Cafe Denaro

This has been a regular breakfast spot for me for a few years now. Great coffee, good value meals, nice portion sizes, friendly staff, and a nice central location. Café Denaro is definitely worth checking out.

When we moved to the area a few years ago we were ecstatic to have a café with great coffee and fantastic eggs benedict practically at our doorstep. There are paper table cloths and a bucket of crayons on each table. This is great fun for the young (and young at heart diners).
Unfortunately I have had a few not so great experiences at Denaro’s. One time a friend and I were having a late lunch on a cold miserable day and the staff started packing up the outside furniture and then proceeded to vacuum while we were still eating. An hour before the advertised close time (4pm) we asked if they were closing up early however they explained they were not and continued to vacuum. I planned to blacklist after this experience (and did for a while).
Six or more months later I went back to Denaro’s with another friend thinking that maybe things had improved. On this occasion we’d been sitting at least 25 minutes and had to ask a waitress to take our order, yes they were busy but I don’t take that as a good excuse in a well staffed café. Then when our fruit toast finally arrived we were short one serve and they completely forgot our coffees.
I have come to accept that Denaro’s has great food and coffee and is lacking in the service area. Fortunately for me there are new places in the area so hopefully the competition will help them step it up a little!

As a visitor to Melbourne, I was on the quest for a decent breakfast joint. Mission accomplished.
Gluten free accommodation and delicious home made hollandaise will usually keep me quite happy. Café Denaro also make a good coffee.
Don’t let the paper table cloths put you off — you’re given crayons to draw with.