Strongly recommend giving this place a try for breakfast, coffee meetings or lunch. Everyone is welcome, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Wonderfully diverse ownership, friendly service from a caring owner who has an ethical ethos and loves to helps others. Our favourite place on Rathdowne!
Last friday I wanna have some lunch with my friend but I couldn’t find any place near Rathdowne st because many cafes closed for easter holiday but I finally found this one. That day they really busy I ordered baked eggs and mushroom bruschetta it was amajing! And also nice coffee. I definitely come back here!
Cafe with outdoor and indoor seating and ample street parking. Arrived here on a Sunday noon and it was almost empty inside but lots of people on the outdoor tables.
Free wifi. A small selection of baked goods on counter.
Menu consists of wraps, burgers and a handful of brekkie items. Despite being a small menu it caters to all tastes.
My friend got the small victories sandwich which is bacon fried egg tomato in slices of bread. He inhaled it and liked the freshness from the tomato.
I had the lamb wrap with pulled succulent lamb, refreshing pieces of cucumber and tomato, delicious undertones of the sauce and complementary sourness and crumbly texture from the feta. The wrap itself was a thin white wrap. I devoured mine too and the hot crinkly cut chips were a bonus
Our coffees were robust yet creamy.
Great value for money. Good friendly service.
The coffee is amazing！ I love the whole environment here. And the staff is really friendly and nice. It’s really a good place for study. Quiet
Today morning I went to Small victories, I got a friendly service,nice food near my house!
I had capuccino, and baked eggs
I love here’s baked eggs I will recomend!
And nice coffee :)
This place has been on my list for a while and finally got to visit this morning. Really enjoyed the experience. They have freshly squeezed juices, mork hot chocolates and coffees which kept us happy. We had the Eggs Benny with Grandma Ham, Eggs Florentine with spinach, asparagus and sausage, the ricotta fritters with a cauliflower and cheese croquette and greens and the fruit and nut toast. The service was good, the atmosphere inside is cosy and welcoming. There is also a decent amount of seating outside so is very pooch friendly 👍🏻
Wanted for try a something new not far from the CBD (don't wanna find parking there) and found this place, perfectly located on a beautiful street with plenty of parking, definitely enjoyed my little walk there.
Staff are very friendly and cheerful, couple with a great interior.
Have tried different coffee there with friends, they definitely make some of the great Chai and Soy latte as mentioned.
Food are great and very filling for its price point, desserts are very fresh and delicious.
Overall, very happy with the experiences, great food and great location.
a local 10/10 - this place has such quick service, a beautiful carlton north / rathdowne street atmosphere and always the best vibes. I've bene there for large meals, sneaky personal getaways and one on one catch up's - always hits the spot
Delicious coffee!!! Fantastic meal. I had great birthday time in Small Victoria. Try the burger. It was the best burger I ever had. Warm staff and fantastic meal...💖💖
Decided to check out Small Victories for date day brunch and had a great time! There's plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors.
I had the buttermilk waffles with mango ice cream, banana bread and coconut and it was delicious! The coffee was excellent as well!
Consistently efficient, friendly service and beautiful food. Lovely spot with nice space conscious fit out. A great place to bring people to show them exciting and accessibly delicious Melbourne food. Great coffee as well. Just bang on guys!
* Keep in mind if you have someone elderly with you that the bathroom is up two very steep flights of stairs.
Absolutely fantastic!!! Stopped in at Small Victories for lunch and although outside was buzzing inside had a few quiet tables. I ordered a chai latte and sandwich with avocado, smoked sheeps feta and assorted greens. The chai was one of the best I've had and the sandwich - so delicious! Served on sourdough the mixture of flavours was so intricately delicate! The lightness of the herbs and lettuce was complimented by the strength of the smoky cheese. At the end of the sandwich I was left wanting more. It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. Service was great, staff were lovely and the interior was modern and fresh yet homely. One of the best in the area, you should definitely stop in!
My local for bevvies and breakfast food, Small Victories has definitely come through victorious with much confetti multiple times for me!
It's a bracing thing, having a local you can count on, with a dessert and bread display to warm the barnacled cockles of ones hart 💙
The chai lattes are to die for, and brekkie here is great! All in a gorgeous Victorian townhouse setting with wonderful service.
Promise I'll be back soon! :')
What superb food. The bircher museli is so unique and divine (though quite big) and I have yet to eat a dud dish here. With a few levels and some nice nooks as well as a shady front street area, there is somewhere for everyone. Beware it's often busy so you may not get a table immediately.
Great coffee, and very tasty food. Service can be a little hit and miss at time, but overall an excellent cafe. Try the korean chicken burger, naughty but nice!
Delicious! The poached eggs w baba ganoush are easily my favourite thing here (admittedly I ordered them on my first time and have craved them so much since that I have not really tried a lot of the other options on the menu!!).
In addition, there are plenty of small sweets on the counter that you can try if you do not have a huge appetite on the day. The coffee is supreme here. As is the service. Cafe is a little out of my way and hard to get to if you don't live in the immediate area and don't drive... but totally worth the trip for me. Would give 6/5 if I could! Love it
Food was quite good, beef brisket and chicken burgers! However the service and staff were lacking. As soon as we walked in, we weren't greeted until a friend engaged one of the bar staff and when we asked for the cheque, the waitress proceeded to fill bottles of water and we had to go inside to follow up. Would go back for the food but I hate bad service.
I went there twice in about three days, and both times I had excellent food and service. As much as we had to wait a short time for a table on a Sunday at prime brunch time, the food and atmosphere were definitely worth it! There are also so many menu items that I still want to try, so I will be back soon!
Small victories is a warm and inviting cafe. Surrounded by others similar this is the best choice!
Staff are very friendly and efficient and the food is delicious.
I had the apple Bircher which was full of flavour and texture. Coffee and tea is also yummy.
A lovey cafe for a winters brunch!
Not a bad little joint this one. Not as heralded as some of its hipster contemporaries in the area, but that shouldn't put you off.
On a crisp, coolish (but sunny) Melbourne morning, I bunkered down here to consume some coffee and some quality protein. Beautifully poached eggs with sautéed mushrooms and mushroom purée, accompanied by a couple of golden croquets, this did hit the spot.
The eggs were impressive - they held together and you could have kicked them around like happy sacks - but when you cut into them the yolk oozed. Just look at those eggs!
The flavours themselves were solid without being earth shattering, but I would definitely come back here for weekday brunch.
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Had a late lunch with a friend at this lovely cafe and was very impressed with the abrupt service of friendly staff upon arrival. We were seated immediately in the back room that had mirrored walls with couch seats offering a contemporary atmosphere with a slightly old fashioned traditional twist. We firstly ordered a soy latte and a long soy mac that was brewed to perfection using Wide Open Road blend. The strong coffees where shortly followed by the Organic apple bircher muesli, with house made organic yoghurt, nut clusters, organic honey and an order of the Buttermilk waffles with carrot cake crumble, cream cheese mascarpone, white chocolate ice-cream and earl grey jell finished with a drizzle of maple syrup. The Bircher serving size was large and filling with a lovely creamy texture filled with surprised aspects of sweet crunch offered by the lovely assortment of caramelised hazelnuts ,almonds, walnuts and puffed grains. The dish was well balanced with sweetness and was throughly enjoyable. The highlight was certainly those spongy waffles that are a sweet tooth's dreams. The interesting classic combination of carrot cake and cream cheese matched outstandingly well with the differing flavours and textures offered by the other small elements of the dish making for a flavour explosion. Overall the friendly staff, magnificent coffee and well presented filling dishes make this cafe a great spot for a catch up or family gathering.
One of the tastiest breakfasts i've ever had. The roasted pumpkin, ricotta croquettes, poached eggs candied walnuts with the prosciutto is devine. Perfectly seasoned. I dont remember the last time i didnt have to season a breakfast dish. Kudos to the team here, also pumping out delicious coffee.
Had a delicious breakfast/ light lunch of poached eggs with babaganosh and it was wonderful. Great coffee too. I want to come back and try other options for the humble egg. A great find!!
Victorious at a lot of things as it is quite clear that these guys know what they're doing. Every flavour has a place and purpose and makes for a beautiful tasty breakfast experience. It is quite obvious that these dishes have had care and thought in creating harmonic precision. The best place to get brekkie on rathdowne street. Staff are always busy and so can seem a bit moody, this may have the potential to ruin all of the other beautiful qualities.
Not many cafes have a line up to get in, but here on Sat' morning there's a crowd waiting out front. Its fine dining breakfast in a stylish place and the food is very classy. Only negative was food a little salty.
Brilliant cafe, classically cool. My favourite coffee in melbourne and great consistent food. I thought about not giving this the 5 rating it deserves so I don't have to wait in line.
There is something about the suburb of Carlton that is just so pleasing, making it one of my favourite places. Carlton is a mixture of Victorian architecture, modern apartments, green foliage and coffee scents; it oozes culture and the feel is laid-back sophistication. It’s the experience of city living at a slower pace – busy people who have the time to smell the coffee.
Meilia Clarissa Tejasoewita
+5
Small Victories is located at North Carlton. Really enjoy the food that I posted. Its a baked egg thats served with heaps of corn, bacon and toasted bread.
I went with the poached eggs, ricotta fritters, roast pumpkin, walnut purée, brown butter, 18 month ages prosciutto and crisp sage ($17.00): amazing! Eggs were poached perfectly, the sweet roasted pumpkin and ricotta fritters were delicious against the salty prosciutto, and the walnut purée, though not nearly enough of it, was a great addition.
The wife had the cuttlefish with fried eggs for breakfast, its was tangy and full of interesting flavors, i so wish i had ordered what she ordered. It was so good i am tempted to cone back tomorrow and order it! My poached eggs with baba ganoosh and pommygranites was very good to.
According to the wife the short back 'small batch' was nice too.
A nice cafe, with a good setting in Carlton. Only been a couple of times, breakfasts are definitely creative, but I wasn't hugely impressed by either of them, the second being cuttlefish and fried eggs on sourdough. Coffee isn't bad.
Located in scenic Rathdowne Village, this gem offers much more than what you’d expect from what seems like a small cafe. The swanky dark timber furnishings, elegant marble counter and wide-ranging window fronts yield a chic, relaxed ambience. The set up presents many seating alternatives from the bar, the fireplace, the more intimate seating upstairs and the most popular curb seating outside in the sunshine among the familiar, leafy trees prominent throughout North Carlton.
I started off with a coffee - a regular latte ($3.80), and delighted in the creamy, bold taste contributed by both the experienced baristas and the great quality beans sourced from Wide Open Road. I then ordered a Free Range BBQ Pork Belly Sandwich ($15.00) with pickled vegetable, coriander, hoisin and kewpie mayonnaise. Oh I do love me a good pork belly sanga and this one was particularly tasty with the succulent pork paired with the fresh, tangy flavours of the veggies and mayo. I was also surprised at the wallet friendly cafe prices for such high quality, fine dining! The overall experience here was victorious to say the least and I'll definitely be coming back for more!
I like this place for the food, in particular the spinach and mushroom sides. The cold drinks are also excellent, as is the fit out. The food is different, well made and delicious. However, the coffee is always just ok. One constant seems to be the rude service, which is a shame as it ticks many other boxes.
Coffee: 3.5
Coffee speed: 2.5
Food: 3.5
Food speed: 3.5
Service: 2
Location: 4
Fit out: 3
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Had a very pleasant morning tea here with a toddler. Food was delicious & drinks came out quickly. Staff made an effort to be friendly & welcoming. We'll come back for sure
Best brekkie mushrooms ever! Coffee was also awesome. Lovely little place for brunch! Great range of sides to order with eggs. A place definitely worth recommending.
It's a pleasant breakfast experience in here. For me, the most recommended one is the baked eggs with bacon. All the foods look tempting actually but i just managed to try several of it. Definitely will come back to this place! And the service is really great!
Yum yum yum!!! Had the poached eggs with smoked salmon and it didn't disappoint. One of the best breakfasts I have had in Melbourne. Great derive and coffee also.
Great coffee and really good food. Most staff are friendly. Had one experience of s grumpy staff member.
Amazing menu and great food just wish the portion sizes were slightly bigger as its all so bloody delicious
Delicious food. Decent coffee. Lovely setting. Best of all – an incredibly cool turntable behind the bar playing a selection of jazz vinyls. Today we drove to Rathdowne Street in Carlton North for a spot of breakfast and this turned out to be an excellent start to a nice, lazy weekend. Nifty. A turntable that works and everything! I always enjoy eating in Carlton – Rathdowne Street is so pretty in any case, and dotted with interesting shops, books, wines, those weird shops that only seem to sell essential oils, goat soaps and just one other item (it could be raffia placemats, umbrellas or dream-catchers). Lots of cute bars as well – one day I’ll have to pull myself together after work and head North instead of straight home. Sunny spots outside. Coffee coffee coffee! We arrived just after Small Victories opened at 8am and were nearly the first customers apart from two young females looking haggard sculling beroccas – ’nuff said. Coffee was very good and much needed. Not as good as som
Small Victories Carlton North is a cafe on Rathdowne Street that was awarded “Best Breakfast Spot of the Year” in The Age’s 2013 Good Food Under $30 Guide. It certainly sounded promising, so I headed down for breakfast to make up my own mind.
Make it rain.... ..dollar bills yo because that's what you'll need to eat here! More like Small Mortgage! Jokes aside, it is a decent cafe. We're kinda forced to go there as most of the cafes on Rathdowne street are stuck in the early '00s serving focaccia's and Lavazza coffee.
Small Victories definately deserves a much higher rating, if the meal I just ate is anything to go by! Delicious!!!
A favourite. I love going to Small Victories. The coffee is good and the food is delicious. The dishes are presented with exquisite attention to detail and it is evident that a lot of thought goes into designing the dishes and matching interesting and complementary flavours. My favourite dish is the seasonal fruit salad. In summer it came with coconut and dragon fruit; in winter it featured plums and yoghurt. I also love the baked eggs with creamed corn, bacon, and the lardo soldier. In addition, the service is friendly and prompt. One of the best cafes in Melbourne.
Poached Eggs with Baba Ganoush. Delicious
Favorite brunch place! Flat White is good and Buttermilk waffles with bacon is great with the tastebuds!
Great food and great espresso martini! Oh ... and the coffee is great too. Very friendly and efficient staff.
It’s a very relaxing place lace with comfortable seats. The food is amazing, not only look attractive but also taste good, it’s worth to try.
Very pleasant experience all around. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The Chai was delicious- great recipe and very well prepared. My breakfast was also delightful. I ordered the Salmon Benedict - eggs were poached beautifully and went perfectly with the sauce. All of the ingredients were high quality and the dish came together well. Their homemade pastries are also amazing. I will definitely be back!
Recently changed management so currently (as of July 2017) the menu options have reduced and are a little bit sparse, but still recommend for the friendly and attentive service and the good atmosphere. Breakfast options have reduced for the interim (no more amazing French toast!) but they do great eggs on sourdough toast.
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