Review The Old Milkbar Cafe - Thornbury

Best breakfast I've had in years. I enjoyed the Chilli Scrambled Eggs and as a very welcome change it wasn't the chilli eggs and basil pesto you find nearly everywhere these days. It had fresh chilli and spring onions with a side of jalapeño jam. Definitely a must have. And the coffees were great to!

The Big breakfast was delicious but the mini sausages weren’t the best. Down side was that we waited a long time to place our order and while staff were friendly, they seemed to be avoiding eye contact when we were trying to get their attention to order.

Nice relaxing little cafe, food is great atmospheres good...

It was a delightful brunch. My traditional favourite was on the menu Eggs Florentine. The poached eggs were perfect. The toast had just enough butter. The spinach and hollandaise sauce delish. The service was excellent and the meal and coffee were exactly the right temperature. Bravo

The BEST chill scrambled eggs I’ve ever had. The jalapeño jam that’s included is unreal. Good coffee and nice staff. Other food I’ve seen looks amazing too.

Best take away egg & bacon roll ever purchased. Fantastic, fresh & thoroughly enjoyed it. Have also had really good breakfasts here. Well done 👍

Fabulous place for breakfast, lovely friendly service from the minute we walked in. Meals were fantastic & great coffee. Would highly recommend

Went to the old milkbar today with a friend and my first impression was that the location is awesome, away from the busy lanes, at the corner of a street amongst the residential houses. The courtyard area seemed busy so we decided to sit in. The serves were pretty quick in helping us and take out orders. We ordered •The cold pressed juices (from juice culture) aa it was a warm day, we got the Rawberry & the Circus. The circus had a nice citrus taste to it. Definitely the highlight of the whole visit. For food we got • Dr. Marty’s Crumpets The presentation was a 10/10. I loved how there were different coloured element that made it look good. The crumpets were nice n moist. However, the •Cinnamon Waffles The presentation was okay, felt like it was trying to hard to look like their competition. The waffles looked like they were store bought..and the sour cream was completely unnecessary. Every element on the plated tasted really good, but only separately. The overall dish was a hit n miss. The overall experience was okay. The good thing thou, that they have zomato gold.

Was asked to tie my puppy in the corner outdoor area, behind the gate and door. When I asked if I could have my puppy under the table with me (as she's still a pup) they told me 'no' and the waiter suggested I cancel lunch. I cannot believe he told me to cancel my lunch date; no explanation to why they can't have dogs, just told me to cancel. And what if another customer came in with another dog? Tie both of them to the same corner? It's quite poor. Just went to another cafe where they were nice enough to give my pup and bowl of water.

This place is so good, I was willing to sit outside on this cold day just to be able to eat here! I had a grilled halloumi sandwich and my partner had a chicken sandwich and shared a side of chips. Seriously, best sandwich I have ever had, and that's saying a lot especially as I used to make them for a living. Lol! All the tables were full, and people standing waiting for tables, but the food and coffee were excellent even when under the pump. Great job guys! Definitely coming back!

Come here every week with my Mum. Great friendly efficient service & the best coffee. Great menu....just wish you had a kids menu.

The best Matcha Pancakes ever...worth the wait!

If like to be clear- I have not eaten here. My one star rating is purely about the coffee. I would rate it no stars if I could. This is the worst coffee I've ever been served at a cafe. It's bitter, watery, just awful. I would prefer instant coffee over this

I had the grilled haloumi and olive tapenade sandwich. It was divine. So many appealing options on the menu. Would definitely like to revisit this place.

Great food, lovely environment, one of the few Cafes that I would visit regularly

Amazing coffee and food. The service is outstanding!!! Lovely place to have coffee.

Got to try the hotcakes..yummo. staff friendly and helpful

First time there. Took my sister for birthday breakfast this morning. I had a lovely Gluten free sago and blueberry yummy thing and my sister has egg and bacon sliders. They have Calmer Sutra Chai and all was terrific. Teething problems are being sorted out.

My local, lovely coffee house - staff gorgeous, food divine, orange tree sacred!!!

Love everything about this cafe! Plus it's just down the road! Awesome food, juices, and coffee!

Yes shame about the no dogs. That was one of the great things about this place. Can't visit anymore and was a regular. Maybe you'll change your mind if business drops off. Was fairly quiet at lunchtime on Sunday when we were given our last orders and there was one other couple with a dog as well. Kids and adults love our dog. At one stage we used to bump into the same elderly couple with their two dogs every Saturday. Go the Red Bean on Plenty Road!

Excellent, original food and great service. Friendly!

Visited this place recently and ordered Waffles (the oranges gave it so much more flavour ) and Chilli Scrambled egg. It was perfect. A must try.<br/><br/>Its a shame that buy one get one free Zomato Gold is not an option anymore. I would’ve visited more.

Guys I’ve seen big brekkies that were $25 and I thought over priced. But $28.50? Do you coat the bread in platinum? Get over yourselves. You can get twice the food for half the price on high st. I don’t even have energy to say more, greedy capitalist mentalities make me sick. Shame.

Ok just not outstanding.

The old milkbar cafe<br/><br/>An old milkbar all by its lonesome turned into a now trendy retro cafe.<br/><br/>My partner and I dropped by The old milkbar on one of the most windiest and rainy day in winter. The cafe offers both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted to sit outside which is still undercover. There were clear blinds blocking out the wind and rain. Unfortunately because it was so windy, the blinds were constantly make loud banging noises, but I blame the weather for that and my choice of seating. <br/><br/>After sitting down we had our orders taken quickly and received our drinks first. I ordered the Smoked Chilli Scrambled Eggs with added sausage and my usual strong latte and my partner the Eggs benedict and an iced chocolate. <br/><br/>The Eggs Benedict came with pulled meat on a slice of bread and a croquet. The eggs and meat were well cooked with enough hollandaise, but we felt it needed an extra piece of bread. We believe the croquet provided served as a substitute however it was a bit big for our liking. This made the crunchy skin to filling ratio a bit off.<br/>The Smoked Chilli Scrambled Eggs also came with one slice of bread which overpowered the dish with the chilli egg. Overall it was cooked well but both dishes just needed a bit more balance with bread. <br/><br/>Service here was good however inconsistent. Most staff were very approachable and nice, however one we felt as though they were not in the mood when we went to pay for our meal. <br/><br/>Overall we enjoyed the refuge from the rain at The Old Milkbar. They looked after us and kept us warm.

Super disappointed with this cafe! I have been here in the past and had always enjoyed their food, however my experience recently was extremely horrible.<br/><br/> They didn’t honour the promotion that they advertised on EatClub. It was promoted at 40% off the total bill (min spend $10). However, when we got inside and told them about our booking through EatClub the female staff told us we must at least order a meal and a coffee each. We did that and ordered a meal and a drink each, my friend actually got an extra coffee. <br/><br/>However, when we went to pay for the bill the same female staff said they can’t honour this promotion as it was a public holiday and there is a 20% surcharge. <br/><br/>We were so shocked because we couldn’t believe they only told us this after we had finished the meal. They could of told us when we walked in or ordered our food, but they didn’t.<br/><br/>The 20% public holiday surcharged wasn’t publicised anywhere in the cafe. I asked her how is it possible for people to know about the surcharge when it’s not written anywhere. Her excuse was that everyone is a regular customer and already knows. She also mentioned that they can’t honour the promotion because it’s a public holiday so all their staff where on extra public holiday rates. <br/><br/>I explained that they should’ve at least let us know about the surcharge and then she said the most ridiculous thing. She said “I’m letting you know now, before you pay for the bill”! I was so annoyed but also laughing so much in my head! I didn’t understand her logic. How is that fair? We obviously have to pay it, if we had already finished with the meal. That’s not really letting us know, it doesn’t give us an option of deciding whether or not we want to accept and committee to the new conditions to their promotion. I just felt like we were forced to pay whatever they decided. To be honest they could of said no discounts today because of the public holiday and we would still have to comply with it. <br/><br/>I’m not annoyed about the surcharge, I understand it was a public holiday. I’m just very annoyed that they didn’t inform us when I first told them about our booking through EatClub, when we ordered our food or even when we were just sitting there chatting at the table. They had so many opportunities to let us know but they didn’t. I honestly felt like I was scammed.<br/><br/>I also didn’t like her attitude, she kept talking to us like she was right and we are wrong / must pay whatever they said the new price was. <br/><br/>This was a very hard review to write because I actually really liked this cafe and loved their food. They had the best soft shell burger in the past (I still think about that all the time). I actually wrote a really positive review on that in the past. <br/><br/>But anyway here is just some feedback I wanted to give about the most recently experience I had there. <br/>——————————-<br/><br/><br/>—> This following review was done a couple of years ago.<br/><br/>I love this cafe!! It's located in a quiet suburban area, I never would of thought there would be a cafe there. The place is very chilled with a nice outdoor area. I had the Soft shell crab burger.... and OMGOSH it was beyond my expectations. The burger was plated on a wooden block with the fries in a cute miniature fryer and some sour cream on the side. The bun was a black brioche bun and some sesame seeds on top. The bun was nicely toasted which meant the sesame seeds on top released their beautiful aroma. The filling was perfectly cooked and put together. The soft shell crab was cooked at perfection... deep fried, so it was crispy outside and moist inside. It was accompanied with some sweet citrus, herbs and aioli. When I took a bite.... it was like a party In my mouth, everything went so well together I never thought this little cafe would create something so amazing!! This coffee was also very good, I had a ice coffee and it came with a big scoop of ice cream on top which made me very happy!! <br/>Overall I'm very impressed with this lil cafe!! Can't wait to go back and try the other stuff on their menu!!

Visited The Old Milk Bar Cafe with Siya Thomas with high hopes.<br/><br/>The juice was delicious! My Crumpet dish was presented lovely. However the flavours of the dishes seemed off.<br/><br/>Was nice to be able to take advantage of Zomato Gold!<br/>

Went to the old milkbar today with a friend and my first impression was that the location is awesome, away from the busy lanes, at the corner of a street amongst the residential houses. <br/>The courtyard area seemed busy so we decided to sit in. The serves were pretty quick in helping us and take out orders. We ordered <br/>•The cold pressed juices (from juice culture) aa it was a warm day, we got the Rawberry & the Circus.<br/>The circus had a nice citrus taste to it. Definitely the highlight of the whole visit.<br/>For food we got <br/>• Dr. Marty’s Crumpets <br/>The presentation was a 10/10. I loved how there were different coloured element that made it look good. The crumpets were nice n moist. However, the <br/>•Cinnamon Waffles <br/>The presentation was okay, felt like it was trying to hard to look like their competition. The waffles looked like they were store bought..and the sour cream was completely unnecessary. Every element on the plated tasted really good, but only separately. The overall dish was a hit n miss.<br/><br/>The overall experience was okay. The good thing thou, that they have zomato gold.

Pleasantly surprised by the menu, delicious and interestinf for a hidden cafe in the side of Thornbury. The coffee was average and the service was a bit frustrating but for a simple meal or stop by isn't a bad spot.

The coffee is cold and bitter. <br/>the staff was not at all polite and friendly. <br/>I walked out unsatisfied and hungry. <br/>Would not recommend this cafe.

Ordered the TOMB breakfast which was ok, although on the drier side. Wouldn't have minded sauce of any sort. Our dishes took a very long time to come out despite it being reasonably quiet, and there were some errors with the orders when it did finally come out. Overall, a little underwhelmed, and not sure I would return.

4.1<br/><br/>I like this place. It’s a nicely run retro hipster style cafe. An easy four stars, I reckon. Once it was a crappy old milkbar in an unfashionable inner northern suburb. In the old days the tastiest thing you’d get here would be a snickers bar. Fast forward 25 years and this sites hosts a very comfortable, very well run cafe in a now very desirable suburb and it’d be at home in any serious city in the world. You have to love it.<br/><br/>The positives here are significant. First, the cafe is on a beautiful north facing site. It’s a lovely spot on a temperate sunny day like today. The cafe also has a good retro feel. Yes, it runs to a bit of a template - old site, retro setting, hipster style menu - but the template works, folks.<br/><br/>Mine was a good big brekkie. I’m getting pretty good at build your own. On of my companions had the buttermilk hotcakes and found them to be superb. My other companion otherwise known as the world’s most beautiful woman had the tuna melt with a smashed. The melt was excellent. The avocado side off the scale good. Whoever prepared the avo side needs a commendation. It is so beautifully prepared - smashed, seasoned and delicately infused with citrus. It is spectacularly good.<br/><br/>Our concluding coffees here were beauties. Absolutely spot on excellent Melbourne coffee. You can only sit back from the table, look skyward and say thank you for the quality.<br/><br/>This is a very good solid cafe. It’s a very sound option.<br/><br/>December 11, 2016<br/><br/>Great little breakfast place. Terrific to see these old shops turned into nice cafes. Food was good. I had the big breakfast which was tasty without being exceptional. Coffee was very good. This is an efficient place. Service was very slick. Professional and quick with the odd quip and smile. Prices were fine. I'd happily return.

Amazing coffee!! Had the best cappuccino of my life at The Old Milkbar Cafe, even ordered another after I finished my meal. Smashed avo was really nice too well proportioned and fresh!

We were in the area and decided to go for some coffee and breakfast. Drive past this place and thought we should try it. The vibe and the decor were spot on and the staff were polite and reasonably friendly.<br/>We ordered a two coffees and an orange juice to start. The coffees were nothing special - I ordered a strong latte but it tasted like a normal latte. Very milky and not the best tasting coffee either. Then we went to order food. I asked for the T.O.M.B. breakfast and requested to swap the croquet for hollandaise sauce. No where on the menu did it say no changes allowed. I was told I couldn’t swap because the breakfast is priced with the items listed. Now on the menu, the croquet and hollandaise are both priced at $5 on the extras list. I pointed that out to the waiter who said that they actually cost different prices but were listed on the extras as the same. Does that mean that they are charging more than they should for extras? (Which I believe they are as $5 for any of the extras on their list is ridiculous- many cafes in the area charge less than this). The waiter basically shrugged his shoulders and didn’t try and resolve the issue. We ended up leaving without ordering food. <br/>Should probably list ‘no changes’ on your menu and not charge the same for two items and then claim they cost different amounts.

The staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming, the food was delicious and fresh. My personal favourite is the chilli scrambled with queso and lime avo, seriously good. The homemade croquettes are also yum!

2.5 stars. Used to love this place but don’t feel like the food or coffee was up to the same level. We’ve kept trying to make sure it wasn’t a one-off but usually leave disappointed. Having said that, the staff were really friendly.

The Old Milk Bar used to be our brunch go-to until a few weeks ago. I don't know if they changed their coffee or some staff but the coffee quality went downhill. <br/>I feel like the food quality has also declined. I tried Dr. Marty's Crumpets with smoked salmon and beetroot puree and it was awful. I am really not a picky eater at all but I could not understand this odd combination. Try the chili scramble with queso instead - trust me. <br/><br/>I did have an issue one day with service. I stopped in for a takeaway coffee but was told I couldn't use EFTPOS and had to pay for 2 coffees to meet their min EFTPOS spend. I thought this was weird as the person cashing me out asked someone else if they would let it slide, and she nodded yes. She then turned to me and charged me for 2 coffees anyway and gave me my pre-paid coffee card. I let it go but we haven't been back since! Really disappointing as we used to love it here.

Delicious wholesome food in a relaxed environment with good service makes a lovely weekend brunch! The crumpets were also amazing, will be back for more.

My favourite cafe! Really friendly staff and yummy food. I love the big portions and the coffee is great. I love that you give a generous amount of avocado for the price however I wish you would leave it out of the fridge because it’s not very appealing eating cold avocado.

A friend and I had a lazy Saturday morning brunch. Love the atmosphere, exposed bricks + pipes, light bulbs.<br/>The coffee was okay, and food okay as well.

Sat in the inside outside part beautiful day. I loved the chilli scram eggs & my friend loved the smashed avocado. Our new local 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻we will return

I drive past this place quite often and it’s always busy. Funny because it’s nestled amongst houses rather than other food outlets. The good is the coffee. Super intense. Looks like they roast their own beans so that’s pretty serious. Even the police were dropping in to get some brew and you know how much they like coffee.<br/><br/>The bad was the burger. More salt than you would find at the Red Sea. We gave up half way. The patties (x2) were also a bit dry. The lack of veg apart from the pickle was disappointing. Chips were decent but the aioli sauce was also too salty. I needed so much water for the rest of the day I felt like Aquaman. While I’m sure this meal doesn’t define this establishment I can only score on what is presented. <br/><br/>The toilet seat in the men’s room also needs attention. It’s about to fall off - literally.

I wish they would bring back the Panko crumbed egg with smashed avocado! By far the best dish in the menu, especially during summer. Coffee is always great here!

Unique space for a cafe. Staff was friendly and the atmosphere was chill and relaxed. Good food as well, I enjoyed the chilli scrambled eggs with the chai latte. Will come back for sure

A good cafe. Nice rustic vibe. No other cafes in that exact area, so a good move to open there. <br/><br/>It used to be called The Succulent Lady (they had succulent plants there as part of the decoration).

The service was lovely, felt very looked after. Great breakfast food I had the eggs benedict filled me up nicely. Also the outdoor section is fantastic nostalgic primary school styled chairs

Service was super average. I stood waiting for 15 minutes for someone to acknowledge my presence but they just carried on with their tasks. It wasn't even busy. I finally decided to just take a seat, to which a girl came over and asked if I needed something. Some menus would be great :) I responded, which was greeted with absolute silence for a moment, before finally some menus were retrieved. <br/>Food was very tasty, it's just a shame about the service. Might give it another go, perhaps just an off day?

Cute and quiet cafe surrounded by residencies. Loved the chicken schnitzel sandwich and was impressed with its size. Other reviews say they had friendly staff - we may have been the outlier here, unfortunately the staff member we had was quite rude and cold. I'm sure the majority are not like that however it does spoil the experience!

Good breakfast and quick and friendly service. We had eggs and bacon in sourdough with the tomato relish. Tomato relish was great. Would definitely go back.

Just passing through and thought I would give this cool looking corner rustic looking old milk bar cafe ago. Coffee was great and I tried the Wagyu burger, just great, the picture will say it all.<br/>Staff friendly and efficient and food served very quickly .<br/>Very trendy and good back ground tunes playing .<br/><br/>Enjoy ,<br/>The cat 🐈😼

The chai quality is just getting worse and worse in Melbourne. I did enjoy this chilli scrambled egg but the separately spaced extra condiments confused me with how to apply them and where.

Grabbed a take away coffee was luke warm and average tasting, and the girl that was making the coffee needs to smile because it doesn't cost anything.<br/>Blonde lady on the register was absolutely lovely!!

Food was good and decently priced, i also liked the variety of food available. The space itself was well set out and staff friendly. There was a mistake with our order but that happens sometimes - we were too hungry to complain and didn't want to waste it though (it's was only an egg preparation choice).

Very out of the way, being a residential cafe. Outdoor heating made sitting outside during winter not so bad. Food was really good and considerably decently priced. Nothing to complain about with service. Factory kind of vibes.

good service <br/>Huge meals and good value for money<br/>you could see it was owner run<br/>girl behind the coffee machine and the kitchen staff were so unhappy which was a shame and the Male chef as so rude to the girl chef in the kitchen

Excellent breakfasts. The feel takes you back to a suburban childhood as the transformer Milk Bar maintains a real local feel. A great local family breakfast restaurant. O

The food at Old Milk Bar Cafe is next level! I have had some of the best meals of my life here. It is truly exceptional quality. The cafe is gorgeous and the staff are friendly. A lovely place to be.

Nothing too special.<br/>Smashed avocado had only one small egg and no flavour at all.<br/>We asked for the egg to be fried or scrambled instead of poached, and it was like we were asking for something extraordinarily and impossible, their excuse was being too busy. <br/>The water glasses smelled strange and there were no salt, sugar or pepper on the table.<br/>We have had way better breakfast elsewhere in the neighbourhood.<br/>

Great cafe in the back streets of Thornbury. They have a large and varied menu, with staples such as smashed avo and chili eggs to things like breakfast ramen. All the food our group tried was delicious, as were the coffees. It is well priced too (apart from a side serve of fries being $9 - it should be $5 max!). Great atmosphere with both indoor and under cover outdoor areas and good service, definitely recommend if you're in the area.

Nice enough space. School chairs and tables and remnants from the old milk bar give it a very hipster feel. Maybe taking that vibe a bit far with chipped cups and dishes though!<br/><br/>The coffee is outstanding. Food needs a bit of work in my opinion. Recovery favourites like chips and sliders are fine - no complaints. But the healthier options are a bit of a let down, particularly the smash which is more like two table spoons of purée on toast. A bit amateur. <br/><br/>Staff are nice enough. Overall an ok option if you want to give the Bunnings sausage a miss!

Love the large outdoor heaters. Great for winter mornings sitting in the outside area. The freshly squeezed oj and smashed avo is my go to. The chai lattes are brewed not instant powder which is great. The only suggestion I would have is sharper knives.

Good local spot for brunch. The service is very friendly and genuine. There's a big outdoor area out the front which is good for big groups and nice on warm days. The coffee was nice. I had the ceasar salad with chicken. The chicken was cooked well but the salad had a little too much dressing and was quite 'wet'. Would come back to try other items on the menu.

Great thornbury cafe. Food is delicious and modern without being too trendy or pretentious. The old Milk Bar setting is comfortable and large. Used to love coming with my dog (although unfortunately due to council regs pets aren't allowed on-site anymore). Breakfast, lunch and coffee is all good here. Soft shell crab burger is particularly tasty at lunch time!

Love this place, great breakfast and lunch options, it's always fairly full but never have to wait long for a table. It's my preferred local brunch spot. Love the smoked chilli scrambled eggs, they are amazing! 😀

Loved the chilli chicken bowl with cornbread and other Latin inspired sides. Everything was cooked to perfection and so flavoursome. Service was really good also.

We went here boxing day for lattes and ended up ordering beer battered chips too. The lattes were good.  The chips were amazing. The aioli they come with was really nice too.   I like the set up with tables outside with a retro feel.

Sold out of chilli chicken bowl.  Food was not ordered when it should have been. Turned out they did have chilli chicken bowl and gave it to someone else. I can't believe they did that. Bad service. Bad food. And hated the fact that beef burger came with double beef, double bacon and double cheese that was NOT STATED ON THE MENU. The only good thing that came out of that was the fact that when they realised they hadn't put the order in for the other food they gave us free drinks. That's it. Not going back here again. Coffee was good. Eggs were bad.

Does perfection exist? A table of 7 throughly enjoyed all aspects of breakfast. I wish I could say more but words wouldn't do it justice. 7 very happy customers will ALL be back

Lemon lime ricotta hotcakes with blueberries. Yes, please!! These were hands down the lightest, fluffiest, most delicious hot cakes I’ve ever had. No competition. No other was to describe it. Absolutely perfect. Swimming in the most delicious citrus curd, and plenty of juicy blueberries. I was told these were a new addition to the menu, and I hope they stay on the menu – I’ll be back for them again. They were magic.

Burger of choice was the T.O.M.B. Wagyu Beef Burger with cheese, bacon, pickles, aioli, mixuna and added fried egg. Talk about tender and juicy, this hit the spot with the crispy beer battered chips.

So two things have happened here which have left me unimpressed. First of all there is a $10 minimum on card, so if you want just a take away coffee you'd better be prepared to either travel all the way down to Coles to get cash out or they give the option of pre-paying for coffees until the fee surpasses $10 which is useless if you are not local. Secondly they close when ever they feel like it, if you say you are open until 3:30 then stay open until 3:30 dont turn your machine off at 3:10. Not that it matters to me because I won't be coming back but just for future reference. There are far too many great cafés around which aren't as lazy. I'll happily be going down to High street for future coffee endeavors.

Great place and ambiance, they've kept a lot of the milk bar's original structure with a modern twist.<br/><br/>My dad goes there every weekday as its close to work, and they're always preparing his coffee before he's entered the cafe. Today (Sunday) we went for lunch and it was no different, his coffee, the way he likes it, was on the table before we had a chance to look at the menu.<br/><br/>Food was great, some had breakfast and some had lunch, all great tasting and good quality. Coffee was outstanding, some of the best in Melb.<br/><br/>Great local for the people in Northcote and worth the trip from Doncaster.

The coffee was good but the matcha porridge did not have enough flavour which is in part the way matcha tastes to me. Thankfully, some mixed berry jam was added as a topping which gave it flavour. Bit dark but family orientated crowd was there to brighten things up for me.

Met up with some friends, so got to try out this place for the first time. Really interesting menu, interesting in a good way, though I think the one on here isn't the updated one.<br/><br/>Staff were super nice, but a little slow to take our orders and to clean up the table when we were done. Otherwise they did a great job.<br/><br/>Food was really good. Don't think anyone at our table was disappointed with their order. Slightly oily, but really tasty.<br/><br/>Overall a great experience and great cafe. Will have to come back to try all the other cool stuff.

Great outside area during warmer months. Unfortunately the coffees are a bit hit and miss. More hits than misses but, the misses really hurt

Not in your usual spot for a cafe in Thornbury ......<br/><br/>Solid coffee; Short Black and Soy Latte, okay Danish for $5 a piece.<br/><br/>Open kitchen, a little bit dark inside, but enjoyable ambiance .... Must come back to try the rest of their Menu.

Was very busy when I met a friend here last Sunday at peak brunch hour - lovely staff but awfully slow service. Took 15 minutes to get menus that we had to ask for, as they were never brought to the table. Food took longer still; strangely my pancakes arrived before a Cherry Danish we ordered from the baked goods cabinet. Probably will eat beforehand next time if having brunch here again.

Food could be a lot better. Service could be a whole lot better! We arrived and were shortly shown a table which was uncleared. As directed we went to the tabled to soon be barked at by another waitress to 'keep away from the table, we'll clear it and then call you when it's ready' even though we were told to go the table.. Down right rude, really not how I want to start my Saturday. Coffee is okay, food is ok - the hash browns are really just potatoes by the way. Disappointing. Most of the seating is outdoors so I recommend they put up some barriers to block the wind or some outdoor heaters. Overall, looks like it's family friendly with a pretty pedestrian menu. The cafe is ok - there's better.

Edit 06/07/2016: new barista and recent change of hands perhaps? Atmosphere has changed as the new bloke plays top 40 at all hours and blasts it. Not cool. The new barista makes a weak and burnt milk coffee... Same machine and beans as the others with a worse result. Down to 2.5 for The OMB.<br/><br/>Consistently good coffee but inconsistent service. The current menu's pick would have to be the matcha hotcakes, rueben sandwich, omelette or the avo smash.<br/><br/>It would be great to see the occasional special or at least a more frequent seasonal menu turn over.

I had the smashed avo with planko egg(crumbed) and my partner had the Hotcakes. The price is very satisfying for the portion size. <br/><br/>There was no shortage of avo, actually could've been a little less, I also would've liked another egg to come with the dish and felt like the one egg wasn't enough...

My thrid visit to The Old Milkbar Cafe and I'm still amazed at the quality, quantity and deliciousness of the food. <br/>Previously I've tried Matcha Hotcakes (a cheaper and much better alternative that the famouse TP hotcake), the burger (perfectly cooked patty with ample yet not too much filling), the coconut sago (light and freshing, it was a pleasant way to start my morning) and the chickpea salad (the classic, savoury Mediterranean flavours that are always a hit). This time I tried the eggplant sandwich and for only $12.50, it was juicy, flavourful and extremely filling! The zest from the pickled zucchini was surprisingly moreish and I would be happy to eat that alone with some bread.<br/>Chai lattes are made with tea leaves!

Coffee was amazing and a good place for a lazy brunch or catch up with friends. The food portions are large (not complaining) but what i ordered left me not that happy and hence pretty much didnt eat my mushy peas dish but rather finished my friends omlette. So maybe choose wisely.

Trekked from the Deep South of Melbourne to meet a friend for lunch here today and boy was it worth it! We had a Reuben sandwich and the eggplant schnitzel sandwich and they were both perfection. The unexpected bonus was that they provide a little takeaway paper bag when you order a sandwich as they know the meals are huge and that you'll want to take some home :)<br/>Ps the chips with Parmesan are too good!<br/>Will definitely return to try the Panko crumbed eggs for breakfast one day soon.

The only thing worth mentioning was the chips. I had a beef burger of which I took 4 bites of and my partner the soft shell crab burger which gave her gastro. If I ever need a colon cleanse I now know where to go...

We had a lovely breakfast this morning. Delicious omelette, big serve loved sitting outside. Staff lovely and prompt with service. Our son had access to a high chair, small fork and plastic cup. Coffee was really good as well.

Very relaxing atmosphere, friendly staff and great food. It's our go to for breakfast or if I need to take staff out for lunch. Very kid friendly A+++

Have been here a couple of times now, staff are friendly and attentive, and the food is good. I've had the smashed avo both times with the avo being a very generous serve. Coffee is good as well.

The best brunch I've ever had. The smashed avo here is absolutely amazing. So much avo, with lovely bread with egg! Couldn't recommend it more

Met a friend for brunch this morning and was super impressed. While sadly the coffee watery and pretty terrible, the chilli scramble was INCREDIBLE. The queso & chilli jam were phenomenal (I was tempted to ask for more!!) and the eggs were cooked to perfection. Will definitely head back but will probably steer clear of the coffee.

I recently went to the Old Milkbar Cafe and tried the Soft-Shell Crab Burger. I found it positively scrumptious. What was interesting about the meal was the side of polenta chips, which I only wished there was more of, as they too tasted amazing.<br/>My wife got the sago pudding, which looked visually stunning. <br/>I was only too happy to help her finish it and will definitely order it the next time I'm in. <br/>I do hope to find out the secret of how they season their mushrooms there, as I always order a side of them when there.

personally I really like this cafe..think the food is above average..the prices are great for the quality of the produce..and the service has always been good..would recommend to anyone who wants a breakfast/lunch to give it a go..

We love The Old Milkbar Cafe we travel from the other side of town for those awesome, tasty burgers, fries and great coffees.  Service is fast and comes with a smile.  The place has a great vibe and attracts all ages.  My Papa loved the Wagu Beef Burger and he is a fusspot.  I can highly recommend this place we will be back.

Great little find. This is a cosy, warm and funky little cafe. Fresh food with a bit of a twist. The owners teenage daughter is a real sweety. Would be nice to see her around a bit more. It's great to see young people making an effort. Our waitress was really friendly. The staff were very accommodating with our little 2 year old also. Keep up the good work guys!

Was excited to have such a cool looking local. Unfortunately the bad coffee and the rude service ruin the good food.

Living in Thornbury I have access to a veritable plethora of cafes. However, none of them come even close to the standards of T.O.M.B. The staff are always plentiful, friendly, attentive and accommodating. The food is innovative (I'm lovin' the matcha hotcakes, guys) and very reasonably priced compared to other local cafes. Overall, T.O.M.B is deserving of the highest praise in my mind. Keep up the great work!

Don't serve me horribly under cooked pancakes and call them hot cakes. Don't let the chef be heard yelling and swearing when I send them back. Also don't tell me that they are 'the chefs interpretation of a hotcake', it's a classic breakfast dish so it's either a hot cake, Pancake, pikelet or a crepe, no one cares about your interpretation of it especially if they're still batter in the centre.

It was a nice morning at The Old Milk Bar cafe. I was impressed that my coffee was hot, and silky smooth to drink, without it being burnt :) My food was also nice; smashed avocado on toast with a dukkah spiced egg. My egg was a bit on the cold side and bread was a little too dense/hard for my liking, but the flavours were nice and I still enjoyed it enough to finish it.<br/>I followed this up with a hot green tea and a brownie (yum!). The brownie would have been nice if it was warmed up. I'll ask for that next time... The staff are really friendly too... I chilled here for 90 min and had a relaxing time. Very nice atmosphere, but dress warmly if you come in on a cold day.

T.O.M.B. is so cosy - I love brunching there with my daughters, husband, friends and work colleagues. The staff are actually interested in me as a person. There is a delightful young girl named Anjelique, who is charming, well-mannered and beautiful. The coffee is sumptuous, food divine, and the little orange fruit tree in the courtyard symbolises the life-giving growing of community this cafe creates! I'll be back!

Hmmmmmm very average. At $16.50, I would have hoped for more than one egg and one piece of toast, and on top of that, the egg yolk was not even runny. The feta was not incorporated into the avocado and it was left in very large cubes so it was incredibly salty and somewhat unpleasant to eat. In addition to that, it was as though both the avocado and feta had been taken straight out of the fridge, as they were very cold, which did not mix well with the lukewarm egg. All in all, I was not particularly impressed and will not be returning given that there are several far superior cafes in the area.

These guys are improving. Since it opened they have learnt a few lessons about service. I keep going back because it's local and the food and coffee are pretty good. I can't help thinking that the owner is a little greedy. Prices are a bit inflated and when he finally got eftpos it was the budget non-pay pass version. C'mon mate just do it right. I'm hanging in there hoping they get better

The staff here are super friendly and the coffee is always on point! I've been here 3 times now and can't stay away from the eggs benedict. The potato croquette that comes with it is to die for. Really nice outdoor space too!

Don't know what all the fuss is about this place so I had to try it out. The poached eggs were undercooked and the avocado was bruised all served on one piece of toast. Not good guys. I expect a nice thick piece or two of crusty bread cheers.

Update - 21/062015.<br/><br/>Just came back from breakfast here and I've changed my rating up .5. They have put more waitstaff on and they were really friendly throughout. Didn't rush us and were attentive which was great. <br/><br/>The food was way better than the previous time too - seems they have worked it all out and are now past the growing pains from the start. Overall a great breakfast and will visit more frequently.<br/><br/>________________________________________<br/>First experience here was so bad we left. Got seated and it took 20 minutes to order a coffee and another 10 to order our food. We drank the coffee and 20 minutes later asked how far off the food was. Was told they hadn't started so we cancelled and went elsewhere. <br/>Second time was better and the food was tasty - don't get me wrong. The low rating is the lack of staff and attention being paid. I don't really blame the three people left servicing a huge amount of tables.<br/><br/>Overall the food is good - and if the service was better it'd be a regular place.

I never usually write negative reviews, but I have to for this one.<br/>Came here today and was really, really disappointed.<br/>We waited 50 mins for our food before politely checking where it was.  The waitress told us they had forgotten to put it through and would immediately do it and would give us one meal for free.  We ordered a second round of drinks to get us through the wait.<br/><br/>Food came out and the avo and feta smash literally comes with one piece of toast and one egg.  Tiny meal for 16.50!<br/><br/>Finished our food and the wait for drinks went for over 30 mins.  I ended up cancelling my second drink so we could actually leave.<br/><br/>Went in to pay and the staff were extremely rude about the mix up and only took the drinks off the bill. <br/><br/>All would have been forgivable if the service was better, it takes very little effort to be nice but makes all the difference.  Rudest service I've experienced at any cafe.  NEVER going back and would not recommend it.

Average food, average coffee and last time I came here couldn't enjoy my meal as the people on the table next to us were all puffing away on cigarettes. Shouldn't an outdoor area that is partially covered be smoke free out of respect for other diners? The smoke doesn't go anywhere when the shade is pulled across- it's revolting. But you have to keep the hipsters happy I suppose... <br/>Also, someone should explain to the barista that a flat white isn't half milk, half froth.

Great local. Good food, great service. Go here regularly.. Happy customer.

Can't complain with this place. Pretty consistent food, quality and service. Just waiting for a menu change but make sure you leave the big brekkie and the wagyu burger. Two best dishes by far and almost tried it all.

Disappointing. B quality ingrediants cooked by C quality cooks.

Love this place but couple of disappointments in last few weeks. First taking sago off the menu and other sweet breakfast options just seem too rich in comparison. So ordered the smashed avo which was delicious. Then ordered the avo the following week but this time was half the size with 1 slice of bread so was still hungry afterwards.

The Old Milk Bar. I love this cafe & so do my friends. It's such a great find because the menu is wonderful & the service is friendly & warm. You aren't treated like an annoyance which is a refreshing change to a lot of cafes these days. And to top it off the coffee is really good. Very happy!<br/><br/>Leez

I really like this place. The food is good, so is the coffee and my god daughter tells me the chocolate milkshakes are yum. I like the vibe, relaxed and laid back, the customer service is good too. But the best thing about T.O.M.B. is the young awesome 14yo (not 10y.o.) girl who works there. This talented young teenager knows her stuff and she could really teach some waiters in some places the art of customer service instead of attitude! Keep up the good work and you'll definitely go places.

Great service. Dropped by this morning for a takeaway coffee. I quickly ran inside to order the coffee as I had my son in the car (its ok everyone, I could clearly see the car!) and explained that I would have to wait outside at the car but would run back in to grab the coffee when it was ready. The girl who served me said she was happy to bring it out to me. I waited by the car and kept looking in the cafe so I could intercept her bringing out the coffee but she was too quick for me and brought the coffee to the car and wished me a lovely day. Now that is service !

I absolutely adore this place. Hands down beautifully presented, amazing food great staff. Will come back again and again.

Amanda. The demographic around Thornbury generally vote GREEN and certainly don't go for a rag like the herald sun. Gotta be getting The Age newspaper. At the very least, one would do. Four herald suns is no good. Good coffee and a great menu though! I wish you well. Love the space you've made.

A-paw-ling policy!. We have a well behaved dog that enjoys his outings with us. He generally sits when told and happily lies under the table watching the world go by. Or, he sleeps. He loves people, does not bark, nor is he aggressive to other dogs.<br/><br/>The Old Milk Bar Cafe was a convenient local choice for us due to the large outdoor area and nice food. Until recently, when we were told dogs are no longer welcome.<br/><br/>This is a shame as we have been numerous times, however we won't be returning due to the ban.<br/><br/>We can of course understand the proprietors not wanting trouble caused by misbehaved or nuisance dogs, but surely the policy could be that well behaved dogs are permitted and the badly behaved ones are not allowed, or asked to leave with their owners upon misbehaving. This being any form of disruption or anti-social behaviour.<br/><br/>We too are annoyed by barking or aggressive dogs, as well as owners who permit the behaviour. If our dog did that we would not take him with us. But he doesn't. A blanket ban over all does not seem the best way forward, even just in business terms as this will surely lead to less customers than before.

Ditto on the No Dogs Policy. Been a regular here at the weekend, from the day they opened. Can't go anymore as I always bring my small dog with me. Very disappointed in management for making this decision. Can't imagine why they would mess with a winning formula. A local full of dogs and families. Can only hope they have to change policy back as very few tables taken the day we were told we were no longer welcome. <br/>Have met lots of lovely people here through our dog and never witnessed any problems.

No dog policy. This place is close to home and the food is great. We loved coming here with our well-behaved small dog every Saturday morning. It was very common to see 2 or 3 other dogs there also and I never once saw any problems with dogs. <br/>Unfortunately, the management has now put up a sign in the window banning all dogs at weekends and busy times. This, in my opinion is a big mistake. My experience with our dog is that the customers were happy to see dogs there, especially little kids who always stopped for a pat. The sign says dogs are not allowed due to "many complaints". Really? Remains to be seen how this decision affects business because we, and other dog owners, will give the place a miss, and also spread the word on this mis-guided decision. The Red Bean on Plenty Road will now get our Saturday morning business - they welcome pooches with a lovely fresh bowl of water and a smile.

Went there this morning and had some really yummy breakfast options. All four of us had different egg-on-toast options and they were all good. Coffee was good and it came to less than $20/head for breakky and coffee, so that was a plus. My only suggestion is that it would be nice to have a lighter option of muesli or something with fruit for those that aren't in the mood for (albeit delicious) eggs on toast! Will be back!