Reviews Dilly Daly

☀️ new summer menu
🏚: Dilly Daly
📍: South Yara
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📝: Dilly Daly is all about serving up creative takes on Australian cafe classics. They feature an extensive breakfast, brunch and lunch menu, filled with modern Australian dishes with a distinctive twist.

❤️: It was such a great opportunity to join their summer menu launch, highlighting a range of tapas-style, healthy vegan-friendly dishes.

4.0 Very Good

Arrived this chic cafe for a weekday brunch, it’s in the middle of a concrete jungle but once you find the pink fencing you know you’re at the right place.

My latte was rich and strong with a light bitterness. Their drinks menu is pretty extensive for a cafe with cocktails, smoothies, milkshakes and specialty lattes.

For food I tried their benny’s croissant with pulled pork cooked three ways, for the most part it was succulent along with the perfectly poached eggs and housemade hollandaise. What really made the dish was the buttery croissant which was lightly toasted and remained flaky. Apparently sourced locally around the corner.

A couple more other dishes that I’m keen to try but it was a solid first visit.

Beautiful cafe with a great ambiance. Love the food! Highly recommended!

If you enjoy a brunch cafes with a chilled vibe and a beautiful interior this place is for you.

My husband had the green risotto and fluffy hotcakes with Nutella. The green risotto was part of the tapas menu which has some great options for sharing. My husband's favourite was the green risotto which came with edamame. Not too forget the mouthwatering hot cakes which comes with a Nutella syringe, creamy mascapone, fruity coulis, my husband also at the peanut butter smoothie which was perfectly sweetened.

I had the eat your greens breaky bowl with lemon pepper chicken thighs, the braised greens were lightly seasoned which went well with the avocado and fresh lemon yoghurt dressing.

I also had the black king tiger and calamari tempura the king prawns were so tender as was the calamari I loved the touch of tostadas to also dip into the tarragon aioli.

Everything looked amazing and tasted beautiful. I can't wait to go back. I also want to thank Melissa for making us feel so welcome with her friendly service, thanks again for having us #brunchcafe #melbournebrunch Marnie

Amazing service from Amy! She is the best! And the food was just to die for.. the peppered mushrooms are heaven :) can’t wait to come back again!

Dilly Daly is a lovely venue hidden in a nook in south Yarra. With amazing and knowledgeable staff, they make the whole brunch experience absolutely incredible, not to mention a menu to die for plus who doesn’t love a boozy brunch in the heart of south Yarra

I got to love the lovely atmosphere of this cafe!! I also love how they also serve cocktails and drinks that goes so well with the delicious food!!! One of the dishes that I had that was the highlight was the baked eggs!!! It was so good that it got me craving til this day!!!

Love this gorgeous space! Décor on point, service excellent and the food is awesome! 

Great to see lots of veggie options on the menu. There is a new tapas menu out too which is exciting. 

Owner Michelle and the team are amazing, will make you feel at home! 

Don't dilly dally, head on in! HAHA ;)

Don’t dilly-dally for too long buddy - there’s a bottomless brunch going on and you can’t go wrong 🙌🥳

I am a see, think for 2 seconds and conquer person 😳😂 yes, I’m a ‘let’s just yolo and see what happens’ person because I’ve learnt that life is way to short and that opportunities pass by in the blink of an eye.

Decisions don’t need to be 0 or 200% but if you not challenging yourself, how can you even move from any routine and stressful situation that is not getting you anywhere? How can you move forward and get yourself up? Think. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Not getting what/where you wanted? Not going anywhere? Regretting the fact that you tried?

Or NOT doing something and regretting that?

Don’t dilly dally and waste time through aimless wandering or indecision. Breathe, get ready and tackle it.

And trust me, I did tackle everything here indeed 🙌

We arrived at the venue and were kindly received by Melissa, a beautiful and clear boss lady that helps to run the place. We were quite early for a ‪Sunday brunch‬ and the place wasn’t very busy (in the beginning!) and we were able to choose where to seat.
 
The venue inside isn’t very big but can definitely accommodate quite a few people as it is strategically organised and there are some long tables in the middle. They also have further down the end, large tables with a plant and tree inspired background, making it a very enjoyable place to hang around. Actually, the whole place is quite inviting and the bright and pink tones that they use are very bright and clean, and at the same time, warm and appealing. Neon lights are always very instagramable and they sure know how to use that here too!
 
I had seen their menu prior to arriving at the venue as this place has been quite popular recently. There were some items that I knew I wanted to try and after asking for the staff’s opinion about what they recommended the most here’s what we asked for:

- Stacks on, Rosti - overwhelmed by HOW GOOD this was. Really. It certainly lived up to the expectations and even beyond I would say. This was one of the meals I had seen on their instagram and ordered by some fellow food bloggers and I even though I am a more sweet type of person, this was THE meal I really wanted to try. Not only is the meal beautifully presented but the actual ingredients on it are remarkable and surely delightful 🙌The potato rosti is crunchy and not greasy AT ALL, with an amazing sense of taste and seasoning. I would say that it is even better than some potato fries, much better! The bacon that they use, comes in a very generous portion and is flavourful and non fatty (do you know when you have those bacon slices that are more fat than actual meat? Well here, the fat content was barely existent and that shows that they do care about providing good quality products and that the food delivered is carefully chosen and catered! GREAT JOB INDEED!). It also comes with again a substantial portion of avocado, perfectly soft and mouthwatering – honestly I was so impressed by not only the quality but the actual serving of every ingredient. Because even though it does look like a massive meal, the portions are just right here and the naturally higher fat content of the ingredients chosen will keep you satiated for long. There is also a poached egg on top that not only provided that yolk porn shot that every food photographer loves but it actually compliments the meal extremely well and trust me when I say that a mouthful of the rosti with bacon, avocado and the egg is possibly of the best combos you’ll ever try. As since the detail is also a big thing in this place, there is some Pico de Gallo with a fresh, uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes and onions, cilantro, fresh chiles, lime juice and salt providing the perfect final touch. I agree with all the feedback mentioned about this meal and would LOVE to have it again and again 🙌

- Dilly Health Bowl - after going through the menu and compared two of their most popular health bowls, my friend chose to have this meal. From my end I can say that the portion was impressive again and that the colours and whole presentation was certainly very aesthetic and instagramable. It comes with edamame beans, sautéed kale and a generous portion of ginormous brocollini and bok choy (that size, WOW! 😮). The colours of the turmeric cauliflower are impressive too and my friend said that the taste was good and those were nicely cooked. With some radish slices and cherry tomatoes, it also comes with a small portion of quinoa that in my opinion could be slightly bigger, but I understand that the bowl is mostly a lower carb but still filling option and I think it is a good call too for people that want to have a less calorie dense meal – it is good to have cafes providing all type of options and diversity. It also comes with some honey ginger dressing, that looked quite tempting and delicious and my friend chose to add some smoked salmon to it. I do think that everyone should add a protein source to this bowl like we did, otherwise the bowl will certainly be missing something. They have 3 protein options to choose from (fish, meat and vegan!) and you can also add some extra ingredients on the side to make it even more filling – we added some mushrooms and WOW, the taste and size was incredible! Perfectly marinated and with a pinch of salt to enhance the flavour, it was possibly one of the best mushrooms I have had in a while! GREAT job! 👌🙌

- Ah, Coconuts & Hemp-nola - okay, this one was just another revelation. The pictures I had seen from this nowhere represent how remarkable and extraordinary this meal is. Again, very beautifully presented and in a massive large bowl, the meal is not only enjoyable but light and at the same time filling, mutually soft and crunchy and just MARVELOUS. Half of it comes with a type of granola with activated buckwheat (an everyone’s old favourite and such an amazing choice when cafes use it – it is a guaranteed win!), large coconut chips and generous pieces of almonds, many hemp seeds for an extra crunchy and smooth feeling, and the most AMAZING pieces of dates that compliment the granola in a brilliant way that provides just the right amount of sweetness to the meal. The seasonal fruits chosen were also fresh and nicely cut into pieces and of good portion serving and the coconut yogurt was just terrific as well – seriously! I am an very peculiar when it comes to coyo and its hard to please me let alone to impress me, and here they surpassed all expectations that I had. I think that the passionfruit juice and seeds on top absolutely nailed it and the whole combination was nourishing and fresh, so much more enjoyable than some other coconut yogurts that are more dense and even cluttered.
With a subtle maple syrup, everything was just pure lush and I cannot recommend this meal more! Definitely a must too. Once piece of advice is to asked for the almond milk to be warmed up because not only makes the combo much more wholesome and nurturing but it also makes the granola a bit more soft, balancing the extra crunchiness with some soft almond touch 🙌

- Green Smoothie - my friend has this green smoothie and I got to try a little. Even though it is packed with great ingredients, personally I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste as the avocado taste is quite intense and not sweet. It is a blend of avocado, spinach, banana, maple syrup, shaved coconut and house almond milk and it is certainly creamy. I would not describe it as ‘heavy’ but it would be quite filling indeed (so much that my friend was struggling to drink it!) due to the higher fat content. I would rather have some sweet and fresh smoothies, but I am sure many people would like this too.
 
- Acai Smoothie - I decided to go myself for the acai smoothie and I have to say that I am not entirely sure if I would call this an acai smoothie. Not only is the colour not ‘acai like’ but the actual taste is nowhere near the taste of acai. It is thick in consistency and not too sweet as I was actually expecting it to be and it is supposed to be a blend of acai, banana, blueberries and goji berries with coconut water. Actually even with the added blueberries I would have expected the smoothie colour to be darker, since the actually use coconut water and not a plant based milk, but nonetheless the taste was good, nothing in particular standing out and not with a particular strong fruity taste. I would actually even say that it could be close to a strawberry milkshake (milkshake because it is unquestionably quite thick and more dense than your usual smoothie!)

- Almond latte – perfectly achieved, with just the ideal amount of foam and the most nourishing taste. It was such a delightful and good drink. A warm to the heart a soul, seriously. I would definitely come here for my usual coffee order because it was just pure perfection.
 
- Almond flat white – another perfection in a cup. My friend loved the drink and didn’t report any flaw at all.
 
Overall, even though the smoothies did not stand out, I have to say that the coffees were clearly remarkable and the food was even more extraordinary! I loved the whole experience from the moment we walked in, to the service provided, until the moment we walked through the door. The staff is very experienced, proactive and happy to accommodate and special requests in case you have them and they do have the biggest smile at all times. I felt very welcomed and I am sure that everyone that dines in will have a wonderful experience. Actually I have to note that even one their menu they are extremely thoughtful and even have a special note saying ‘If you have allergies or dietary requirements, please let the team know. We don’t wanna kill anyone ;)’. We felt in love with the place and I was so content with the whole experience that we decided to ask for a final treat, a magnificent cake from the counter.

I would have loved to able to try the hotcakes but I left a friendly suggestion for a vegan/allergen friendly alternative since all of their other meals can be quite easily adapted. I am sure many people would appreciate this little add on too, hopefully for a spring/summer menu ? 🙌😂
Yes, I don’t think I have ever been this curious to see what they come up with for the new menu because I DEFINITELY want to visit this place again! As trust me not only do I want to try other things from their menu, but I JUST NEED TO see what amazing creations they come up with AND SO YOU 🙌

Heavenly pancakes that make the inner kid come out of you 🥰

FOOD: I ordered the DD Pancakes and they were spectacular! The pancakes themselves were an amazing texture and the litter of chocolate chips were the cheekiest addition! The batter itself was also perfect and the toppings were great! The syringe was also so adorable and a really nice novelty! Loved this dish and I can definitely say these pancakes are some of the best.

SERVICE: Here’s where I kinda felt turned off. One of their servers wasn’t the friendliest and also slightly nasty so it kinda made out experience abit bad and I thought it was just me but my friend felt it too so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dilly Daly is a beautiful cafe in a slightly unstrategic place but their food is great! Can’t say the same about their service 🤭

Marinated Mushrooms - cherry tomatoes, tarragon and shallots finished in truffle oil and gruyere cheese on sourdough bread.
------ These were the most amazing Magical Mushrooms I have ever had... and don't mind If I dilly dally a bit now, cos I am all drunk and high on this amazing plate of some seriously fabulous food. ------
Opened only about 9 months ago, this place has made quite a name for itself, and why wouldn't they.... a little but flirty a little but fun and whole lot of hard work, clearly visible through this amazing team --- chef Daniel @_yes_chef Sous Chef Daniel, Amy - Manager and Melissa the owner that make
@dillydalymelbourne your next brunchin place to go to so worthwhile.. there really isn't any dilly dallying around.. what you will find is one hell of a team in super action.
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Thank you @_yes_chef for the wonderful chat and talking about your passion and your cooking stories ,,, can't wait to try one of your special evening dinners.

I also had potato stacks on rosti and nutella hotcakes ... Just the best

❤️ Vibes
Dilly Daly has a warm, welcoming vibe as soon as you walk in the door. Our table for 4 wasn’t quite ready when I got there so I was greeted with a “thanks for waiting” glass of prosecco (which was a beautiful gesture and one I totally didn’t deserve as I was still waiting for the rest of my crew!). Most tables were taken up by big groups so we had to sit along the window which for a group of 4 made it hard to chat. It was packed but the team always served us with a warm smile.

🤤 Eats
There are 5x options to choose from on the bottomless brunch menu. The choc chip pancakes with a nutella injection were to die for 😍 as were the stacks on rosti with smashed avo and bacon topped with poached egg

🥂 Dranks
Cannot fault the extensive bottomless offering here! The cocktails (espresso martini, aperol spritz, peach bellini especially) are made really well and the list of wines, beer, cider, tea and coffee goes on and on! 10/10

Such a gorgeous cafe just off Chapel Street. Awesome location, very 'insta worthy' & bottomless brunch to top it all off!

The space is small but buzzing. I couldn't believe how packed this place was, in the best way. It was great to see so many groups enjoying their bottomless brunches. The space is very modern, with lots of grey stone decor and plant details. An iconic hot pink/purple neon sign has been placed proudly on the wall.

Watermelon cold pressed juice: Such a refreshing start to the meal. This juice was sweet & tasty.
Stacks on rosti: I really enjoyed this rosti stack. The rosti themselves were a good size, and had a great crunch. There was a generous amount of avocado & bacon inside the stack which was exactly what I needed. The egg on top was poached perfectly, and was super runny!
Healthy bowls were ordered by my friends

The service was super friendly & welcoming. Even though it was so busy, the staff were able to maintain their cool & still serve with a smile

This cafe did not let me down. Being the second visit to this aesthetic venture down a street of South Yarra, I was more than impressed by everything they were achieving.

The hustle and bustle of the bottomless brunches. The laughter. And the amazing tunes. This place had atmosphere from the minute I walked in. Even under pressure, the staff were lovely and accommodating to us. As well as that, our meals arrived promptly which was also amazing.

As I was gazing over the menu. The ‘Dilly Health Bowl’ caught my attention. So much so, that I knew I had to get it. Coming with Edamame, sautéed kale, broccolini, bok Choy, turmeric cauliflower, radish, quinoa, cherry tomatoes. Served with a honey ginger dressing. It was absolutely stunning. But I knew I needed to add Falafel and Hummus to it, to truely complete it. I can confidently say, this was the best bowl I may have ever had. The flavours were complex, yet balanced. The dressing didn’t overpower any other elements and the mix of warm and cool, just made my stomach sing. Safe to say, I loved it.

My friend went for the other bowl on the menu cheekily called ‘Eat your greens breaky bowl’ with Braised spinach, kale, broccolini, chopped raw almonds, dukkha, quinoa, grilled zucchini and fresh avocado and garlic yogurt dressing. She added grilled chicken as her protein on the dish and loved the elements as equally as I did.

My third brunch partner went for a more breakfast type meal getting the ‘Stacks on, Rosti’. This was a potato rosti sandwich filled with smashed avocado and bacon, topped with poached egg and pico de gallo. The rosti were crunchy, yet not dry, the poached egg was beautifully runny and the freshness of the pico de gallo, literally topped it off.

All three of us loved our experience, and it was clearly a favourite amongst the South Yarra community. I definitely will be returning for more brunch adventures soon. A must stop anytime you are in Melbourne.

First brunch since moving to Melbourne... was delicious! Staff were super friendly, presentation of food was excellent. Overall great experience

I’m a bit of a ham and cheese croissant fiend and I find myself in cafes and as I hate eating eggs I’m always looking for the next best thing, here I thought ok I’ll have the croissant!

The coffee was great! Really well made and not too hot. My croissant was still cold in the middle so lost a point. Overall this place has such gorgeous brunch vibe and I saw they do bottomless brunch? I think it’s a steal especially with my liver 😂😂

My partners egg and bacon roll was good - but messy.

Great friendly service and amazing food! All round this place should have a higher rating than 4.3 soooo yummmmmm. I have a big appetite and it was achieved

Real rating 4.1 ⭐️

We had visited Dilly Daly for lunch not long ago and here’s what we had!

Stacks on, Rosti - potato rosti sandwich filled with smashed avocado and bacon, topped with poached egg and pico de gallo! I actually enjoyed this dish as I rarely see rostis being used as a sandwich or base and it went really well with the other elements! The smash avo was just the perfect amount (not too little and not overly bearing) and the bacon was a nice touch for a bit meatiness! My favorite part about this was the pico de gallo which gave an extra kick to this dish hence making it my fave for the day!

The DD, hotcakes - chocolate chip hotcake stack topped with berry syrup, vanilla mascarpone and Nutella injection! The hotcakes were pretty sweet with the Nutella injection and vanilla mascarpone but I enjoyed it! Who doesn’t love Nutella and chocolate right?

Big Dilly A-hu-mado - pretty much their take on a big brekkie! What I enjoyed about this was they included and the Italian pork and fennel sausages which I thought was different from other big breakfasts! The portions were huge as expected and the elements were pretty good (mushrooms and cherry tomatoes were juicy, eggs were well poached, etc).

We were pretty satisfied with our experience with Dilly Daly and would visit again to try out the rest of their menu!

We’ve been coming to Dilly Daly nearly every weekend for the past 3 months and it’s slowly becoming a weekly routine. The staff are lovely and welcoming, and the atmosphere is calm and cool every time we enter. Highly recommend getting a ‘Stacks on Rosti’, and if you don’t eat meat swap the bacon out for mushies and it’s even better!

Really lovely little cafe. Ordered the Eat your greens with two poached eggs and my friend got the Magical mushrooms. Both were really fantastic. The iced latte was also really great. Staff and friendly and had an overall great attitude.

The food and service is amazing, I have been here several times and it has never disappointed me. The magical mushrooms and Rosti stack are delicious. The atmosphere is buzzing and the place has a great vibe. Everyone should definitely check this place out.

All I can say is wow! The Big Dilly brekky was unbelievable! Quality and not shy with quantity !!

100% would recommend this place!

Affordable price +'quality 5 stars

The food was so good and it was served nicely. The people were very accomodating and love the vibe of the place. Would definitely come back x

Nice interior, good food and friendly staffs!
For our savoury menu we chose rosti stacks. It was a balanced combination. Also, we had hotcakes that not overly sweet which is an A+ for us.

Will I be back? Yes !

What a find! I had the potato rosti and I can honestly say it was next level awesome! I had to come back another time because the Sam I am I needed to try mainly because of the skewered bruschetta, sausage and scrambled eggs with pesto - added halloumi for extra satisfaction.
The coffee was perfect as well. So far this place ticks all the boxes and just wants me to keep coming back for more - the chicken burger is next guys, keep up the good work. Loving the South American influence.

This place is just off Chapel on Daly Street. It has great coffee and really great food with lots of options (eggs benny on croissant is amazing) Really love the people who work here. Always friendly and attentive. Definitely try it out.

I love the environment and atmosphere here. Good for coming as a group or alone. Staff are very friendly. Also the location is great...you have an open view but won't feel the 34°C heat even sitting outside.

We headed here for Bottomless brunch and they have a new menu with inspiration from the chef of North American flavours! They have so many great options and also it’s great to see tasty vegan options! Definitely worth checking out! Recommend the Green Tomato Arepas!

This was hands down the best brunch I’ve ever had. That’s a big call but it’s absolutely the truth. I’m never really doing bottomless brunches but I thought what the heck let’s do one as the in laws had the children and it was a Sunday and it’s rare to have time. So we did bottomless brunch here and wow oh wow. Firstly the service is absolutely brilliant. All staff and the owners are a total delight. Secondly the drinks are delicious. The peach Bellini I’ll come in for again just to have that. Such great value at just over $60 each. The food... was outstanding. The crumpets and maple bacon and coffee cream was delish / I took off the eggs as I’m not an eggy fan and it was so good. The partner had the potato rosti stack and it was that good we paid for another one so I could have it as well / that potato was crunchy, the bacon was cooked properly with a nice sweet flavour and crunch and a generous portion of avocado. It was so good. Anyway I’ll be back for sure as I’m under a minute away and for that price and quality it’s the only place I would consider going locally for a brunch!

Dilly Daly cafe located on Daly st just off Chapel st in South Yarra. This charming pink themed cafe offers an extensive breakfast, brunch and lunch menu that’s filled with modern Australian dishes with a dilly daly twist. They also offer an array of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options and an epic themed cocktail menu. What we ate : Acai smoothie 🥤 açai, banana, blueberry, goji berries & coconut water Popcorn cauliflower salad 🥗 leafy green mix, fresh avocado, black wild rice, sweet corn, fresh dill & chilli, topped with popcorn cauliflower, finished with a ginger lemon dressing + smoky vegan chilli feta & poached egg Stacks on Rosti 🥔 Potato Rosti stack, smashed avocado, poached egg, hollandaise sauce, pick de Gallo & chimichurri + chilli vegan feta Bacon & Egg Crumpets 🥞 Holy crumpets, crispy maple bacon, fried egg & coffee cream w/fried + mushies

Dilly Daly was a great day out to farewell a friend.Whos leaving Melbourne to Live in Queensland.The Cocktails were very inviting along with a delicious bit to eat .Nothing like ive tasted before. A fixed price and relaxing setting .Staff were friendly and parking close by.Definately happy with my visit to Dilly Daly.