Easy to find the place. Warm and comfy, tasty soup to have in winter time. Waiter is friendly and humourous. I like the mirrow walls and the photo walls.
Classic Carlton ...
Outdoor sitting area, period building, minimally converted inside, that is a great start, then there's more inside. Even better, good coffee and sweets ... what we expect from classic Carlton cafe.
I used to live a few doors away from this lovely cafe, and I must say it was a large part of how I got through Uni many (many) years ago!
The quality of the Sticky Date Pudding (the best in the world, IMHO) has not changed over the last 7-9 years!
The baked eggs - my favourite! So many options to choose from!
Soup was hearty and perfect for winter!
Service - personal, lovely, and it's all about comfort! Beauty of small cafes.
10 Stars from me.
A short walk across campus, Animal Orchestra is the conventional place for hip uni students.
Had a regular latte which was very good. A regular shot has the perfect amount of sweet and bitterness to it, and the milk was quite creamy. But, the milk was quite warm - not so hot.
Especially on a cold day, might have to ask for it hot next time.
Have visited this place on several occasions, one for really delicious house made ice tea, one for not-so-good, really stodgey but generous scones and once for lunch which I ordered a delicious Caesar salad.
The service is so friendly and the place is some homely I just felt like coming back again and again. Just don’t order the scones.
Went here with some of my uni representatives and I'm in love with it. The coffee & the food was great and enjoyable. Will surely come back to try their panini because it looks so tempting! Haha
Favourite haunt close to UniMelb with a warm ambiance inside. Lovely welcoming staff & such hearty and flavoursome soups for $9.50. The salmon baked eggs is a winner for around $12 (careful to not scold your hand stabilzing with the handle!) Some menu items are a bit of hit & miss - i.e. their homemade fruitbread and muffins (not the greatest). But they do great hot meals. Always enjoy their lamb shanks on their rotating specials board. All round, for the price, convenience & friendliness - who can complain!
Animal Orchestra is a classic spot for UniMelb student, one of our fave haunts from when we used to get overwhelmed by lecture notes and just need some of that delicious sitcky date pud.
The interior is also so much Fun! You’d have to look closely at the collage and coin collections within to notice some of the definitely NSFW artwork. Haha.
Much love for this little cafe 💙🌈!
My go to place almost on campus for soup. Rarely more than $10 for one of the two daily options, hearty and filling plus perfect for winter.
Animal orchestra is right outside Melbourne Uni and right near the hospitals in Parkville! This cafe is situated in a antique house and has a cosy and warm atmosphere. We had the delicious pumpkin soup which will warm your soul! And a delightful penne napoli! This is a great place to escape Uni to fill up your hungry bellies, oh and to escape this bipolar Melbourne weather 😃!
Enjoyed lunch in this cosy, busy licensed restaurant in the Uni precinct. Had a memorable lamb shanks & vegetables on a wintry day there. Customers ranged from business types to students.
So near uni Melb! I always order their chicken panini!!! Their bread is so soft and delicious! Their soup and coffee is also amazing. Just be aware if you're hungry, the panini takes forever to heat up.
Amazing choice of baked eggs! Great price and tastes amazing. Definitely soothing for a hungry tummy, especially during winter. Convenient location too!
What a beautiful little cafe. It's got that home-turned-into-a-cafe feel. It seems that's exactly what's happened. Staff are very friendly. Had an EBT only so I can't review the food or coffee. And EBT isn't that hard to prepare. It was loose leaf so that gets bonus points! I want to come back here.
Edit: came back and had the osso buco. Very good indeed.
This place is right outside Melbourne Uni in Carlton. As a student I did not get much of a chance to visit as RMIT is in the city. The place is in a small old style house which makes it really rustic. Inside it is cool and chic like the 70s. For a Wednesday morning the place was packed full of students and academics gettings their coffee fix. The barista was friendly.
Lunch - had a Chicken Pesto Pizza. This is my go-to place to treat myself when I want to buy lunch near work as the $10 pizzas are great value. Always tastes nice and fresh and the pizza is just the right size - big enough to be filling but not enormous. Animal Orchestra put on plenty of toppings, the base is thin enough to be crunchy but thick enough to be chewy and the flavour combinations on this pizza are just perfect!
The decor is a bit eclectic but fits the bill for a close-to-uni cafe. The old tables and chairs have an 80s vibe and the pictures papering the walls add a grungy feel.
Bought a coffee to go, service was lovely (lots of smiles and very sincere)
The waiting time wasn't too bad despite having a queue of people waiting for their orders
Coffee was surprisingly good and I'm loving the animal stamps on the coffee cups. Each cup has a different animal. Got a pig and a giraffe lol.
Will def come back for more coffee!
Right on the side of University of Melbourne. This restauran t is not big but the decoration and the atmosphere is quite good. Baked eggs + bacon cheese mushroom is recommended.
I have only visited this café once, and that was for breakfast - their vegetarian baked beans and cheese, which was not bad. The coffee was also good. It is quite a popular café, and seems to be often teeming with customers, especially lunchtimes, where they spill out onto to the covered kerbside seating. The café is in a former terrace house, and you enter via a narrow hallway, and once inside the quaint décor incorporates 1920/30s period furnishings and ornamentation. They have a varied and quite interesting menu including tapas, pizza, panini, soup, etc. The service was friendly and efficient, and I will make a return visit.
Animal Orchestra is a bit of a student hangout. Located just across the road from the main Melbourne University buildings in the ground floor of a nice Carlton terrace house, this cafe has been dishing up affordable and tasty brunch and lunch for years.
Coffee is decent (nowhere in Carlton survives this long with bad coffee) and the meals are usually on the healthy and filling side. Think lots of sandwiches, things with eggs etc. There is always a nice array of cakes too which makes me happy.
On warm days you can sit out front and people watch, there are some snug corners inside to hide away in too. Nice place to catchup with friends, do a little bit of work or read a book.
A cozy cafe that has some interesting retro design. Visit this place on a Saturday morning and welcomed by the friendly staff. Their food is quite nice. The long black is very intense. Their sourdough toast is served with a generous amount of jam and salted better. The berry jam is so nice. Not sure if it is home made or not but it definitely tastes great.
Really good chicken Caesar salad
A little bit higher price than other restaurants
But other food seems cheaper
Would like to have breakfast at this lovely cafe another day
The service is quite good and warm
Cozy atmosphere
Good looking forks and knives
Catherine Widyaputri Suprapto
+4
The cafe is very lovely, small but aesthetic. The food is delicious indeed, I love the baked eggs with mushrooms, bacons & tomato. The beef panini is also really good. I would come back to this place again next time! Recommended!
A hearty and flavourful lamb shank, and an alright salmon baked egg at this little restaurant crammed full of UniMelb students (understandably). Average tea and coffee, but a cozy place to sit and chat between classes.
Swamped by Uni students, this place has a quintessentially Melbourne theme: blink-and-miss-it visibility, bearded barista, uncommon decor, etc. The coffee was fine and the food (we had a panini and the baked eggs) made for great breakfast. A nice addition to the area.
Ordered the Mushroom Toasted Panini
We basically came by and sat outside - the inside looked awfully cramp. The waitress (with a theatre background - I've forgotten your name!) saw us and served us. Very cheerful and wonderful service!
When the Panini came, the mushroom was very nice and the chilli was a lovely addition which gave the meal a much needed kick. Filled with the very delicious fontina melted cheese, it was a very wonderful.
It's very very cheap for only $10. My favorite kinda price. :D
Decent food for reasonable prices. One of the better places to eat around Melbourne Uni. The veggie soup is one of my favourites - huge serving and comes with perfectly toasted crusty bread. The scones here are also very nice.
A great place to eat while bumming around campus. The veg options are tasty and their veg soup is a must for a cold winter's day in Melbourne. The staff is friendly and the decor is... well... interesting.
I really enjoyed my iced latte from Animal Orchestra, perfect on a warm day! Perhaps it was a little bit small though, yet, the staff were really friendly and efficient on the day I visited.
I had a panini from here for around $10 and my friend had borscht. I didn't think the panini was worth the price but it was delicious. I loved the unique decor/design of the restaurant with the walls covered in photographs and images. It screams hipster but I didn't mind. The table we were seated on was quite small and great for talking.
Greek Chicken Panini. Amazing tender chicken with refreshing yoghurt
Baked eggs are Animal Orchestra’s specialty, served with a thick slice of buttery bread. It’s nothing spectacular, but baked eggs have always served as great winter comfort food following those looming winter exams.
Expensive Delicious Habit.
+4.5
Delicious food and delicious coffee. The chai here is not great- I just don't get it?- but everything else is. Great for peoplewatching all the indie uni kids on their way to class on their bikes.
So, not so great for the baked eggs. BUT, the coffee is good, and the pizzas and soups (which I've had before) are tasty
...Absolutely loved it. It was creamy but not overly rich. and the sourdough bread it comes with complemented the soup perfectly.
Where to go on a cold winters day when you're at uni and hungry? Animal Orchestra! Moroccan lamb soup with lentils This was a very chunky style soup with cubes of vegies and pieces of lamb. All the ingredients were quite tender and soft, and the flavour of the soup was quite strong.
Love Animal Orchestra! Great coffee and great service, and they don't charge for soy milk!! LONG LIVE THE SOY CAP!!
I really love their coffee! And their smoked salmon panini is love. Their baked eggs are good too! Great place for brunch.
Best coffee!. By far and away, the best coffee you'll find in Carlton. I've been getting my coffee here every morning for months and it's consistently great. Staff are super friendly and service is instant.
Great Coffee, best in and around carlton by 10 lengths. The Black Caviar of Coffee....
Looking For The Perfect Bite
+4.5
A little out of the ordinary. Stopping on impulse and propping at a tiny inside table. dinner tonight was a chicken pizza, grilled saganaki and spiced nuts and a bottle of a tasty sangiovese. Our pizza was on a gluten free base, tasty but not outstanding, the spiced nuts were totally fab and the saganaki with its golden crust was the stuff of dreams. Our waiter was attentive and well informed, and the finale of a shot of a Spanish spirit finished off our fun evening. I will be going back with the seafood eating child to explore more of the tapas menu.
Best coffee around!. I never ate here but got a coffee or two everyday, wanted to drink more than that just for the taste but can't handle that much caffeine. One particular man in a hat always made the best soy caps i've ever had!
Great little place to eat. Fantastic selection of eggs and I love the quirky decor!
Great coffee, friendly service. This is one of the better coffee places in the area - no need to go to Lygon St. I think the prices are reasonable - $3.30 for a takeaway soy coffee is still cheap as far as I'm concerned.
Have had breakfast panini many times and love it. They don't have anything pretentious on the menu, just a decent selection of panini's and few other things that hit the spot.
I would recommend it if you're looking for a quick b'fast or lunch
A gem next to uni =]. Delicious paninis, buttery scones and awesome coffee and tea. great place for a catch up with friends or a relaxing lunch =]
What a great sandwich spot! Can't believe this one has evaded me for the five years I've been at Melbourne Uni. The lattes are smooth and delicious. Caramel flavors are present without becoming overwhelming, and the service is sunny with a smile. The panini are deservedly raved-about: my Greek, with lemon, oregano, yoghurt, tomato and fresh chicken was a case in point. I'll definitely be back.
Great breakfast. Lived in carlton all my life, and this is my favourite spot for breakfast. great coffee and an amazing bircher muesli!
Quirky and Cute. Animal orchestra is a lovely place to catch up with friends, eat a delicious mushroom panini, smile at the cute waiter and enjoy a sticky date pudding with someone special.
A student haven. I have many fond memories of this place - it was my "local" whilst I was at Melbourne Uni. The atmosphere is fabulous - the walls are covered with pages from old magazines, and there are always students around writing their theses or discussing the Hegelian dialectic or arguing about communism.
I haven't tried the food here, but I've had many a coffee & tea. They do a fantastic Moroccan mint tea - highly recommended.
Very good paninis for only $10. Had the salmon and the roast beef ones. Coffee is decent. Interior is very, very cozy. Staff very friendly. Good variety on menu and great prices. Definitely worth checking out. Will come again.
An absolutely warm place where you can go. Not only the food makes you warm, but also the survey. Many thanks to provide such lovely food and convey a sense of cozy to me. Animal Orchestra is my secret and precious place, which I keep engaging my oversea friends to come here.
Favourite brunch spot in Melbourne! The 7 different baked eggs (of which I've worked my way through them all, get an extra piece of toast) are the reason I just keep coming back. Animal Orchestra Tonic (honey lemon ginger) is another go to if you're feeling a cold. Unique, cosy decor and the staff are always lovely.
Nice place, friendly staff. Only been here for lunch but the menu is pretty comprehensive. Different soup each day, one meat based one veg based, is good value and a decent serve for $9-10. Sticky date pudding is also a winner with ice cream. Coffee is passable, but if you want a great coffee there are better options near by.
Fantastic service. Their sticky date pudding is a must try!
+ great taste …
+ wide range of options, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free ...
+ local beers ...
+ great vibe …
+ friendly staff …
+ reasonable price …
The coffee is great, and you'd get a range of toasts which are pretty nice. They also have daily soups during winter.
A nice family business vibe, good food and friendly folks, just too small.
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