Review Melissa Cake Shop - Collingwood

Bought a box of baklava for a house bbq with people I’ve never met, and this went down a TREAT with them. A Greek guest asked where the baklava came from, he was that impressed. I came in at 2pm and thankfully there was just enough left. Most of their pastries/cakes were already sold out so clearly they’re popular with the real locals. Don’t know how there aren’t more reviews for this place but I’ll definitely be coming back next time!

Reasons this is the best place on Smith St. 1. Only cafe that offers adult sized coffee (large takeaway). 2. Staff are wonderful, friendly and genuine. 3. I've never had a better girlled chicken sandwich anywhere. 4. Better loyalty card than other coffee shops. This is the best coffee shop and cafe on Smith St. Try Melissa's first, you'll be a repeat customer before you know it. It's a place that does the simple things perfectly; the food is fresh and tasty without trying too hard, the staff are warm and bubbly people that actively engage in conversation with their patrons.

Quite disappointed how the staff treated me when I was told to pay with cash, never mind the absence of signage before you enter the shop. Coffee was burnt, milk nearing off, great start to the day. Won’t be coming back - a warning to other unsuspecting visitors.

Best flat white I have had in 3 weeks in Australia. Hot and quite strong. Perfect.

Great place. We go as often as possible and love the personal service, coffee and food.

An institution. In some ways the rest of Melbourne has moved on, but this place reaffirms 20 year old memories on every visit.

Now Closed! Sad after it's been going for over 60 years.

Coffee v.good & spanakopita excellent

For Snot Blog consumption today I visited and left with a Melissa Cakes tri-layer vanilla slice. Impressed with the size, proportions and cost of this one, I unwrapped the thin foil and attempted a cut with a takeaway fork....with no luck. I was met with some resistance, but the pastry was quite puffed and not tightly baked. Instead I cut through the middle and ate the thing as two mini vanilla slices (one with the sugar on top). The pastry as mentioned was not the flakiest, I put this down to the lack of butter in the mix and the bake time in the oven. The custard was satisfactory; light, airy, fresh and with some vanilla, though not anything out of the ordinary. Had this come as a two layer slice I might not have been as forthcoming with my appraisal, but at least Melissa’s gives you a fair chunk of product for your money.

Greek cakes can be a hit and miss as you're basically relying on turnover of cake and, unfortunately there can be times were some of those biscuits etc can sit in the window for a long time. Fortunately this wasn't the case for me here this time and I enjoyed my coffee as well. Located in what is now a popular location so the competition is fierce here

If you love cakes (like me) this is a great place to visit. So many cakes to and the coffee is better than average. Not the best coffee but more than does the job.

This review is for the coffee here. I work in collingwood and have had coffee from every cafe and this is one of the best by far. It's strong and the perfect temperature every time. The same girl makes it every morning and it's always 100% consistent. They also do an awesome coffee frappe. Highly recommend and I hear the pastries are good too

Super friendly and good coffee - the babycinos were something special! A steady stream of regulars, which is always a good sign. A welcome change from the chain-like places popping up.

Hardly the trendiest place on Smith St but that's part of the attraction - nothing faddish and a focus on doing the simple things well. Result is a full house most lunch times. Chicken schnitzel roll with delicious coleslaw, any choice of the pastries/cakes and coffee. Excellent value for around the $15 mark. Emphasis is on Greek but not exclusively. A new Smith St find.

This is the 5th time I have asked for the cheese pie and they have none! I am not the only one that has experienced this friends of mine have had the same experience. Totally unacceptable....never going again!

DO: The big breakfast, the pastas and most definitely, the spankopita. <br/><br/>DON'T: Come during lunch time. It's packed and rightly so. <br/><br/>TIP: If you can, come a little earlier and sit inside and order from the menu. The grab and go items are yummy but the made to order dishes are so much better and worth it. Can't be bothered waiting? They also have locations in Templestowe and Altona.

Great place! Never disappointed!<br/>It is very small inside, however, we usually do find a seat. Definitely the best place in Collingwood for a coffee and sweet.

Coffee was nice, average price, yet with so much competition in the area, I am more inclined to visit elsewhere. <br/><br/>It is extremely humid in store, I am happy I only get takeaway! Overall I would definitely revisit.

This place makes THE best spanakopita in Melbourne! The spinach & cheese or just cheese are thin (as spanakopita should be) and chewy with a juicy filling. It's exactly like the street food in Greece, you buy a slice (or2) and off you go. I don't come here for their cakes, although they're OK, this place definitely specialises in one thing and that's more than ok for me.

This is a hidden gem! I've walked past a million times and not noticed it until a friend pointed it out. Great coffee yummy cafes and really nice staff. I recommend popping in.

Melissa's Cake Shop is a relic from the bustling Smith St of the 1960s; back when housewives kitten heeled across the pavements, nothing except Church was open on Sunday and linoleum was groovy.

Good pastry, high pricey. This is the kind of pastry shop I dream of. Melissa's has an understated but still eye-catching assortment of biscuits in its narrow window display, which is what drew me in. Inside, I notice they have a range of other baked goods ranging from chocolate croissants to cheesecake to the standard Aussie slices and even different shapes of baklava. I was on the hunt for nibbles to have with macchiatos in the morning from my hot-rod Italian espresso machine, though, so I bought a batch of crescent-shaped cookies covered in caster sugar and some snail-shaped biscuits. They were light and well-crafted.<br/><br/>My only gripe is the price, though -- it cost me $10 for a half-dozen cookies. This place is on Smith Street, but the price-marker must have come from Toorak Road. When doing a little due diligence on Melissa, I notice that they're franchised to other locations around the Melbourne metro area (although this is the original.) I wonder how those prices play in some place like Altona?

Coffee and Karithopita AOK. Popped in for a strong cap and karithopita with a friend on Sunday. Served by Josephine who joined in our conversation, yes like what shopkeepers used to do. Easy parking available at the time on the main road. The cap was definitely strong and had some kick in it and the karithopita had enough just syrup through it with a punch of extra syrup towards the bottom, just like mums. The atmosphere felt very reminiscent of the old Westgarth and High Street days for those who can remember. No hipsters, no groovers and thank goodness no where near the madness and yuppiness of Oakleigh's Athens!!!! Would certainly pop in again. <br/><br/>wolfman jack

Tiropita agapi mou.. Used to buy a cheese pie every Saturday forty years ago as a treat. Happy to say this shop has not changed and fond memories came flooding back.

Good cakes and friendly. The cakes are delicious and the milkshake and ice coffee was great. Fffriendly service too

Fed up with the monopoly prices since upper crust closed. Over priced and not worth it. Charging $4.50 for regulars for a coffee that has become hit and miss is OTT. Time to find another convenient coffee shop!!

We had coffee. J (latte +1): The usual was ordered again for my first visit to Mélissa's (yes that is an accent on the e) Cakes but this time I was in for a surprise. The coffee portion of today's coffee seemed to be replaced with another portion of sugar. While it was a nice cup of warm sugar milk, it wasn't really what I'd hoped it would be. All that is left to say is that I am glad that I didn't buy any extra sugary treats.<br/>A (latte +1): I for one did venture down the path of excess sugar intake, as eluded to by J above. I had delicious sky scraperesque baklava which served to push my blood sugar levels into dangerous territory. The aim of the coffee was to stop me from constantly falling asleep and drooling on myself at work (happened twice already today), however the baklava resulted in a quick spike in activity followed by a long long (still going) sugar coma. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz need more coffee.

The spanakopita is pretty good and tends to sell out fast at lunchtime. The biscuits and sweet treats, however are simply marvellous! Great for a office morning tea treat.

Meh. The spanakopita that everyone is posting about didn't let me down. I've only had a couple of others before, but this was pretty good. And the size for price was very generous. Even if i was embarrassed when I got to order and ended up asking for the 'spanawhatsimathingy'. Service was good, so I figured I'd ask for a slice of whatever chocolate sweet she suggests. However, while still priced nicely for size, the Chocolate Mud Cake was nothing to brag about. Big and pretty, yes. But rather bland. I've made better cakes at home from box packets. <br/>Still need to try one of their coffees at some point though

Cakes and sweets are ok but not coffee. My experience - Don't have coffee if the old lady is making it, every eleswhere is better.

An institution... for price creep. Many cafés don't show prices on their produce, although it is less common today than many decades ago when shops like this were started. I have been dropping into this place sporadically over the last 30 years and little has changed. moving back into an office nearby, I am now a regular customer, over the last several months. <br/>from the mid-80s until now, two things remain the same:<br/> -- the spanakopita and many of the cakes are still better than most in Melbourne (Chapel St Special Cake shop is fierce competition); <br/> -- the prices are different every time you go there -- one of my pet hates is being mischarged, and here the price varies wildly depending on how customers are dressed, for example a spinach & feta spana can cost anywhere between $4.00 - $7.50, whether dining in or takeout. <br/>it's best to ask the price of everything before you order, as the two elderly Greek ladies don't mess about with friendly service with a steady stream of customers.<br/>luckily Collingwood is spolit for choice, so if you're not a huge hurry as I often am, there's no need to pay through the nose for NYC Soup Nazi style of service.

I have been buying my spanakopita from here for years.<br/>Still the best in town. Melbourne institution . Congratulations

Food yes! renovations no!. I love this place and can't say not to its delicious sweet treats. one of the things i had most enjoyed previously was its old school charm and no frills decor. this is now a thing of the past following renovations which have resulted in a generic and forgettable result. sad to see history lost.

Worst Baklava I have ever tried...simply Awful. Very buttery...almost no filling.

Remnant of Smith Street past kicks on. Dad started coming here when he got off the boat in 1971. I've been coming here for 20 years. <br/><br/>Still the best spanakopita in Melbourne - sorry mum :)<br/><br/>Tiropita and bougatsa are also fantastic.

Amazing. Best Spanakopita in Melbourne!