Review Horace Street - Malvern

Atmosphere could use a massive happiness boost. Always feel like i’m a burden to the staff by ordering something. Not only is it rare to get greeted with a smile or simple hello, but on occasion it can take a few minutes to even be acknowledged to put a takeaway order through. I only go here when other options aren’t available for these reasons. Caramel slice and croissants are winners.

If you'd like to feel that ordering a coffee is the worst possible thing you could ever do, then go here. You'll stand and politely wait, just to be ignored, then after a while you'll be reluctantly served, don't expect a smile, don't expect a hello, sure, you can expect a decent coffee, but there are other cafes nearby who make them just as well, and they won't make you feel that your order is huge burden and effort.

Absolutely terrible experience with the staff at this place, I ordered 2 coffees to take away and wanted to have some tap water while I was waiting for them, and one of the staff wont give me a glass as apparently the tap water its for people that dine in....really since when you dont get served tap water if you ask for some. Absolutely disappointing with them. I cancelled my order went next door and I was served a glass of water with ice aswell. The owner of this place should consider this review and train the staff. I am a construction worker next door and will tell everyone in my company not to deal with this coffee place. Shame on you.

Great coffee :) Never had a problem with the lovely staff Always a pleasure going in to get my coffee ☕️

I have never, in the 12 months visiting this cafe, had a staff member greet me or even smile. The barista and chef are especially rude. The only thing they’ve got going for them is the coffee.

Great staff. Always friendly and welcoming. Best coffee in Melbourne.

Great coffee and food most importantly friendly staff. 🙏

Coffee was okay. The food was surprisingly slow, took around 25 minutes for eggs on toast, no extras. The plate was large but the bread was the smallest I have ever had for this type of meal, maybe 5cmx10cm, extremely difficult to cut through and just not enjoyable to eat. Despite there being almost no other customers, most tables still had previous occupant's glasses etc. The cutlery situation was poorly thought out and unhygienic. All knives, forks & spoons where in a vase on the table together, with no way of discerning which type one was without manually grabbing each and checking, this results in significant cross contamination and the fact that the server would not provide cutlery as per normal was not advised to the patron at any point. Pricing for both food & drink was slightly above the areas average despite being such a tiny cramped venue with, in my opinion, lower standards of service.

The food was superb! The scrambled eggs were incredible, coffee great and haloumi, stop it haloumi! <br/>

I enjoyed the coffee I had from Horace. The wait was over 15 minutes for a takeaway but it was a public holiday so there were a lot of people in the cafe. I watched a few people order after me and get their coffees first. I would try again. Croissant was fresh and lovely.

Firstly, the menu on zomato is wrong. <br/><br/>I was presented with a very underwhelming menu with not much choice. <br/><br/>I settled on a coffee and a muffin. Muffin was pleasant, coffee was burnt and unpleasant (and took forever to come in an almost empty cafe)<br/><br/>Would not return here due to limited and unenticing menu selection

the portion of the nachos was amazing with so much avo! the nacho chips and slasa was also very generous. the avocado had great seasoning and the salt from the chips worked really well on the dish. the sour cream added nice freshness against the jalapenos, and the beans were really nice adding a little more flavour and saltiness to the dish. the chipotle mayo was so nice however there was not a lot of it on the dish, so it wouldve been nice to get a bit more on the dish. The açai bowl was so nice and fresh and all the toppings were so Delish and looked amazing too. The juices were so fresh and tasted amazing too. The atmosphere was nice and the staff were good too.

A great location on the corner. Option of outdoor seating. Lack of cafe signage makes it hard to see. A disappointing experience as the acai bowl was very average. The coffee was ok. Quite a basic menu which you would think could be done well? Good coffee

Great little cafe on High Street, I had the toasted chicken aioli sandwich filled with avocado, spinach on toasted multigrain. Really delicious.

Brilliant full flavoured coffee made here that is hot & popular.<br/>Our lovely daughter recommended the coffee and she has great taste. (Just like her parents!!!)<br/>Located on a corner street on High St Malvern this place is busy for good reason. The kitchen so so small has one chef ( or more ... a half chef ) creating good basic flavour filled food.<br/>The granola was wonderful- try it.<br/>Friendly efficient staff appreciate compliments that are well deserved.<br/>Oh and the coffee is a major draw card here...<br/>

Food was spot on and service was good. Had smashed Avi on toast and the Allpress coffee was great. I’d def stop by again though internal space can be rather pokey.

I was tempted by the ‘Pulled Slow-braised Beef Brisket Burger with sticky onions, chipotle mayo, mature cheddar cheese, cos, bacon, pickled gherkin, fried egg, American mustard on seeded brioche bun ($14.00)’. My dining companion chose the colourful ‘Horace Breaky Muffin with poached egg, avocado, salmon, spinach leaves, beetroot hummus, Archie’s seeds ($12.00)’.

Love the food here!! So so delicious and healthy too. I really love the Bircher myself, and the coconut and raspberry bread. They are always accommodating when I visit with my 2 year old. Very friendly. Love it!!

I don't usually leave bad reviews but this place was not a good experience. <br/>The cafe was extremely hot even for a cold morning. My breakfast came out approximately 5 minutes before coffee even though it was ordered well before. Staff have no communication with each other and often are asking 1 person the same thing. Unfortunatly I will not be going again. On a plus though the lady who ran the cash register is lovely.

Just had the best Ruben I've had in a loooong time..Such a great vibe ...playing tribe called quest . Everyone smiling n joking while getting the job on..Be back next week to get into the Nacho bowl for sure

I come every morning for coffee and breaky and they are always consistent with there food and coffee. I love they have a top chef from sydney working for them. Great place keep up the good work.

Gorgeous little cafe, excellent coffee and super fast service. A few of the flavor combinations are a little strange such as maple bacon, eggs, goat curd and sirracha as it was quite sweet; but on the whole a great place for breakfast or lunch.

As an Armadale local I tried this place 6 months ago and it was very poor particularly the service and attitude........ i made polite mention of my disastisfaction last time and it fell on deaf ears.<br/>i decided to give it a second chance. ......<br/>The place was full of flies as they don't shut the doors whether it is freezing (like on my last visit)<br/>or a sweltering 38 degrees and full of flies.  <br/>I called to see if they were open as many places are shut and I was met with the rudest "yes"<br/> I've ever heard. the woman yelled it at me. I should have known nothing had changed but there is virtually nothing open here over the New year period. <br/> I arrive and order a smoothie bowl and a coffee.<br/> Everything is a problem. Its like a comedy of errors. the water they bring is warm and the glass dirty. <br/>i can't substitute anything on the menu, its ALL TOO HARD. <br/>The coffee arrives and its reasonable. the smoothie bowl was completely unlike what it stated on the menu and tasted rancid and sickly sweet. <br/>i made mention of it to the manager / waitress but she was extremely defensive and unapologetic. it was all my problem. wow, just wow. <br/>I was appalled at the reaction of the staff / management but if you read the replies they leave for these reviews I see I'm not the only one to politely complain and be chastised. <br/>These people have no idea whatsoever. <br/>needless to say there will not be a third time.

I joined just to leave this review. <br/>Im a Malvern local, have been for 30 years. <br/>I had breakfast at Horace st about a year ago.<br/> It was below average and despite it being extremely hot they had all the doors open and no air con. <br/>Needless to say i never returned. <br/>I thought Id give it another go as its the period between christmas and new year and all the good Malvern/ Armadale local cafes are closed. <br/>I ordered a matcha latte. It came out the palest palest green with the tiniest almost in detectable hint of matcha. Ok...... <br/>so i ask for my take away to be remade as it was unacceptable. So my new "matcha latte" is BEGRUDGINGLY made. <br/>I walk back to my car, I take a sip and this time NO KIDDING its 'maybe' 1% stronger. Hideous. Grey. Zero matcha taste. <br/><br/>Heres the pic. Attitude from ppl who work in a cafe, HILARIOUS, AND Ironic ! <br/>If you want the worst matcha latte in melbourne this is your venue !!

Amazing food!!! presentation and flavour on point. Tried the eggs with siracha on toast with maple bacon and goat curd, the toasted banana and raspberry bread, and the kale with poached eggs and beetroot. Everything cooked to perfection. The staff were very nice and polite, and the cafe was very clean and beautifully decorated. Definitely recommended.

Really quite good! Excellent coffee, really friendly and speedy service. Generous fresh, tasty and well presented meals. Loved the sourdough!

I love that this place is right near my gym, so I can come and have a yummy breakfast then go and work out. I tried something different than what I normally do and ordered a smoothie bowl. It's big! I couldn't finish it but it was so yummy and filled with so much yummy stuff! Staff are friendly, i love the atmosphere of the place and the cakes in the window look lovely. As its so local to me I will definitely be back.

Friendly staff, pleasant cafe. Coffee was good, not excellent, a tad too hot than how lattes should be that it almost burnt my tongue. Nothing on the menu jumps out as special, but the flatbread, chorizo, kale, horizzo beans etc that wasn't bad at all. A bit of fine tuning here and there will make this cafe a lot better!

First time there. Seated by a waitress who didn't speak, just handed us menus and walked off. Really noisy with a blender or juicer constantly going. Huge cardboard box blocking the path to the toilet. Children screaming and running around. However, the food was great! Sadly won't be back though. Lacking management.

Not a bad place to dine at. Just seems really disorganised and the place is so tiny, I feel bad for them that workers have such a small space to do things. Coffee was delicious. So was my cold breakfast.

I like this place<br/>I have chai tea <br/>Hubby has latte <br/>Son loves his scrambled eggs <br/>The fig and banana loaf served on its own very good too<br/>Staff friendly too <br/>We go every Saturday at 10am and always get a seat <br/>Feel for staff in a ridiculous cramped kitchen area and wash up <br/>

Pleasant enough venue. Staff pleasant. Coffee excellent. I made a mistake ordering spinach as a side as it was so heavily seasoned with something it spoiled my whole breakfast. And I know it is basic but being served warm water is my pet hate. Okish though.

Great coffee. Nice decor and atmosphere. Service good. <br/><br/>I didn't eat anything but husband did and he said it was pretty good and okay value. <br/><br/>Nice little find. Defo go back for the coffee.

This cafe has a simple menu, nothing particularly jumps out at you but the food is executed quite well, especially the poached eggs. The staff is friendly.

WORST SERVICE IVE EVER EXPERIENCED. <br/><br/>Came here for breakfast with a friend and was shocked with the service we received. I asked for the breakfast muffin with either ham or bacon instead of salmon, and was told 'no' - not because it was pre made, but because there'd be a price difference. Despite the bacon costing less on the extras menu, which I pointed out, I said I was more than happy to pay the difference. However, my friend's meal came out a significant time before mine, and when my food arrived (she was halfway through already) it had salmon in it. <br/><br/>I called the waitress back and told her, and as she went to take it without apologising or saying a word I told her to cancel the order as my friend would be finished by the time a new one was made.<br/><br/>I was then greeted by another staff member who asked me what was wrong and why I didn't want a new one. I explained the situation and was abruptly told that the chef designs the menu as is and no changes are to be made. I told her that if I had have been told that at the time of my ordering, it wouldn't have been an issue, but as I hadn't I expected there to be no problem. This second staff member was rude, proceeded to interrupt me and wanted to argue, and refused to apologise for the inconvenience.<br/><br/>Finally, when paying for my coffee and my friend's meal, there was not even an acknowledgement of the mishap! <br/><br/>In a city based around brunches, cafes cannot afford to provide this type of service and as such I certainly won't be returning, nor will my friends.

Great coffee!! We are super happy with this new addition to our neighbourhood. Love the breakfast sliders and sandwiches. Really impressed with what they've been able to do with that space. Staff is really friendly as well.

Excellent free range chicken sandwich, extremely rich croque monsieur. The breakfast menu is a bit limited with nothing particularly special, but they do poached eggs well. Service was efficient and pleasant.

Cafe's processes need work. Staff were delivering meals a they came out which was great but try to deliver a whole tables meals at the same time. The table next to us had the first persons meal served then 15mins later the 4th persons meal. My partner and I had our meals delivered about 5mins apart and my coffee was served first while my partner could see his coffee sitting on the counter, delivered almost 10mins later. It wasn't clear to us if the line of people were waiting to pay or waiting to secure a seat, then realised it was the former as the payment is tallied on a calculator and hand written. Not sure why they're not keen on spending a bit of money on technology that would make this experience simpler and pain free. Staff have the tiniest kitchen in the world to operate in. Noticed one girl knock over the kitchen bin as clearly there's not enough room. Also we had to move our table over so a staff member could get a high chair passed; which she then just left sitting next to us and didn't return to clean it. <br/>Food was good but the experience is not up to standard. Would be back if it improves though.

Coffee is amazing, food is yummy and original. This is not your normal copy of one of the hundreds of boring cafes. The place is small but they use the space well and it shows. I recommend the breakfast sliders!

Heard lots about this café and was interested to check it out for myself, was very disappointed. Spent more than an hour in the café and at first was greeted with friendly service but once my first coffee arrived it went down hill. The baked eggs I ordered was under cooked, had raw egg white all through it and the toast was burnt. After finishing my coffee it took them 40 minutes to realise and offer me another one, which they then forget I ordered and waited 10 minutes for in an empty café. My finished meal sat on the table for 20 minutes with staff looking at it and walking past to polish bottles and have staff meals. Finally someone took it. The manager and the barista seemed for interested in deciding who was going to spin the milk and pull the coffee shot for an order than actually focusing on customers already in the café. <br/><br/>Extremely disappointed and hope things improve dramatically!

Best coffee!! Go about 5 times a week to get my hit. Nice little cosy cafe with great art and decor! Always yummy food and often something new to try.

nice looking cafe..prices far too high for the quality that is dished up and staff service especially a couple very mood killing..i say fire them and itll be worth the visit if youre in the area and have nowhere else to go

Don't bother. I'm a local in the area and never been, but i thought I'd go there for my morning coffee. Was horrible!! The people working were honestly rude, uninterested and unenthusiastic. The vibe was super depressing and didn't feel welcome at all!! The coffee wasn't all that good either...

Okay. The food was alright and the coffee was decent enough. The main thing I noticed was the atmosphere, which seemed a bit gloomy and like the staff really didn't want to be there. Overall, just a depressing vibe.

Great cafe with friendly staff and the best granola & raspberries I've had in a long time and very reasonably priced. Highly recommended!!!

Excellent all-rounder. Delicious allpress coffee, great food, and a warm atmosphere with friendly staff -- great addition to the neighbourhood!

Great addition to the area. It has a nice family feel with good service and honest food.

Love this place. I pass Horace Cafe every day on my way to work and would love to stop. But the clear way prohibits me from stopping but when I turn into the side street and go in , I'm alway glad I did . Great coffee amazing food and beautiful staff . Nice one Horace Cafe .

I came here on the weekend with my girlfriends and the food was delicious and the coffee was excellent and the prices are reasonable. Would deffiently come back.

Long story short, food was desensitising to the senses and the service was abhorrent. These people should reconsider opening a business.

Average at best...pricey. Place is very average don't even want to waste too much of my time explaining just go there see for yourself, really bad pricing.<br/>Judging by other reviews(which some seem to be the prototypical fake reviews) they don't seem to have eyes. Avoid unless you want a lesson in wasting time.

Wow factor. This place is amazing we come here to eat every week, great service beautiful food never disappointed!<br/><br/><br/>-----03 Mar, 2015-----<br/><br/>A real winner. It's understandable why Horace is so popular.the coffee is great the produce is fresh and mostly local .Dishes are interesting and waitstaff are friendly and efficient.whats not to like about horace street.

Name says it all. Definitely is Horror street, the fact that the owner does not realise the name sounds like horror street does not give you the impression this place was well thought out. As i go in i see a very nice set out with a fairly nice showing of their cuisine so i thought why not. After my meal a few thoughts came to mind, The most overpriced food in the area, not sure where these chefs have been trained, also customer service is lacking. Horribly priced, if owners want to take note from a long time business investor, please lower price & improve customer service(Do you not do proper comp comparison?)<br/>Not sure why this place has 75% and 3 good reviews, i had to make an account just to show how displeasing this place was.<br/>Doomed to be another restaurant closure melbourne city seems to be filled with, government needs to put money into business education otherwise these type of wannabe restaurant entrepreneurs will be filling that blackhole in our economy for years to come!

Great value. Good coffee. Menu has well priced choices, very tasty and good quality. Horace Street is a real winner.

Great new addition to the area. Perfect for a quick coffee/snack/lunch & helps that the staff are super friendly too. Perhaps a slightly more organised docket system is needed but it is still very new & I'm sure tweaks are still being made here and there. Overall, really like this place.

I nice little addition to my neighbourhood. Although a small place, the service people where keen to accommodate me, although if there was more then just me there would have been a wait. I started outside and as the tables become vacant and the sky opened up I was swiftly moved inside. I had a lovely soy latte that wasn't burnt and was tasty. I wasn't really up for a big meal, and the wait staff were happy to accommodate my simple avo and fetta on sourdough. I will defiantly be back and hope to share this little gem with company next time. Well done and welcome.