My favourite place for coffee - breakfast -lunch.
The staff are very friendly and has a great Wine list.
Highly recommend.
The staff, the service (omg one gorgeous waitress even remembered my last drink there and offered it to me upon my arrival), the wit of some of your staff and of course your orange chocolate tart, you guys are golden by far!!! Gold medalists in all disciplines. Service, comfort, drink variety and food variety
I always have a great experience here, whether for coffee, drinks or some of their delicious cakes. The interior is moody but not overly so, outside is charming and great for people watching, rotating food selection is always wonderful. Bonus points that they serve coffee later than most places around.
A cafe during the day, and a wine bar at night; Self Preservation is a fab little bistro on the top end of Bourke Street. With that real European feel, you can be guaranteed a great cup of coffee here, and an even better glass of wine. It's small, cosy with a chic vibe. With cute bistro tables and chairs, and lovely service; it's a real pleasure dining here.
There is always a lovely range of continental pastries, scones and cakes in the pretty window display to tempt you in off the street. They never disappoint, and are always lovely and fresh. At night there are more substantial plates, and they too are delicious. With a buzzing atmosphere, Self Preservation fills that need for a taste of Europe in the busy streets of Melbourne.
A cute wine bar with an authentic feel. Park up with a bottle of wine and order a few sharing plates. The baked camembert, liver pate and eggplant are a must! We throughly enjoyed our dinner here, they were also playing some great music which adds to the experience!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
We pretty much came here out of pure randomness seeing as all the wine bars were packed by the time it hit 6pm. As long as they had some wine and cheese we were happy! Their menu is designed to go well with wine, many of which incorporated cheese. We ordered a bunch of dishes and they all came out at the same time, probably because it did not take much time to prepare them.
We got your standard cheese board platter in which we chose 2 of the 3 cheeses available (my friends don't like blue cheese), all of which were French. I enjoyed both of the soft cheeses but we found the thin cracker bread (also served with other dishes) to be a bit stale and we could have done with more quince paste. Other than that it was a good platter to nibble on.
The baked camembert was deadly. Heavy and gooey one of my friends couldn't stomach it, much to our delight as we polished it off easily. It was later that night when I got off my seat I felt it weighing me down, ohh boy.
The pork and veal meatballs were fantastic. I don't know what made them so good, perhaps its the combination of herbs and fat to meat ratio. The tomato sauce was slightly mild and rounded the dish off very well, it was served with the same kind of thick toast accompanying many of the dishes and was used to mop up that rich sauce.
The chicken liver pate was generous, very smooth and wasn't particularly potent so you could spread a lot of it onto your toast. This came accompanied with some tiny pickles.
Nice little gem and has a unique charm to it with various artworks inside (some for sale). They don't particularly have a dessert menu but they've got various homemade cakes available.
Great coffee! Really fancy coffee machine. Been here a couple of times as it was recommended by a friend.
Came here for drinks too and was a good place!
We didn't have time to try any food but based on the coffee and friendly service I gave them a four star. I would definitely recommend giving this place a go if you want a good cup of coffee (by the way, I was on my way to Pelligrini to get my coffee but then I saw their cool, shiny coffee machine in the window and had to give them a shot).
Thanks guys!
The many many times I have visited Self Preservation, I really love their soy mocha and hot chocolate, their savoury croissants, their house made cakes and especially love their scones. Their service is great, although at times a bit slow in the morning.
One of my favourite places in Melbourne. The service is great and the place has a great ambience. The food is amazing and they also do lovely dessert which perfectly goes well w a glass of wine.
Lovely coffee. Beautiful Danish pastry. Another Melbourne spot that is great on a sunny Melbourne morning. Spent some time here on a quiet Sunday morning outside of the usual hustle and bustle. Very nice
This lively restaurant was a great place for lunch on a Friday afternoon. The weather was perfect for outside eating and we sat and enjoyed the ambiance outside. All wait staff were knowledgeable on the wine list and I ended up choosing the Rose. It was a delightful crisp drop and went well with my smoked trout rillette. The rillette was light, with varying textures that worked very well. It was served with a radish salad and slices of smoky grilled toast and some crunchy Melba toasts. The radish salad was a bit wilted, the greens very grassy, not my favourite but the rillette was so good I would definitely order it again.
My brother had the hummus, spiced lamb, with sumac picked onion and pita bread. It was like a fancy deconstructed souvlaki plate, I was told it was very tasty.
Unfortunately we both had to rush back to work, so we stopped at one glass of wine and didn’t partake in coffee or dessert. Hopefully next time as there was a delightful dessert display in the window.
KD
The best coffee machine in Melbourne ever: VBM lever with manual control. Really good cappuccino 🤙
Warren Tate Speaker Coach
+5
Great coffee and service. If you like a strong coffee and full of flavour, self preservation is the place to be. The service is very friendly and welcoming. I will definitely be going back for a relaxing glass of wine and catch up with friends. There are many choices however the look and the vibe is very appealing and I will definitely be back.
Very buzzy little cafe. Great set up, terrific atmosphere. Great coffee. Nice snacks as well and always good for a wine too. Self Preservation is a mighty spot. Highly recommended.
I always have a great experience here, whether for coffee, drinks or some of their delicious cakes. The interior is moody but not overly so, outside is charming and great for people watching, rotating food selection is always wonderful. Bonus points that they serve coffee later than most places around.
Great coffee and good food, service is a little slow though and one meal (the fritters) was not up to the standard of the others. Would probably still come back to try the pastries
Victoria C (adventuresOFv)
+5
First coffee stop in Melbourne, as it's a block away from our airbnb. Love the ambiance. Indoor and outdoor seating with an open bar of coffee -- so you're one with the baristas!
Black coffee is strong! Just the way I like it. Small brekkie options like croissants, muffins and toasts. City wifi works inside the place. Very popular on weekday mornings, service is great and people are really easy to smile.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Melbourne
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes