it's SO nice to know it's back in business. A few snags in the beginning with the waitresses not seeing you as they enter. I seem to get that everywhere I go!?!? But everything there is so nice I can't fault a thing. They have lovely wines. And lovely LOVELY coffee. Even their toast is nice. Try the Kiwi fruit Jam. SO nice! I do hope they acquire some Ferrante and Teicher LP's. I'd be happy to donate a few of my own. Even some James Last wouldn't shock the youths I feel, as they are so inclusive of all their guests. If I were 80 years younger!! That chap with the strawberry goatee. I'd have my eye on him!!!

I'm with Paula. Sensational guys. Nicely balanced menu, great sense of history and place, relaxed and alive.

Fantastic food fantastic service love the music best chef evet

A funky place. Love the vinyl, the food is great and the staff very friendly. Breakfasts are great.

Fantastic food..great service and an enjoyable place to dine. Awesome milkshakes!!!!