Review Novel Kitchen - Williamstown

Hidden gem at Williamstown! Really enjoy the Hot Viet coffee and Banh Mi and sausage rolls! It's always a treat for my family and I to visit! Friendly staff, good service, tasty food, always look forward to go back!

Lovely to be personally greeted as you walk in. Great atmosphere. Enjoyed my coffee

Best place in Williamstown for my absolute favourite bite - sausage rolls! Home made recipe style. The pastry buttery and the filling perfect for any time, any day!! Novel also make the best smoothies and fresh juices of your favourite fruit combination. My go to is the breakfast smoothly with banana and dates! Its the best!! Also for those with dietary requirements, get your GF, Vegan and Vegetarian meal options here! Not just add ons these are the star of the show! Recipes are like good home made food except, not! My fave GF option are the spring rolls and vegan Mousakka (or however you spell it) The owners are lovely too and make me feel welcomed and appreciated! Love this place

Waited over 20 mins to have sandwiches made and then was overcharged. Don’t bother with the Banh Mi - they used sliced bread and toasted them . They wanted to charge $12 for the pleasure. Sandwiches were soggy. Staff were nice.

Overpriced pies $10 for a home made pie which didn't even taste like a pie not even real meat won't be back same with sausage rolls $7 bunnings snags are better value and more enjoyable

This place does its best to have as much whole and organic food as possible and they do a pretty good job. I really enjoyed the pancakes which was a good size - almost couldn’t finish them. This place also has ‘takeaway meals’ so if you need something for dinner, drop in and see what’s on offer. Staff are helpful and friendly. A wheelchair, pram or stroller could fit through the door. Parking isn’t too bad considering it can be challenging in Williamstown. Another bonus is the views around Williamstown.

Friendly service and great pies and sausage rolls!

such an a e s t h e t i c little place. the coffee is splendid its amazing. the people there are soo sweet like this one girl called ham<3

This place does its best to have as much whole and organic food as possible and they do a pretty good job. I really enjoyed the pancakes which was a good size - almost couldn’t finish them. <br/>This place also has ‘takeaway meals’ so if you need something for dinner, drop in and see what’s on offer. Staff are helpful and friendly. A wheelchair, pram or stroller could fit through the door. Parking isn’t too bad considering it can be challenging in Williamstown. Another bonus is the views around Williamstown.

Ended up here after attending Williamstown public hospital and because Zouki coffee is best when avoided.<br/>The coffee at Novel Kitchen is ok, but it is not knock out great. As it was my first coffee for the day I was hoping for something nicer. Still it was satisfying. :)<br/><br/>I'm not likely to return as I'm not a local and don't get to Williamstown hospital that much.

The pastry used for the 'organic' pies is commercial Pampas rubbish full of toxic ingredients and far from organic. This suits the unfriendly vegan girl who makes the things......Pampas pastry contains no animal based ingredients. Plenty of nasties for humans but kind to animals !!! The oils used for your meals is highly refined, non-organic and highly processed. This is all total fraud and certainly not good for your health or organic.

Have visited this great cafe twice now. On both occasions I’ve had brilliant table service and the breakfast has been spot on. The coffe is great. The hardest thing was to make a final decision about what to order. Highly recommended.

Food was great. Coffee was great. Staff are very friendly. Orders smashed avo and truffled mushroom. Lots of vegan and vegetarian options. Would come back again.

Quiet and small cafe in Williamstown, staff is friendly.I wouldn't order pancake from here again, it's super dry. Ice-cream and strawberries are nice, but not the pancake.<br/>Mango smoothie is nice, I would recommend this from the menu.

Small, cozy, but squishy seating. Seems to get busy here. <br/>Coffee wasn't great. Fruit toast was nice. <br/>Service was ok. Lots of people, might try some breakfast next time.<br/><br/>

Had breaky here with my best friend. Nice atmosphere and delicious coffee. Slow service to get a menu, our coffees, and mains. I had the eggs rancheros which I though would be quite mexican themes but was lacking flavour and variety, with a small amount of tomato and no coriander :( Otherwise pleasant and reasonably priced.

First things first, the coffee is decent, smooth, not burnt, good flavour. Cakes are great, particularly the blueberry tea cake. <br/>The service was a bit all over the place, floaters in our water was a bit gross, decor could be improved, I can see they're going for a homely feel but haven't quite hit the nail on the head. <br/>No extra charge for soy milk is a definite plus! I give this place a solid 3!!!

A pleasant little cafe in Williamstown that I dropped into while in the area. It was the more appealing of those along the street, some of which looked past their prime. On this occasion I simply enjoyed their coffee, which was well made, and a toastie, but as usual I perused their menu and made a note that they have a number of vegetarian options. The staff were welcoming and, and the service was most efficient. The décor and table settings were plain but modern, and there were some outside tables under shade umbrellas.

This place seems to not mind its customers staying for a long period of time, which is a plus. As for the food, its actually pretty good yet simple. At one point I thought that I could make it at home, though of course it would be less presentable. The coffee was weak and felt like they dont have barrista here. The table service was also minimal, though it could be a good thing as they leave you alone.

The coffee was weak which is a warning sign that the rest of the place is not going to up to standard. If they don't care about the coffee they serve. The salad was bland. The Cajun wrap was full of cous cous with a small amount of chicken and very stodgy.

This is our local.. its only taken 4 years to write...wait .. rave about it! If your not visiting Novel yet you should start really good coffee (Syndicate) and use real milk not supermarket cheapo stuff. Owner Steve and his staff like Kelly are just just super stars at customer service you really feel very welcome in this cafe. I come in daily for my coffee and a chat, bring family and friends in for breakfast or lunch and have enen had coffee meetings with clients at this cafe as its conducive for talking and onec again ...great service great coffee great wholesome food.

I'm local and last year I started getting my coffee here after walking past it for years. The coffee is beautiful and the take away soups are always amazing. But just over a week ago I had a weird experience here. The whole time I was there I could hear the woman out the back, the whole shop could hear her swearing and complaining about her private life and coworkers. At one point it got so awkward that the girl at the coffee machine turned up the music to try and drown her out. There was a kid sitting with her mother while it was all going on and I just thought the whole situation was really inappropriate. The language is what pushed me to write a not-so-good review. I also went to use the little toilet out the back and you have to walk right through the kitchen. The chef was sitting in the corner and looked angry that I had come through when I had no option in order to use the toilet. I recommend the coffee for take away but I won't be expecting a relaxing sit down there.

A tiny eatery and even smaller kitchen prove an eclectic array of foods bordering on wholefoods type thing. But don't let the appearance and the kitschy decor deter you. Our party had the Eggs Rancheros with spicy beef, Smashed Avocado and the Pulled Pork Roll. These ranged from good, great and amazing, respectively. The coffees were good too, made precisely to order. Only small cons were the atmosphere and lack of initial engagement by service staff who turned out to be friendly in a perfunctory manner. If for no other reaaon, drop in for a pullerld pork roll which is an absolute revelation.

The green garden juice is really good. <br/>The most interesting Smashed Avocado I've ever had.<br/>Recommended <br/>Recommended<br/>Recommended<br/>Recommended

Come for the food, put up with the service. Had been told the food and quirky set up here was great (it looks like they have stolen someone's dining table and stuck it in this cafe) and it didn't disappoint. The vibe was good and the truffle oil mushrooms were cooked perfectly, as was the poached egg accompaning them. The Zealy Bay fruit toast was great and our coffees were of a high standards. The food really holds it own with other good breakfast places. <br/><br/>Found the service a little lacking of energy, awareness and anything that added to our experience. As we enter we stood for a few minutes without anyone acknowledging us, then sat and waited, ended up getting our own menus. Even as we paid, our payment was going through and the waitress wandered off to do something else and left us standing there. At this pint we finished the transaction ourselves and left. Everyone has a bad day and you never judge things like this once. <br/><br/>We will definitely be back and hoping the food and service both are of the same high standard we had with the food this time.

Happy Day!. Had lunch here with my mum and sister. The food was delicious! and the service was so lovely, it truly brightened our day.<br/><br/>I had the lentil pumpkin patties with quinoa salad, the portions were perfect and packed full of flavour. <br/>It was my mum's birthday and the staff surprised her with a piece of cake after our meals. <br/>They were also incredibly friendly to our big Leonberger puppy. A truly wonderful dining experience!

I sat down at this cafe prior to going to see the Sea Shepherd, currently living at Williamstown docks. I began with a orange, carrot and finer juice and was exuberant at how fresh and delicious this was. I ordered an assortment of side dishes including toast, the rosemary potato rosti and avocado. Looking forward to the rosti, I took many bites and couldn’t taste the rosemary or any seasoning. I would recommend this cafe to all Hobson Bay visitors looking for fresh and organic food but you need to weigh up the below pros and cons. 1. The waiter didn’t know if the bread was vegan for my daughter, even though this is a cafe that prides themselves on being vegan friendly. 2. The food was under seasoned, it was like they were afraid of flavour. The pros are: 1. The juices were freshly squeezed, flavoursome and they add delicious additions like fresh ginger and lemon for no extra charge. 2. There is no extra charge for soy. I am very impressed by pro number 2.  

Novel Kitchen: Williamstown is anything but a hub for vegan eating so we thought it a great discovery to find Novel Kitchen which has plenty of clearly labelled vegan options throughout the all-day breakfast and lunch menu. A few of the items such as the 'Tofubake' ($14 GF) and 'Silverbeet, potato and chickpea burger' ($15) were sold out so we delved deeper into the menu to discover a vegan 'Kashmiri vegetable pie' ($14)...

Moorish. The cubano is moorish, can't believe how delicious it is, please don't remove it from the menu!<br/>Green juice was yummy too :)

NOVEL IS A HOME FROM HOME. Totally unpretentious, relaxed, and homey. Steve and Kelly make you feel like you've just popped into a friend's house for a bite and a cuppa. All dishes made on the premises, and all marked with the ingredients. Familiar food keeps us oldies happy, like the raspberry coconut slice! You can eat in, or take away. Plenty of papers to read and cheap books to buy. What more does anyone need?

Spiros. Really enjoy the ambiance and non pretentious nature of this café. My wife and I always have terrific meals there. Sometimes before work I grab a coffee and thoroughly enjoy it, I reckon they make some of the best coffees in Willi. The staff are great with service, friendly and patient. They always have The Age newspaper to read (+ the other 2 Murdoch propaganda rags) which is the only newspaper worth reading. I wish them every success and hope they are around for a long time.

Don't underestimate simplicity!. Been here several times - love the service, staff are always cheerful and accomodating. Yummy soups, great breakfast and awesome coffee.. what more could you ask for?!

Had the 'pulled pork' ciabatta with coleslaw!!!! Unbelievably delicious and had us almost licking our plates. The owner was very friendly and service was prompt. Well down to the team!!! Only down side, the fresh fruit juice was 'watery' and lacked taste.

Good but not great. The food was good here but not great. We all had wraps but they were mostly cous cous and not much chicken or pumpkin as advertised. Whilst nice, they were not what I was hoping for.<br/>The staff were friendly enough and there was also a good variety of breakfast foods.

The meatball sandwich and the pulled pork Cuban were outstanding! Nice fresh juices as well

Yummy brunch. Had brunch with family this morning. Great food and coffee. Its really great they use organic and free range in some of their food, Service though a bit slow was still very friendly. We'll be back!

Love this place, been going for a couple of years now and the meals are always delicious. Great service, with friendly staff.

Good coffee, good food, nice staff, good music, no cigarette smoke blowing in, good value. A great little local place

Great coffee, clean food. Great food for health, very tasty. coffee was really good!

Great feed. I had the Moroccan Chicken today and the meatballs yesterday.<br/>It was delicious, filling, healthy and cheap.<br/>I will definitely be coming back for more.

Average nothing very good about it

Chai latte dream. Amazing service, beautiful soy chai lattes! I enjoyed the experience very much. Quinoa and vegetable salads available for takeaway, and a large range of second hand books available for only $3. I definitely took advantage of my time here :)

My Favourite Place for breaky!!<br/>There r not many places u can get Free Range Eggs, Organic bacon & a yummy big breaky in Willy! I even request egg whites only n r they r more than happy to di that! Why eat crap eggs elsewhere when u can eat free range n organic here at the same price!!<br/>Food, Service, coffee & atmosphere is great!

Bad service, oil smell in the air, food overcooked and nothing special, waiter difficult to get hold of and unattentive. Def give it a miss

Weird place.. went one morning and they turned us away.. they said it was a 45 min or more wait for food. Never been to a place who turned away customers.

Superb. Had leisurely breakfast here on Sunday. We tried the Bircher muesli and the pesto scrambled eggs!! Delicious!! Coffee was hot and perfect strength. Every request we made was met with a smile. Nothing was too difficult. Great to have such friendly service!!

Tasty, Good Prices. Novel kitchen is a modest cafe which serves a good brunch / lunch fare with organic produce available. <br/><br/>The coffees were lovely. Mr P had the Spicy Beef Scrambled Eggs and they had a lovely flavour. I had the Chickpea Burger which was tasty too for what it is without being a knock out. <br/><br/>We enjoyed this cafe and appreciated the good value.

Great lunch, beef bokra - was rather spicy for me but I did enjoy it. However..... The housemade chic chip cookies are amazing and completely organic!

Great Cafe. Outstanding breakfast/coffee plus first class service.

Love it. This place is definitely a gem. Organic food, done well and they don't whack on a hefty price tag because "being organic is trendy".<br/><br/>Had a takeaway Pie of theirs last night too... they're great.

Overall a great little cafe. Food was tasty and fresh but the coffee( I ordered a mocha) was disappointing. Charging 2.50$ for spinach (handful of leaves) is a bit rich.

Organic milk is so good. Their coffee is my favourite in Williamstown, and I think it's because of the organic milk they use. I bought some to take home and it was sublime. Food is good too.

Awesome.... Needed a spot to accommodate my 5yr old's birthday, as well as my 20-something sister-in-law and folks...Novel Kitchen hit the spot on so many fronts, friendly, welcoming service, great selection of drinks, full and wholesome menu and tastes to savour and enjoy. Relaxed and quirky atmosphere. Really impressed, will be back for more!

Really good guacamole! The most Mexican version ever taste

Good food and coffee but not so accommodating for smaller children or mothers with pushchairs.

Great expectations...met!. Looks unassuming and down to earth and the food is similar. What a great little cafe! Organic produce galore and hearty options to warm your heart on a cold winter's morning after a stroll along the pier on the waterfront. You can also get take always and per prepared food to warm up later on at home. Coffee good, food good, will come back!

Love this place. Found Novel Kitchen when our usual Saturday breakfast place was closed. This is our new Saturday morning breakfast place and we love it. We don't go to the other place anymore!<br/><br/>Pesto scrambled eggs, biodynamic beef sausages and spinach is what I usually order. Coffee maybe the best in the west. My partner orders the eggs with a side of bacon and the potato rosti.<br/><br/>Can get very busy on weekends just before lunch.<br/><br/>The take away menu is also very tasty. Have had the lentil bake, lasagne, quinoa salad.<br/><br/>Staff are very nice and helpful.

Full of beans. Its almost Christmas and it is Hanukkah already so where better to breakfast than at Novel Kitchen. I wanted to return there to see if they still do the famous beans that upset someone who had counted theirs and found them lacking...I figured that if they were light on their beans this would be doing me a favour on the waistline front. Alas, no they still do fabulous, smokey, herby, saucy beans and lots of them. Light fluffy scrambled eggs too , a mark of their great cook and their bacon is delicious,.The cafe is far from anywhere that a nice Jewish girl would be caught breaking a kosher law by aunties or cousins. Their cafe latte is also well worth the sin of mixing milk and meat. Merry holiday Novel Kitchen and a happy new year too.<br/><br/><br/>-----08 Jul, 2012-----<br/><br/>Lemon Gold. Ooh the Lemon syrup polenta cake at Novel Kitchen! One bite makes one go all Nigella, This cake is light and deeply moistly sticky, and the crumb on it is perfect for soaking up the very last of the syrup from your plate. So tangy and golden is this cake that on a cold winter's afternoon as the day draws in it fills the table with a sunny glow. Gorgeous! Kiss the cook.<br/><br/><br/>-----30 Apr, 2012-----<br/><br/>Sunshine bean counter. Goodness the breakfaster who counts their beans - what a joy in the morning they must be. We had the beans at Novel Kitchen again this weekend just to check. They were tender, whole beans in a smokey tomato and herb infused sauce. Perhaps if one is used to canned beans in an over salted, sugary goop that would explain the taste issue for the Bean Counter . Too many beans can make a person windy. Some people need very few beans in a grown-up sauce to get all blusterous. Excellent coffee, great tea cake we measured the tea cake and apple cinnamon topping and it was almost architecturally perfect.

Slow service, poor food. Very slow service. Our food took 45minutes to arrive. When questioned, the staff did apologise but said they were very busy. They were in fact less than half full. Food was very disappointing. The brunch menu is very limited offering a choice of pancakes, raisin toast or bircher muesli. If you want something cooked you have the choice of eggs on their own and then you choose 'extras' e.g. bacon, mushroom, baked beans. An easy way to end up with a rather expensive meal once you add 2 or 3 'extras'. My scrambled eggs were cooked well but massively over-seasoned. The taste of salt and pepper was overwhelming. I also ordered home-made baked beans: a mound of excessively, throat tighteningly rich tomato paste containing a grand total of eight (I counted them) beans The potato rosti was greasy and tasteless.<br/>UPDATE: it would appear from the comments left by 'FoodWriter' that I have upset the management/chef ;-) Perhaps their efforts would be better served taking on board honest criticism and striving to improve rather than slinging cheap shots. Just sayin'

A wonderful find. Food is delicious and the staff lovely. My favourite cafe in hobsons bay!

Pros: Healthy, wholesome, organic produce that is super-tasty. Plus vegan options. Cons: no card facilities, has been the same take-away menu now for over a year, slow service, did I mention cash-only???

Great food. I mainly get takeaway from here and it's always wonderful. Today's vegetable pie was outstanding!

Really great coffee. Perhaps the best in the west.

Wholesome food. We went to try this a few weekends ago for brunch because of the reviews here on urbanspoon.<br/><br/>The chai was delicious (real chai as opposed to flavoured syrup). And that's what kept us going as we waited...and waited...the food took around 45 minutes. Problem is, we didn't know it would take that long and we had other plans for the rest of the afternoon, plus we were really quite hungry.<br/><br/>I'd say the food was worth the wait because it was delicious (thank you to the other reviewer for recommending the tomato and avocado salsa). <br/><br/>All in all, recommended to those who are after wholesome food and are happy to wait (bring something to read perhaps).

Willy's best cafe. Agreed - best coffee in Williamstown. The produce they use is so obviously organic. The service is super friendly and you can always get a table. Take away meals are amazing. Their vegan, gluten free chocolate cupcake thingys are incredible! Really love this place!

Love this place. I've been coming here for a year, first off for their salads (which I still buy for my work lunches), and now for a breakfast every Saturday. This week i had the pesto scrambled eggs with mushrooms and a rosemary rosti as side. Tastes amazing. Coffee's smooth. Try also the vegie pie take home! Or dont - because they might run out before i get there. The owners are really friendly.. It's a small place and from what I can tell it seems family run. I dont usually have such good things to say about places. Ive never been disappointed by novel kitchen which is such a relief! Good food good price good quality. The place can fill up quickly on weekends I've noticed.

Great food, tasty and wholesome, little slow on service but understand this when you see the size of the kitchen

Ethical and delicious!!. I really can't speak highly enough about this place. for starters they sell the best coffee in williamstown, hands down. their food is all ethically produced, cheap, and totally delicious! the ladies who work there are absolutely lovely too. i've been in every sunday since they opened!

Yummy, delicious, reasonable & virtually guilt-free... How can u go wrong? PS- try the avocado & tomato salsa with house-made baked beans & perfectly poached eggs- to die for!

Fresh n light!!! All the food is so so nice n very healthy!! Not much greasy perfect eggs. I'll defenately come back!

May( owner) recommend the bircher muesli after I asked for an alternative to eggs,such a delicious meal! Will be back to try the rest of the menu.

The Novelty won't wear off !!. OK, so I have to say: Novel Kitchen is my favourite new find, the food is to die for! I've been in there a few times now and am constantly blown away by the huge (colourful and AFFORDABLE!) selection of organic meals. Best thing: you don't even have to order and wait, we have started just doing a drive-by on the way home and grabbing dinner from their 'ready made/take home' meals. It's great, I highly recommend these guys. Great food and great service. ENJOY!

NovelKitchen. I dropped in for a coffee and was pleased to see they sell take home organic meals and salads so I ended up buying the vegetable moussaka and a beetroot and quinoa salad for dinner. Amazing food, I'm really happy to have found novel kitchen and will be going there again. I want to try more.