Cafe Melba

Had breakfast this morning with my sister. It is a nice quaint café with good coffee and breakfast was delicious. Waitstaff was polite and informative. I had the corned beef hash and was advised that it was not fried which was fine by me. It was more like a seared/​grilled mash served with lightly dressed greens and hollandaise over a poached egg. Sister had the smoked salmon mash. I had a bite and it was quite good. Will probably stop by again during my visit to NZ and try another dish. Cheers.

Very good latte, fantastic eggs benny. The bacon here is excellent. Really warm customer service in a cozy café style restaurant. Look forward to trying the many other things on the menu!

This is one of my favourite spots in the cbd it’s so understated. I love that their not trying to compete with the new cafés popping up. If your a fan of herbal tea like I an you must try their fruits of eden tea, so yummy and perfect heading into another cold winter. The staff are always friendly and know their regulars by name.

It was quite busy as they have sold coupons online too. My choice was the Moroccan spicy chicken burger (19.5) which did not have any sort of Moroccan seasoning to it. The chicken was so stuffy that I could not cut with my knife. I asked for a better knife but the second one didn’t work as well. I gave up… The whole thing was quite plain I thought — I can make a better one myself.
My partner had the Melba Grill (19.5), which was equivalent to a big breakfast. This was quite average too. Maybe because I’m not a big fan of traditional breakfast style.
Coffee was okay but we were feeling very hot because of the heater on top of us. The waitress said that they cannot turn it off as it was controlling the whole café. Yep, we walked out all sweaty which wasn’t a great feeling on Saturday noon.

Go to Café Melba for the Coffee, order something like a strong flat white, get something sweet like the blueberry pancakes, and be sure to order the SEB. I found the service to be attentive and not intrusive. The location is tucked away on Vulcan Lane and provides a pleasant experience when sitting outside. It is well worth the time to enjoy the food and coffee here, away from the bustle of Queens Street.

This is a cosy café on Vulcan Lane, one of the busy street in Auckland CBD. I had lunch there today with my gf. I have to say the food was only so-​so. The paperbaked fish has a very different presentation but the taste is quite bland. The beef burger which my friend has looks okay and taste not bad.
I didnt have a coffee there today so I guess next time I will go back for their coffee and cake. :) Not a bad place to have a catch up with friends in CBD during your lunch hour though.

This cute little café is located in the High street end of Vulcan lane, which is a bit more quiet than the end closer to Queen street. I was imagining a tourist trap (I don’t know why… Aaaah prejudices!) but the food and patrons proved me wrong. The drinks menu is basic, there are hot drinks and a selection of cold drinks but no fresh juice or smoothie. A bit disappointing.
However I was not disappointed by the food or service. Service was not extremely friendly but was efficient and the food was very well presented (see photo). I ordered my brunch menu favourite, eggs Benedict, that can come with a choice of bacon, smoked salmon or bacon. My eggs were slightly undercooked with some of the white still quite runny, and I felt there was not enough bread (English muffin) to soak up the egg yolk and Hollandaise sauce. The serving of smoked salmon was generous so I was able to enjoy it with every bite.
There is also a small selection of baked goodies like blueberry muffins and almond croissants, and some cakes.
I like the fact that they try to use organic and free range produce on their menu. For the quality, I felt the menu was well priced.
All in all, Café Melba is a good café in a great location and I will probably be back should the occasion come up! Hopefully by then they will have extended their drinks menu a little bit ;-)

There’s a couple of Café Melbas around the place in Auckland, and this one at the High Street end of Vulcan Lane is hands down my favourite, simply for location. For me, Vulcan is one of the few places that feels genuinely urban in the European sense of the world — it’s intimately scaled and always full of people, so it makes a perfect spot for a good café. Café Melba fits the bill very nicely, and it’s the perfect place to come for lunch or afternoon tea and sit outside to people watch over a good coffee and an indulgent selection from the all-​day breakfast menu!

Café Melba has seemingly come from nowhere in the past couple of years, but is now dotted around Auckland in a way similar to a big money chain store. But Café Melba operates on a different level then certain international mega brands — they focus on great coffees and far more interesting food. This Vulcan Lane branch is a particular favorite of mine when I’m in the middle of the city — with a great outdoor which, being situated in the cultural hot spot of the golden mile, leads to some good people watching. A friend of mine ordered the BLAT and it looked awesome — good enough for them not to share it anyway. My coffee was right on, and the service was good. Another good spot to stop off for a coffee, and another notch in Café Melba’s belt.

Today Café Melba on Vulcan Lane provided me with a very tasty coffee for an afternoon refresher whilst I roamed the Auckland CBD for art galleries. Coffee was great, (although probably not strong enough for most coffee connoisseurs), service was attentive and the surrounds were perfect.
Inside was a little cramped for me on this warm Autumn’s day, however it did look snug and I liked the original artwork on the wall. This café called for alfresco coffee for me, for the fresh air and especially for the ambience of the surrounds — the narrow street and beautiful ornate architecture along Vulcan Lane transported me back to a visit to Seville in Spain last year. Quaint and lovely.

I would have thought there would be loads of places to meet a friend for a coffee mid-​town, mid-​week. It turns out there are very few comfortable places serving good coffee with plenty of seats and parking nearby. This is one of them. It’s a good people watching spot being close to High St but out of the throngs on lower Vulcan St, closer to Queen. Good location, good coffee (and food looks good too). Will be coming here for my next mid-​week coffee catch-​up.

This is a very upmarket looking café it sells anything from coffee and breakfast to a glass of wine and a steak burger.
The staff are very friendly and the pries are a bit high but the overall experience was good and the food was lovely.
The waiting time is fair as you wait only about 10 minutes for your food.