Review Gourmet Girl - Blackburn

Long opening hours, good coffee, nice food, heaps of outdoor seating 👍

Very busy restaurant, there are many dishes to choose from. Didn’t order coffee but food was quite yummy!! Great place for brunch!!

Had a pretty good lunch here today. Prices were fair and the quality was good. Service and atmosphere a bit lacking, but would go here again. Ordered a tea and found the serving very generous (pictured). Menu is quite large for such a small place, and food was served within 15 mins.

Cosy little local spot right behind Laburnum train 🚈 station. This adorable little cafe reminds me of visits to Nana's house, photos of friends, family and staff adorn the walls proudly with an old metal fireplace for added warmth of needed. Plenty of space inside and out with a small heated section outside. All your usual suspects on the menu for breakfast. As well as a reasonable lunch menu too. I really enjoyed their mushroom and 🦆 duck leg risotto. This is a place you visit for the overall atmosphere, good food & staff. Coffee being their only weakness at this point, but everything considered great little local cafe. For more ideas follow my Instagram 📸 : JoJo.approves

A lovely cafe with super friendly staffs. Great coffee and delicious food that comes in generous large portions. They also have a spacious outdoor area for those that like to enjoy some fresh air whilst indulging in great coffee and food! Recommend!

Loved the bacon and eggs. Really well cooked bacon lovely chutney and excellent (perfect) poached eggs. The toast was a bit of a let down. Soggy. The coffee seems to only be a single shot in the mug which just isn't enough (very milky). Good atmosphere for family.

Lovely staff, lovely setting and lovely food. Picking up lunch from Gourmet Girl while at home locked down is a treat to be had. I love the iced coffees - have been taking family for lunch there for several years now and cannot wait to visit once open again - a favourite for lunch

Been a few times for brunch with a friend, but upped it to lunch for Christmas. Grilled calamari salad as excellent as was the glass of sauv blanc we had. Coffee always good as are the staff.

Food and coffee is good however this business is clearly not following the state government guidelines around maximum number of occupants in a shop at any one time.<br/><br/>They are restricted to 15 occupants however whilst we were eating there over 25 people were sitting in the cafe. We made the owner and the manager of the shop aware and they ignored our comments and just tried to argue with us. Stop the spread and dont visit this cafe.

A lovely suburban cafe with a good menu. All day breakfasts. 8.30 - 3.30. full cooked breakfasts as well as hot cakes and a great range of other menu items. Lovely selection of very fresh looking cakes and slices at the counter. The service is friendly and quick but unobtrusive. There are outdoor tables with umbrellas. the cafe is also licensed with a good selection of reasonably priced wine.

3.5 <br/>Hidden away in Blackburn this cafe has a lovely community feel. <br/>Opting for the Big Breakfast and Breaky Brushetta (Vegan) they were nice choices. The Big Breakfast had everything a big plate should have including egg, sausage, buttered toast with nothing fancy it was a hearty and warming meal. The Breaky Brushetta was nice with wonderfully made mushrooms however would personally have preferred unroasted tomato to match the classic. <br/>A wonderful place if you are wanting nothing fancy but classic cooked up breakfast food.

All the meal and coffee was average. Inside is very small but this place has a little bit large front outside area which we usually sit. Only one kids friendly place to go in Laburnum area.

Friendly, intimate local cafe. Warm, friendly service. Food is delicious and menu has vegetarian options. Yummy cakes and deserts available to take home.

Went in this morning as we had 30mins to kill before going to netball. <br/>Was greeted at the door and asked for a table two outside. The waitress started leading us to a table inside and i reiterated that we were after a table outside to which she replied "ok" amd walked away. We found our own table and sat down. <br/>Ordered a large soy latte and a medium hot chocolate, but not too hot (for a 7 year old) in takeaway cups with two carmel slices. Order was taken by the same waitress who greeted us at the door and I had to repeat it twice before going through the order a third time.<br/>15mins - nothing.<br/>20mins - nothing.<br/>25mins - went inside to see what was going on. Theyd only just started making our drinks and was told, by the same waitress "We're making them now".<br/>Asked for the slices to now be takeaway too as we had to go. Got no response. <br/>The hot chocolate ended up being scolding hot. Told them it was supposed to be warm for a child and again got no response. They just poured cold milk into the top of it. <br/>Only saving grace for the whole experience was that the coffee was actually pretty good.<br/>

Great little known Brunch spot tucked away just behind Laburnum train station! Highly recommended! The service is always great and reliable. The big brekky an absolute classic and is reasonably priced and portioned. Thank you to all the staff for making this a great place to hang out in on weekends!

Came for breakfast. My flat white was poorly presented but tasted pretty good. I ordered the corn fritters and was completely dismayed to be presented with two very small fritters stacked on top of a bed of withered roquette with salsa, sour cream (not natural yoghurt as was stated on the menu) and a few small slices of avocado. One of the fritters was no bigger than a Monte Carlo biscuit.. the kids meals were bigger! For $16 I expected something at least twice the size and I finished the whole thing in a couple of minutes.<br/>When I asked if this was the full size serve the waitress said it was the standard size that everyone gets. I expressed my disappointment and ordered fruit toast in addition, which cost less than half the amount and was twice as filling.<br/>Although it tasted great, there's far better value to be found elsewhere nearby. I won't be back.

Not as expected,<br/>Basic quality of food and desserts.<br/>Bit disappointed with presentation and preparation of food. <br/>Value for money with $5/- for slices but better off spending $8-10 and get much better quality and taste.<br/>

Lovely little cafe, great coffee and a beautiful hollandaise sauce. Great vibe to the place as well.<br/>The staff are really considerate if you are gluten free.

Food and coffee are good. Plenty of parking at 2pm. I like their dessert too but I did not had some. Overall, a friendly local cafe that is worth visiting and not overprice

Made a lunch visit here on fair weather to a near full house after 1pm period. Car park spaces were limited with more street side parkings available. <br/><br/>Situated in a corner surrounded by trees, their outdoor seating is as big if not bigger in capacity than their indoor dining area. Interior is a seasoned and established, traditionally and simply styled suburban cafe. <br/><br/>The Alan's Big Brekky was indeed a big portion. I would even suggest that it would be just nice for 2 adults to share. The breakfast food combination went well together but the poached eggs were a little overcooked this time. <br/><br/>The omelette was very cheesy, not salty, simply presented and interestingly paired with a few raisin bread sticks. <br/><br/>Priced just slightly on the higher side, it's a really nice spot for locals in the area for a relaxing good meal or catch up over a coffee & snack break. <br/><br/>🌟🌟🌟✨Alan's Big Brekky <br/>🌟🌟🌟✨The Omelette *Specials Menu*<br/>🌟🌟🌟✨Long Black

This is a lovely spot, especially for breakfast or brunch outside on a nice day. Situated in a peaceful spot, you can sit under the shady trees, with very few cars passing by. It has a really nice village ambiance. I have been coming here for quite awhile, and as others have noted, the menu hasn't changed. But that's what I like: knowing that I'll be able to get my favourites, especially for breakfast, and there is enough variety on the menu in any case. The food and coffee is usually good, and the service is fine.

One of two little cafés tucked away in leafy Laburnum. The decor is a little olde worlde, befitting a converted 1940ish shop. Tables and chairs are plain timber, and the wall features are deep plum. There are some tables for outside dining.<br/>The menu wasn't resplendent with vegetarian fare, but I opted for the veg focaccia, which was middling good, and came with a decent salad. It was filling and inexpensive. The coffee was also reasonably good. The cafe was quite busy and noisy, and the service wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. I had to seek attention to get a table and to order. Water was eventually provided. This cafe was full of patrons, while the one several shops away was empty - obviously the choice of the locals.

Gourmet Girl is great for breakfast or light lunch. The staff are always friendly and accommodating, we accidentally spilt coffee once and they were very kind about it. The food is simple but very fresh and scrumptious. Gourmet Girl also do Tapas reasonably priced. <br/><br/>TIP: Do try the Toasted Chicken Combo Sandwich -it goes down wonderfully for lunch!

The G spot cafe ..... in Laburnum/Blackburn area....<br/>Most idealic cafe location and "semi-naturally" set up in one of Melbourne's sought after suburb; leafy residential area, small pocket village, next to a train station, parking, indoor outdoor, what else is there?<br/>It has evolved and change owners over the years, menu and coffee needs to evolve too.<br/>Still one of the quaint spot to have your weekend brunches.

Laburnum Station is where this Whip and Wasabi 'the super pup' discovered EPIC coffee today! (No photos as she refuses to sit on the FREEZING CONCRETE when it's cold).<br/><br/>How was? Quiet.   The decibel counter registered 35dB.  That's a library, during SHH time (that was outside in the 'traffic'...the occasional car).  Outside is leafy.  It's perfect.<br/><br/>The regular, strong Latte was $4 and ticked every box we can imagine. Well done 'Gourmet Girl' the Whippeteers will be back!

Liked this place for a long time. Coffee consistent and tasty, can sometimes take a while but worth the wait. <br/>Menu has been the same for a long time but with French toast this good, its ok with me.

Located in the greenery of laburnum this cozy cafe is a local pride. Menu lists usual breakfast brunch list. Not bad for once in a while dine in.

Nice local cafe in a great setting. Staff are super lovely and very accommodating. Good breakfast with ideal serving sizes. Coffee was also good.

Cosy place in Laburnum Village that serves its purpose and doesn't offend, but doesn't blow your socks off either. Being able to sit outside is nice (except for those train horns), the menu is nothing adventurous (nor the food that comes out), but it does its job. Service is friendly but can be slow. Tables are left uncleared for too long. Would be good if they opened a little earlier for takeaway coffee on the way to the train station.

Waited 25 minutes for some service and then left. It's not difficult to acknowledge a customer and let them know you will attend to them when you can.

Went to have lunch with a girlfriend, as usual the place had a few people which was to be expected as the weather was great. Managed to get a table outside however there were dirty dishes on the table, after sitting for 10 minutes and no one coming we took the dishes inside and asked for a menu. Again after sitting for another 10 or so minutes we had to ask to place our orders, food arrived pretty standard delivered the wrong drinks at first. We were there for 3 hours and not once did we get asked if we wanted to order or did our plates get taken away. Horrible service, place was not busy enough to warrant being ignored. Wouldn't go back

We had the Gav's Big Breakfast on Father's Day and it was delicious and the serving was of a reasonable size. Service was good and efficient for such a busy day. Will definitely be back to try other dishes.There are also plenty of magazines and newspapers to read while waiting for the dishes.

Really like coming to this little gem. Food is normally really great (though wasn't a fan of the cottage breakfast at my last visit) and the service, which can sometimes be a little slow, is friendly and warm.

Went their for breakfast the other day and was disappointed. The scrambled eggs were soggy and the bacon tasted like plastic, not to mention the soggy toast!! I left hungry so won't be going back here for breakfast anytime soon!!

Kathy. I had a totally enjoyable experience. I sat outside with friends which was delightful under the big trees offering dappled sunshine. Nice and quiet environment too. Coffee came out quickly and service was good. Food was tasty and very big serves, which is not a negative as we did leave some, but not until we ate too much!! Inside was a delish array of cakes - alas too full. Would come back again - to sit outside.

A comfortable place located on a quiet street that is great for catching up with friends, especially on a nice day as there is ample outdoor seating. Service can sometimes be a bit slow (as they seem understaffed) but the staff are friendly. Portions are generous and this is one of the few breakfast places where you can actually reserve a table!

The Canadian focaccia with fresh garden salad ($15.00) was tempting me as it was filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion, avocado, and mayo. But I felt like something sweet today so I went with the ‘The Village’ Mixed Berry Pancakes ($15.00). This was comprised of two huge, fluffy pancakes smothered in mixed berries, maple syrup and a scoop of ice-cream.

Overall, I cannot overlook the poor service over the sub-standard food served. It would be dishonest of me to recommend this place to someone, but I do hope that if you do dine here that your experience is wonderful and pleasant and unlike mine. I do although prefer Red Cup Cafe which is minutes away by car over Gourmet Girl (both in service and quality of food).

decided to visit in my quest to find top notch coffee east of Hawthorn. We've visited this little cafe twice, for breakfast and lunch, and have found it a popular kid-friendly cafe for the locals. Seating inside is cosy, and a booster seat is available on request, with a basketful of books and toys in the corner declaring their readiness for little ones. Outdoor seating gives good access for prams and pets, and would be lovely on sunny days. (Unfortunately it was cold and a bit wet on both our visits.) Breakfast is served 8:30am - 3pm daily, and lunch from 11:30pm - 3pm, with the menu offering a good variety of the usual suspects and also interesting items on the specials board. If you're not up for a meal, there's a full cake display to go with drinks for a catch up with friends. Most items are sta

Was great to be offered drinks upon arrival so many places don't do that. Had the eggs benedict for breakfast if you're a big eater it would be great but I found it too big lot of spinach and ham which I found sickly (should have asked if they do half serve) unfortunately we weren't offered another round of drinks. They have plenty for staff waiting on tables but maybe not enough in the kitchen food was bit slow coming out. On a 41degree day air conditioning instead of just overhead fan would have been much nicer.<br/>I'd probably go back again but not for awhile.

Could go into details but won't waste your time. Shocking service and below average food. I guess a few people fall in to the trap of local convenience here.

Terrible service. Waited over an hour for a sandwich. Order stuffed up. Wait staff continually came out to clarify our order we had told them multiple times. Get a notepad and write it down. Not rocket science! Was offered a coffee on the house for the inconvenience, that never came. Had to end up asking for a refund and leaving. We weren't the only unimpressed customers either. What a shame.

Great atmosphere and excellent food. The cafe is set in a beautiful tree lined street. I never expected that I would find such a lovely cafe in Blackburn. I had grilled calamari on salad for lunch and I thought it was very special. I usually have seafood dishes in Carlton but I often get deep fried fish and find it too greasy. Coffee was also good. Even though the name of the cafe is a bit unfortunate, I'll definitely come back with friends.

Average. Nice and cosy place but didn't like the food. I tried the cauliflower risotto that was watery and lacked anything special.

Great for a Lazy Brekky. Pleasant outdoor location, great for a lazy breakfast. Chef doing a good job but service inattentive. So I guess the staff were having a bit of a lazy time too! Just little things like coffees arriving well after the meal was finished. Staff did not follow through on a question for the chef about a menu item, after trying to guess the answer themselves. Let's hope they can improve on this after feedback. Enjoyable brekky anyway.

Dry chicken focaccia!!! Rip off. I'm a local in the area and have always wanted to go to Gourmet Girl for lunch. Went for brunch today was horrified at first with price for chicken focaccia with cheese, egg and bacon with salad for $18 ... BUT worse still when it came out the chicken was dry and old. Was horrified... Definitely won't go back. Don't waste your money. There are better cafés around the area!!!

Very nice. Service was very good. Waitresses were all very friendly and kind. The food is great, but the serving was so big, I couldn't even finish the dish! <br/><br/>I still come back every now and then. Very tasty dishes :)

Lovely!. We had a generous and delicious breakfast at Gourmet Girl, with great and friendly service too. Thoroughly recommend!

Worst service ever!!!!. Drove past randomly and decided to grab some lunch and a coffee. We sat outside, took 15 minutes for a waitress to ask to take our order, however, we were never given menu's so we only ordered coffees and were given some menus. 20 minutes later - no coffee and no one has come to take our order! We see two waiter's (our waiter) finishing their shift at 2:30pm as well! The place wasn't even busy, yet the staff couldn't manage to give normal service to any of the customers (a few other tables were waiting to be served too)<br/>We left without our coffees! Really DISAPPOINTED in this place and i strongly advise anyone to not even bother with this cafe at all!

Defines suburban mediocrity. I live nearby, but "Gourmet" Girl and similar places frustrate the hell out of me - why is it that it's so hard to find good quality and imagination further out than say, Richmond or Hawthorn?<br/><br/>OK, this place is quite popular, so maybe that's the answer... they get good business without really trying, and to be fair it's not universally bad.<br/><br/>Examples: <br/>Our group of 6 booked a table several days in advance, but arrived to find it was an outdoor table. No mention had been made when booking, and we would have preferred to be inside. <br/>There is a daily specials board - this wasn't mentioned when we got our menus, and no attempt was made to show us or bring the board outside. One of our party noticed the board and stood at the window reading them out to us.<br/>Food quality was patchy, from very poor to merely acceptable - for instance, my mushroom omelette looked great, but was overcooked - the egg was tough and grey... and this was one of the daily specials! Berries were generous on berry pancakes, but pancakes were second rate. How hard is it to make a good pancake?<br/>My double espresso was the worst I have had for many years - 100ml of undrinkable, grossly over-extracted nasty bitterness. I almost never return anything, but I did ask for a replacement which they happily provided. This was just as big and bad as the first. And when they saw I hadn't drunk it, they did ask why (and I explained that it was much too big and over-extracted), and yet again replaced it happily. The third was identical. How can a cafe not know what a double espresso is, or how to make it?<br/><br/>Positives: The service was friendly, and the location is quite pleasant. Inside, the cafe's ambience is warm and attractive.<br/><br/>It wouldn't be hard to lift this place out of its complacent mediocrity - and I live in hope they will eventually. It would be great to stroll down for an enjoyable brunch and not have to drive for half an hour first.

Food came out luke warm.... Used to be a fan, but standards have dropped. Our food came out luke warm and rather bland, so disappointed

Non starter. Me and my wife were really interested in scouting this place in anticipation of coming out for their tapas night with friends. We turned up on a Saturday afternoon to try a coffee and a light snack. The cafe is in a great location and is nicely decorated so we were really looking forward to some good quality produce. The cafe was reasonably busy, being about 2/3s full. We sat down at a table (there were no signs to say wait to be seated) and waited for someone to come with menus as there were none in eyesight. One of the waitresses made eye-contact with my wife and smiled which was fine, apart from the fact that in the 10 plus minutes we waited that was the only acknowledgement we received. There were at least 2 waitresses working the floor and both seemed to be coping well, we would have happily waited a bit longer if only somebody had come over and said they would take our order in a minute. Unfortunately, that never happened so we left. It was a big shame because we would have loved to have come back for the tapas but if their customer service is that poor for Saturday afternoon then I hold no hope evening service.

A Gem in the burbs. Fantastic Tapas, good beers and a great selection of reasonably priced wines. Food was very tasty and the desserts were excellent! Service and coffee were pretty good too. A great night out all round. Gourmet Girl really is a surprise gem in the suburbs.

We went here a whole ago. It was a cold, wet Tuesday morning. There was maybe 4 other tables and they got it so wrong. The drink was wrong, the food was forgotten about so overall a very disappointing experience after hearing great things. <br/>I will try again one day but I'm not in a rush

Nice location, shame about the cafe. Great leafy location but the food, coffee and service are all very disappointing. Food is mediocre at best, coffee is appalling and they kept bringing things to our table that we didn't order, and which turned up on our bill. Sourdough toast was clearly not. There are so many much better places in Melbourne.

I come here occasionally as it's convenient to my house. They are always very nice and give good service. The coffee is drinkable but not great. Coffee itself is the issue mainly, the milk is done ok. The food is the generally good, but again, not amazing. Cute place and fills a gap in an area starved of good cafes but the reality is it wouldn't be so popular if there was real competition. And in all honesty if there were other options I probably wouldn't be a semi-regular here.

Was ok, won't be going back. Coffee was bad, "sourdough toast" was helgas bread and my meal was advertised with rocket and I got about 6 pieces of it

Not as good as it used to be.<br/>This used to be a favourite place for Sunday breakfast as service was good and food was great. Today, food was just OK, and the place is starting to look really shabby. Will try somewhere new next time.

Counter Service. Went here with a friend the other day, despite being packed both inside and out, the staff found us a place to sit. Our coffee took a while to come out, however it was made a lot faster than many other cafes and the staff were very friendly and apologetic. <br/><br/>I wanted to clear up the obvious misunderstanding about table service at Gourmet Girl - It is COUNTER service. When asked, the staff told me that due to the cafe being so popular, they are unable to seat guests and take orders from counters.<br/><br/>Definitely will come again!

Waited 10mins to be served before changing our minds and going inside to get takeaway coffees. We then had to wait another 10 Mins for the takeaway coffees to be made...

Been here on a number of occasions. The lamb and couscous salad is delicious, great specials board, service satisfactory, reasonably priced and a great atmosphere.

Good. Great little cafe. Have been going on and off for last 10 years or so. Beautiful coffee, food delicious. Service is not bad. Good chat, too.

This is our local cafe and I have been there at least 10 times in the last 3 years. From just a catch up with friends, to brunch on a Sunday, a big birthday lunch for 20 people or a celebratory tapas dinner I really think this restaurant has it all. Their prices are very reasonable, serving size good and I haven't met anyone that didn't find something they liked on the menu. My husband and I would definetly recommend the poached eggs with smoked salmon, the Spanish omelette, chicken and pumpkin risotto and the tandoori chicken salad which we have had many times. They also have specials which have changed each time we have been there. It is also a great location in a nice little strip of shops near laburnum station. Would recommend it to anyone :)

Cooked breakfasts here are great. Large serving and good quality. But when I tried the scones one afternoon they were too dry and bland for my liking.

Definitely need to improve on customer service. Was ignored by different staff when trying to order. Food took quite a long time to arrive but had good flavours. However the eggs were overdone which is disappointing. This cafe is also very pricey with nothing too exciting on the menu.

Wouldn't recommend it. Went to Gourmet Girl the other day with my friend. The staff seemed friendly and there was an ok atmosphere. We had coffee and Benedict. The coffee was average but not the best I've had. The eggs were over cooked and not up to the stranded i expected. Wouldn't come again!

Poor service!. I walked into Gourmet Girl yesterday and waited at the door. The restaurant was about half-full and I saw a couple of the girls look up at me before disappearing behind the bar and starting to clean glasses. I took a few more steps forward so I was more noticeable - but still no one acknowledged my existence or came over. So I just took a seat myself. <br/><br/>My friend arrived, and we sat talking for a good 30-45 minutes and NO ONE came over to us at any point. Not to ask us if we wanted drinks, not to ask us if we wanted to order - they simply ignored us. I started to get really frustrated. I started waving at the staff behind the counter trying to get their attention. It took a good 10 tries until I saw someone walking past us and said "sorry, but can we order?" "sure" no, sorry for keeping you waiting, no politeness, just "sure." We then said our order, she said nothing else and walked off. <br/><br/>The food came, I ordered bacon and eggs. The bacon was old and was the gross cuts. It was very very tough and didn't taste particularly nice. The poached eggs were barely runny. The toast was barely toasted, over-buttered white bread. <br/><br/>We were not approached by any more wait staff for the remainder of the afternoon. Not to ask if we wanted more drinks, or if the food was okay. Nothing. <br/><br/>I will not be going back. Worst service I have experienced in a long long time.

Overrated. Poor service. Below average food. Staff incompetent. Need I say more?

The french toast is a stand out!. We have been to Gourmet Girl a few times now - both for brunch and for evening tapas and we've never been disappointed. My favourite for brunch is the french toast with it's spicy crusy (with a touch of chilli?). On a lovely day sitting outside is a treat as it's a quiet cul-de-sac and tables set under a lovely big tree. You will enjoy it I'm sure.

Ate here on a sunny afternoon after hearing bout it from a friend. I wouldn't have honestly thought/heard of this place otherwise as its tucked off the main roads. <br/><br/>Very large portions with a huge variety of foods to choose from. Weather your wanting brunch or lunch meal options. Haven't been here for dinner but I've heard it's good too.<br/><br/>On a sunny day it is nice to sit in the open courtyard outside. I will definitely be back here, as this place does the basics very well. The eggs were cooked to perfection and it's location is closer to home compared to most of the brunch places nearer to the city.

Fresh & Tasty Cafe Food. We were a bit disappointed as the Good Food Guide gave us the impression that the cafe would like those in Byron Bay. So we were expecting adventurous, healthy food with a good range of vegetarian food.<br/><br/>Although not what we expected, the food is very tasty, generous in portions and fresh. There wasn't anything in the menu that was different to other cafes but the quality was definitely worth paying a few extra dollars for. <br/><br/>The service isn't the best but it is worth a trip. Will we return? Yes<br/><br/>n.b. not wheelchair friendly

If ur dining outside, you'll enjoy the lovely trees and atmosphere. Inside a different story. It is noisy and becomes too crowded. Could definitely go with a repaint and am update. All drinks and food are lovely!

Good for Breakfast. A nice friendly cafe that gets very busy on a Sunday morning so go early !.<br/><br/>The cooked breakfast was filling and included, bacon, mushrooms, scrambled egg and lots of toast.<br/><br/>Service was friendly and fast but the tables are a little small inside.

Very enjoyable. Had previously just been here for coffee, but last week went with some friends for lunch.<br/>Beautiful food and plenty of it. <br/>Service was excellent. When I advised on ordering that one of our group had to be back at work in about an hour, they made sure we received our food quickly.<br/>Beautiful setting.<br/>We will be back.

A Gem!. I love this place! Decor, atmosphere, location, friendly staff and above all the Food! We are a bit on the expensive side, but Blackburn doesn't offer much in terms of cafes, so the competition is not fierce and they know this.<br/>Try the 'Salisbury Spread' or the huge Pancakes for brekkie or one of the pastas and risottos for lunch. Yum!

Why is this place so busy?. Went here for breakfast this morning. Was very busy, but I can't imagine why. When our food came out all of the plates were at least 1/2 full of greasy mushrooms. Everything else tasted like they'd added sugar to it. I had a egg and bacon frittata that was inedible, it was so sweet, and "home made" baked beans that I'm pretty sure were just a can of beans mixed with a can of pureed tomato, plus the inevitable sugar hit. Pretty gross, oily food! The staff did seem friendly, though flustered and confused. Also rather expensive compared to most breakfast places, and way overpriced for the nasty food we got.

Lovely food let down by service. Had a lovely omelette (note to vegetarians - ask before ordering) which was listed as mushroom but also included bacon. Luckily i'm not vegetarian. It was very nice but sat on the counter for service and the chef rang the bell at least 3 times that i noticed. My husband actually asked for it to be served (i don't think they appreciated it, but the staff were not busy and had ample time).<br/><br/>Anyway, i can see how so many would be upset with the service, however if you're willing to overlook this, the food is actually quite tasty.

Fathers Day disappointment!. After my wife booked mid-week for my first father's day brekky, I am sad to say incompetence and complete lack of customer service ruined the pleasant experience we were hoping for. Upon arrival for our booked time, we were greeted with confused staff that had not allocated a table at all, let alone one with provision for a pram as booked. We were made to feel like we made it all up and asked again and again what name we booked under. Finally a foul faced staffer attempted seating us at the one and only table available that was crammed in between two others which meant there was no room for a pram. We therefore only had one option and that was to vote with our feet and walk out. We ended up at Enriks (Blackburn) and had a great brekky.<br/><br/>Gourmet girl, smarten up your booking procedures and customer service and maybe we will return! Warning for all to double-check your booking if its a special occasion.

Food was fantastic, as was the coffee, however, the service was shocking! While they were very lovely people there is obviously a communication issue between staff. Orders were wrong or completely lost and incredibly late, one of our number had finished his meal well before anything else arrived. I'm very much hoping the service can improve to the level of their food.

Big breakfast and hot chocolate was good.. Would highly recommend this busy cafe

Great for breakfast!. Come here for breakfast & coffee regularly, both of which are consistently fantastic. Favourite breakfast would have to be the bacon & eggs or the fruit toast - always delicious! The staff are very friendly, and you definitely get your moneys worth.

Very little.. Obviously changed ownership since previous reviews. Current owners have no clue what a coffee should taste like.

A group of four had dinner here last night and we had a fabulous meal. We went for the banquet option. The fish soup was amazing. I can't believe we had the place almost to ourselves!

Breakfast for 3. Atmosphere is nice and cosy, although it does get a little crowded. Seems a little understaffed but non the less a great place for a meal or catch up with friends. Great selection in the menu, will definately come back for lunch and tapas. Serving portions are med-large and filling. Overall: Service 7, Food 8.5, Price 8

Brilliant. This place has great atmosphere and I enjoy sitting outside and catching up with friends. The food is very good and coffee is nice. Only negative is me being lazy and having to order at the counter. Call me old fashion but I do like table service.

Worth another visit. First visit to this cafe. Very busy,Sunday morning. Had to clean our own table. Had the pancakes...looked impressive, tasted ok. I would Return and have again. I have a personal dislike of getting my coffee before my meal, sadly this was catered for

Very ambivalent. Party of 5 had the tapas banquet on a Saturday night. The food was excellent. There was not a weak dish in the entire banquet. Everything fresh, flavourful, appreciated by all. Food 5/5.<br/><br/>Downsides - restaurant is cramped and noisy and tables are so small they end up very cluttered and we did most of the dish clearing ourselves. Service was very inexperienced but well meaning, e.g. they don't even know how to navigate their own restaurant so they can serve dishes without leaning over people, they don't know how to do a waiter's carry to clear tables, it's done piece at a time, that sort of basic stuff. One waitress in particular was very rude and really let the place down. General ambience 3/5.<br/><br/>I'll give it another go because the tapas menu is so good. Hopefully they'll get new staff by the time summer comes around.

Very ordinary. Found the food to be quite ordinary and over priced. I had the Salisbury Eggs which was toast with Ricotta, mushrooms, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. The mushrooms were cold, the eggs hard (after I asked for soft and runny) and the hollandaise too creamy - $18.00. The others chose the Eggs and Bacon but without the bacon as they are vegetarian. A bit miserly that they wouldn't deduct anything for taking the bacon off ($14.00 for poached eggs alone is a bit rich). I've had similar visits and come away dissatisfied but gone back hoping it was just an off day. It's not, so I definitely won't be returning.

Came back after a few months. Service has improved but my Scandinavian eggs came with cooked smoked salmon.... Please keep it uncooked!!

Great location, good food and coffee, but not the budget option. This place does a good job and certainly beats the only other cafe in this strip for coffee and for service. However it doesn't do a brilliant job and if you don't book on a weekend or at lunch you may be out of luck. Tapas in Friday and sat nights is v good and there are kids toys in the corner but no highchairs

Inconsistent. Once I went for coffee with a friend and was waiting 45 minutes for a hot chocolate and a biscuit. Went again recently and was promptly served!

Brekky in the 'Burbs. It is always rare to find a lovely cafe for breakfast in the suburbs. They're always located in the inner city or CBD. So to discover an establishment that does scrummy cafe breakfasts close to home is awesome!! <br/><br/>I had the Gav's Big Breakfast which was the lot. Toast, eggs, avocado, sausage, tomato, spinach, relish, mushrooms and the bacon wasn't fatty. It was nice and lean. The portions were plentiful. It was a really wholesome feed. <br/><br/>Highly recommend.

A hidden gem, the food was great. Inside was quite noisy, but the atmosphere was nice and I can't complain about the service. Overall a good experience, we'll be back.

Like it a lot. Has changed ownership a number of times over the past couple of years and the service has suffered for it - it varies from ok to downright awful. Friday and Saturday night tapas are fantastic, and better than you would expect for a little cafe in the suburbs. A nice local place to enjoy a meal, but it does get very busy, and service staff don't cope well.

Great fun. Had one of the most enjoyable evenings in a long time with my family recently at Gourmet Girl. The tapas were very enjoyable and i'll definately be back. The dips and Churros were the best i've had - think of Movida in Blackburn. Service was inexperienced

Dissappointing experience. While it presents itself as Gourmet we felt this was just an average cafe with dialed up prices. We had a long (45min) wait to receive our food, when other later arrivals were served meals before us. Menu had a good range of options. Food was decent melbourne cafe food but not amazing, serves rather small for above average prices.

We're regulars here due to proximity & lack of viable alternatives but for the most part the food is good if a little unadventurous and the staff nice. Sometimes service is slow but they do warn you as you order. Of note, the coffee is much improved lately; the burnt taste has been rectified.

Bad service is an understatement!. Decided as I am new to the area to take my sister out for lunch today. Understandably it was busy and I did expect a little bit of a wait however it seems that everyone around us who arrived after us was getting their food and ours was still nowhere to be seen. We had only ordered a big breakfast and a toasted sandwich which I wouldn't have thought was overly complicated however after half an hour we asked where our food was. The girl then went to the kitchen and came back to tell us that they were quite busy and our food was about 7 minutes away. After waiting another 15 minutes our food arrived with a small sheepish sorry. My sister then cut into her sausage on her big breakfast to find that it was raw inside. We called the waitress over who offered to get us another however we really couldnt afford to wait - who knows when the next meal would come out so we asked for our money back and left. <br/>Such a shame as it had a nice outdoor seating area and would have become my local but instead I wont be going back there again.

SLOW and RUDE. This is the place to go if you enjoy waiting for your food and staff that is down right rude.<br/>Our group hadn't been there for a while, partly due to slow service, partly due to limited parking nearby, but decided to try it again.<br/>Lunch time, ordered our meals (mostly focaccia's and sandwiches), was then told it would be 30mins, but they might make it quicker. I can handle slow service especially if we are advised up front.<br/>30 mins comes and goes, no staff comes over to even say there has been a delay.<br/>After 45mins our food arrives with a very short "sorry". One of our party suggested that they might offer us another round of coffees... the very rude reply was "I did say sorry, but now you;ve gone and stuffed it for the rest of them". Implying they were going to make an offer. If that was true, then you would expect the offer to be made earlier, not when he was going back inside.<br/>If we hadn't prepaid for our food, we would have just left it, but we finished our lunch. One of our party went back in to try explain, but then got another mouthful "so we won't be seeing you for another year". <br/>If this guys was just staff, then he needs to think about a career change.<br/>If this was the owner, then it is obvious he is not really interested in customers, maybe the place would run much better if he had no customers, they only seem to get in the way.<br/>Maybe he has been watching too many reality TV shows and thinks the way to be successful is to alienate your potential customers!<br/>If you don't think you can handle a lunchtime crowd, then maybe you need to think about your opening hours!<br/>It's one think to have slow service, quite another to be down right rude, no matter how well within your rights you think you are!<br/><br/>NO STARS

Overrated. I live down the road from here and to be honest I hardly ever go there because I think it's overrated and overpriced, too. The coffee which I've had a few times has always been not very hot, and when I had breakfast once (scrambled eggs on toast with vegetables) - it was very, very ordinary. Their lunches are good if a bit pricey, but I would say their cakes are the only thing I'd really go there for. Lots of mothers come in with their kids so it can get a bit noisy. I wouldn't recommend people in the city coming all the way to Laburnum to try this place.

It has a nice outdoor seating area and their chocolate mousse is the best thing I have ever tasted!!

Best kept secret in Blackburn. Unassuming cafe in a local hub under Laburnum station offers the best Scandinavian eggs ever. It also has a menu which changes almost every day. The risotto and pasta dishes are also local favorites. Great selection of sweets and cakes complimented by great selection of coffee and teas makes this a great "cuppa" spot for its loyal fans.