What a great new addition to Glenferrie Road! This place is 3 weeks old and the fittings and decor in this cafe is very welcoming. Was greeted and seated once I walked in. The chai latte here is delicious and I highly recommend the crab and chilli fold!! My friend had the generous serving of baos! The owner came over to say hello and to ask if everything was to expectations. Free wifi is a massive winning point in my books, purely because it’s rare for cafes do it nowadays, especially when Swinburne Uni is just around the corner. What a great way to entice the locals and students! If you follow my reviews, I’m a fan of puppy friendly cafes and this is one of them! They had dog bowls ready and their outdoor seating had protective street barriers. Thank you for a great breakfast experience!

Shade Cafe fairly suddenly replaced Ya Souv this week. I was disappointed to see Ya Souv go, it had become one of my fave go to places around uni, but I was keen to check the new cafe in its place. I went to Shade on opening day, lured by the free coffee on offer that day. Whilst it still has the same layout as Ya Souv did - expected since it was only classed for a week - but the aesthetic is different. The old bold green/blue is replaced with a more earthy, woody scheme. As a disclaimer, being from the rural fringe, I must admit I haven’t been to all that many cafes in the suburbs, so I don’t have much to compare it with. But in my opinion the coffee is really good and was served at a nice temperature (not boiling hot). I wasn’t planning on it, but I decided to look at the menu. The menu is a bit pricey for me (a uni student) but it seems in line with other cafes I’ve looked at in the area. Good variety of food items, such as eggs (many options such as crab and chilli folded eggs), salads, burgers and bao. For lunch I was tempted by the pancakes, which cost $18. They come served with Persian fairy floss, gelato, candy walnuts, seasonal fruit gels, chocolate soil and maple syrup. Pancakes were great, I enjoyed the flavours, especially the gels and the chocolate soil. I did find it a bit dry by the end of the dish once I got through the gelato and the gels. However I still recommend it. Even though the place wasn’t all that busy, service was a little slow, but I guess that is expected on the first day. The staff are friendly enough. In summary: Shade Cafe is nice, I’ll be back again - just not too often due to price and range of options around. Now where to go for a good souvlaki..?