The Original Cafe

Good honest old school cafe. Have been going for the last few months. Consistently great coffee at a great price (best in the area by far).
Big variety of lunch options. Can't go past their fresh salads and curries.
What this place lacks in the glam factor it makes up for with its great food, great coffee and friendly service.

Good food, good coffee.. Premises could do with a bit of a revamp.. Looking a bit tired inside.

South Melbourne's tasty little secret.. There's an underdog in streets of South Melbourne and it goes by the name The Original Cafe.
It's already well-known amongst the workers and apartment dwellers nearby and during the morning hustle and bustle you see students, office workers, tradies and even uniformed soldiers from the nearby base crossing the roads over to this nondescript little cafe for their coffee, breakfast, lunch and sandwich fix.

It might be a good thing that they open only from Monday to Friday - it stops too many people, aside from the local denizens, from knowing about this place.

They serve breakfast and lunch, along with coffees and snacks such as a small selection of house baked muffins and pastries, but the real star are their breakfasts.

Despite the somewhat contemporary, modern interior, this place is old school. No fancy armadillo shaved ham from the mountain of Paraguay or elixir of youth from virgins bathed in spring water in Rome - its plain ol' made to order sandwiches, bain marie lunches and rock solid breakfast staples, some with a slight twist.

The portions are hearty, the coffee is good and price is excellent.

Breakfasts range from $7.50 - $9.50 and are cooked to order, served quickly and piping hot. On a sunny morning, armed with the paper and, breakfast and a good coffee, sitting in the semi-enclosed outdoor patio where there is no nasty main road and a good. steady flow of people walking by to keep your eyes busy when it's not fixated on the paper, it has an excellent atmosphere where you don't feel like you're in the outback but then again you're not stuck in the middle of a busy intersection like some busy cafes.
After which a nice stroll by the Shrine of Rememberance and the tree lined St Kilda Rd is a perfect after meal activity.

Their lunches aren't bad either, they offer vegetarian options along side the usual meat and carb offerings, and their salads are surprisingly very hearty and tasty without the hippie new age zing but thrust upon many cafe offerings in Melbourne these days.

For breakfast an old fashion poached eggs with cheese, tomato, wilted spinach and toast really hits the spot. You can add additional ingredients and they are always happy for you to make variations to your breakfast.

The only thing is that I don't get to come here as much as I want to because it has Monday to Friday hours and don't open on the weekends, but that makes every visit so much more enjoyable.

They are comfortable in their identity of old fashioned menu items in a modern setting, and this is what makes them stand out in the age where cafes feel they have to add stranger, more exotic menu items and ingredients which in turn are reflected in their prices, to compete in the competitive cafe industry.

An oldie but a goldie in the South Melbourne area.

My latte was beautiful and my sandwich so yummy, perfect toasted , thanks guys🤗

The staff are friendly and my custom made BLT was delicious but bread could have been a bit crispier and the lettuce was warm... but chai latte was so good!

Hi Dennis, Helen and Al, thankyou for your great service over the past 14 years, it is not only the coffee and food that were great it was also your hospitality and accommodating nature that made everyone welcome and feel part of the OC family. Thanks for the great memories and fun and I wish you all the best for the future, cheers cliff

I believe that the most important thing is customer service and this place excels at that, when I entered the staff was very friendly right of the bat, asking how my day was and what they can do for me. They had a great range of food from toasties to salads to dim sims. All the food was priced very competitively considering the area. After my meal they wished me a good day and I left in better mood than I arrived, keep up the good work guys!!!