Review Garden View Cafe - Fitzroy

I will automatically give a star for this place opening on weekends and being one of the rare places in the area for doing so. It has on paper an awesome array of menu items and seating inside and out, which maybe got my expectations a little high. Customer service was not bad, but it wasn't flash.  Just people doing their job. I went two days in a row and ordered the following: Day 1: Chicken Schnitzel Burger & Sausage Roll. Day 2:  Beef Burger and chips. Here is my thoughts: Chicken Schnitzel Burger: Not the best schnitzel and certainly in the lower end of the scale.  Roll was fresh and thank god for my added chilli sauce and mayo to provide some flavour.  I didn't ask for any salad.  There was poor attention to detail as it was just slapped together, like they couldn't even cover the whole role with mayo spread. The sausage roll was microwaved and soggy, I wouldn't rate it very high. Beef Burger: It doesn't or didn't look that impressive but was not to bad at all.  I would get it again. Chips, were those fish and chip style that overall I am not a fan of and wasn't impressed. I really would only go there again as there is not much option around.

Had a fantastic breakfast here. So glad we came across it and definitely will be back. Coffee was so great, the breakfast was delicious and staff super friendly. Also very reasonably priced and quick service. Cannot fault it at all. If in the area it is a must go to for breakfast.

We just got a coffee, but the place looked really, really nice. I would have loved to get some food, if we have had more time. The staff was very friendly as well, and the coffee tasted good.

What a wonderful cafe. A group of us enjoyed our fresh sandwiches made to order and pasties. Friendly service too. Great to find so near the museum.

The Garden View Cafe is an unpretentious and old fashioned cafe with a prime position across from the Exhibition Gardens. Not a bad view at all from the front window. There’s a broad range of fairly predictable snacks and dishes on offer here. Service is brisk, attentive and very polite. We might be in Fitzroy here but trust me when I say it’s a long long way from Hipsterville. The emphasis here is on getting hearty food out quickly. My smashed avo and bacon looked mighty prosaic when it arrived at the table. It had a very ordinary look. The least amount of anything on the whole dish was the avo itself. There was quite a small amount smeared on one of the pieces of bread. The poached eggs looked pretty ordinary but they were actually done really well. The tomatoes too looked chunky and most awkward. The amount of bacon was terrific - four largish slices - and very nice bacon it was too. The bread was barely toasted. I had specifically asked for multi grain bread too but got wholemeal instead. Despite the quirks and errors, I actually enjoyed the dish. It was ok value for $14 and it was tasty to eat. My long black though was barely acceptable with minimal taste. There are no culinary pretensions here. It’s part of why I liked the experience.

Very friendly staff and reasonably priced food. You can build your own sandwich with the range of ingredients displayed in the glass cases.

Great location, friendly, quick, great variety. Beautiful breakfast and lunch. Can make a bagged chai tea latte 😁. Very very nice turmeric latte.

Fantastic food and coffee. We had salmon stack, banana bread, spicy burger and muffin. Oj seemed freshly squeezed, banana bread tasted homemade and one of the best muffins we ever had (blueberry). Recommend visit if in area.

The Garden View Cafe is an unpretentious and old fashioned cafe with a prime position across from the Exhibition Gardens. Not a bad view at all from the front window. There’s a broad range of fairly predictable snacks and dishes on offer here. Service is brisk, attentive and very polite. We might be in Fitzroy here but trust me when I say it’s a long long way from Hipsterville. The emphasis here is on getting hearty food out quickly. My smashed avo and bacon looked mighty prosaic when it arrived at the table. It had a very ordinary look. The least amount of anything on the whole dish was the avo itself. There was quite a small amount smeared on one of the pieces of bread. The poached eggs looked pretty ordinary but they were actually done really well. The tomatoes too looked chunky and most awkward. The amount of bacon was terrific - four largish slices - and very nice bacon it was too. The bread was barely toasted. I had specifically asked for multi grain bread too but got wholemeal instead. Despite the quirks and errors, I actually enjoyed the dish. It was ok value for $14 and it was tasty to eat. My long black though was barely acceptable with minimal taste. <br/><br/>There are no culinary pretensions here. It’s part of why I liked the experience.

It's hard to come by cafes that allow you to make your own sandwich/roll/wrap etc. However this little cafe contains a variety of meats, salads, breads and even vegetarian options for your lunch order. It's also relatively cheap and the best this is that it is FRESH. Orders can be eat in and take away for convenience.

Adorable cafe with a comfortable feel. Everyone one there were so nice. A nice place to have coffee with your family. Would absolutely come here again. $80 for 5 people? I would say that’s quite fair. Not to mention everything there is so cheap and delicious!! I wasn’t expecting that much food on my plate. Definitely worth trying on a quiet Saturday morning.

What a nice place to dine in and enjoy the view of the royal exhibition garden at the same time. I've had a chicken snitzel salad and lentil ball for lunch .. omg ! It was beautiful. The amount is generous and everything tastes fresh ..yum ! <br/>Stuffs are extremely friendly and helpful as well. <br/><br/>Recommendation for those who would love to chill out with the view of one of Melbourne's best architecture while having a delightful meal.

Stopped in for a coffee on the way to the museum on my sons birthday and we were treated like royalty. amazing service and great coffee too!

Superb service and wonderful coffee / food. It makes such a difference when you feel like you're being taken care of by staff. Thanks guys :) :)

Great Steak Sandwich and coffee. Staff always friendly. Do yourself a favor and have a snack here. If you can help out the low income earners and buy them a coffee through the scheme the owners have.<br/>Will be back again and again

First visit today... going back tomorrow :). Hoping for consistency after a beautiful dinner. I didn't eat in as Carleton Gardens are across the street and it was a lovely day. I walked in and ordered rather quickly at the counter without really taking it all in. I had a steak sandwich and a Latte which were both superb. The sandwich was very sizeable and filling. I will back tomorrow for breakfast or early lunch. Well priced considering some of the extreme prices in Melbourne

Best steak sanga in Melbourne, try the lot!

Dissapointing. Service is good, however you need to learn to leave a toasted sandwich toast so the cheese melts. Feels a bit rushed. Also really overpriced and expensive.<br/><br/>I wont be back based on the above as I have tried it now a few times.

We went to the James Bond exibition. The cafe' at the exibition was full of noisy kids, so we looked for an alternative. A short walk and we found Garden View Cafe. We were so impressd with the staff and the food was excellent, so were the prices. We really should thank those noisy kids. Plus we were given complimentry cake, how good is that? Well done Garden View. Thanks, David from Mt Dandenong.

More than burgers and sangers. I thought this was just a burger and sandwich joint designed to serve the workers at St. Vincent’s Hospital nearby. But Garden View has a lot going on inside. Along with the aforementioned lunch stuff, they have a steam table set-up with tuck shop type food (parmas, other fried stuff, stews) and a display case with tabbouleh plus other cold salads. There’s an international menu on chalkboards, too, with everything from nachos to Italian. I had a steak sandwich on ciabatta bread for my meal break on a 12-hour hospital shift, and Garden View’s line cook grilled it fresh and fast. The bread was soft, the meat was juicy, the vegetables were tasty. Beautiful weather outside as I sat at one of their footpath tables looking onto the gardens outside Melbourne Museum. It was one of the more pleasant midday hospital shift meals I’ve had.

The service was pretty swift and the meety burger good value, but I'd try something different if I visited again...