It is very wet and somewhat cold outside even though it is Saturday the 2nd of December. Melbourne summer, folks! I was hungry and had an hour to burn until my train. I saw very few cafes open until Soul Cafe's lights and outside chairs/tables indicated openness. I crossed over and scoped out their menu. Interesting, they seem to have an all-day menu! I liked the look of the Big Breakfast Special (with a coffee and a juice). However I didn't want to get sucker-punched by the first place I had seen. I had a look in. Busy. Vibrant. And two guys up front seemed to be making food fresh. That had me sold. So I took a seat then ordered at the counter, as is required. My juice came out then about 7, 10 minutes later, the coffee (flat white) and the breakfast. For $30 it is a suitably sized meal: 2 eggs, some green decorations, 1 toast, 2 hash browns, 2 chipolatas, ½ tom, 1 lrg mushroom. The thing for me is that only the hash browns were hot. Everything else must have come from a bain marie. It was warm at best. I was dishearted by that. This is not a criticism of using bain maries. They're fine. It's more about food/temperature management. Like, I have a temperature "gun" in my kitchen and you can check surface temps really well. Sorry to rabbit on but just warm is also not hot, yknow? The coffee too was frothy (flat white) and lukewarm. Isn't coffee by law meant to be 63°? It's better hot anyway, to be savoured. Not drinkable in one slurp. I'm hard on this because coffee is expensive per proportional serving ($/litre). So, yeh, overall my meal was... ok. Service was good. Venue is actually nice. Gamblers sadly shuffling in is a bit sad but ehhhrrr it is what it is (venue is linked by an open corridor to a bar with pokies).
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 3
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4

We had breakfast at this cafe on 1/5/2022. The staff at this cafe were lovely and my coffee came out quickly. Unfortunately it took a long time for our breakfast to arrive. When it finally did, the plates were hot but my Big Brekkie was cold. The poached eggs were cold and congealed and I couldn’t eat them. The bacon was cold but burnt and my toast didn’t come with any butter or other spread… so it was just a very large cold slice of bread, essentially. My partner ordered the chicken burger. The chips were hot and freshly cooked but the burger itself was also cold like the rest of our order. My partner was also given a pretty blunt butter knife, not a steak knife and the burger bun was pretty tough so this was insufficient to cut it in half to eat. Bit disappointing overall as sitting outside on what was essentially the first spring weekend in Melbourne was otherwise lovely!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40

There are so many good reviews for this place that I hate to give the place a bad one. Especially as nearly all my reviews to date have been glowing. Unfortunately, my experience here was terrible. I was with a friend and we enquired about the breakfast special and if we could substitute an item. The guy at the door said yes and rushed us in. It was a bit on the rude side. The woman serving was a horror. I asked the same thing of her and she told us to take a seat. We did and no one came to take our order. When we finally got someones attention, the woman lied and said that she had not told us to take a seat. This woman was that nasty that we left in a hurry in fear that things were going to get heated. Unforgivably bad service.

Breakfast time and this was my choice for the day. The menu displayed outside helped as I walked with my head spinning on which place to dine at. I really wanted something simple so ordered the 'build your own eggs' component and had two poached eggs on sourdough. Simple and tasty. However, next time I'll order the buttermilk pancakes. Saw someone being served this after I placed my order. Looked great. $12 is reasonable. Coffee wasn't bad either. The atmosphere inside was okay. Wanted to take a photo but felt a little self-conscious when I took my phone out to snap a pic and looked at oddly by patrons. Oh well. Wheelchair friendly. Kid friendly. Pram/stroller accessible.

Nearly every element of the big breakfast was overcoked. Eggs weren't cooked in fact fresh in fact I watched the cook place precooked Sunnyside up eggs in a toaster oven to reheat them. The bacon was so dry and clearly re-cooked into oblivion. The mushrooms lacked flavour and the tomatoes were either so over cooked they turned to mush or they were tinned tomatoes. The hash browns were mediocre. For $24 I expected way better. For the same price I can eat a "Green Goddess" breakfast at White Mojo prepared by professional chefs.
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 1
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3

Service was excellent, everybody was super friendly and kind. Coffee came out quickly - slightly bitter but did the job. The only option to get a large size was to order take away despite eating in. My friend and I both got eggs - hers were beautifully poached. Mine however were over cooked and hard. We also found the food (bread, bacon, avocado etc) all to get very bland with no salt and pepper readily avaliable on the tables. Would definately benefit from some kind of sauce or chutney on the toast.
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 2
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Great snacks/light meals. We got the sausage roll, 5hr slow cooked beef pie and carrot cake with iced coffee and iced latte and everything was fantastic. It's refreshing to see a place not charging an arm and a leg for an iced latte vs their regular hot latte! Service was great, super friendly and easy to order my annoying lactose free / syrup coffee in a takeaway cup! Will definitely try some of their bigger dishes next time we're in Melbourne.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

I was expecting more from this place. The photos looked good but my experience was underwhelming. I came for breakfast and was the only person in the cafe at 7am. I was asked to go up and order at the counter despite two wait staff stood behind the counter doing nothing. I ordered a flat white which was awful and Melbourne is supposed to be the capital of coffee! My poached eggs were undercooked making for a sloppy smashed avocado toast. And the venue is attached to a poker room which makes for an awkward ambiance. Disappointing!!

We are thankful to have found this cafe serving early breakfast on a Sunday when everywhere else is closed or open much later. Nice coffee and hot chocolate served with marshmallow by friendly service staff. Very rare these days to see happy service staff, not grumpy or rude. Only cons was we walked out smelling like greasy fried bacons, perhaps look at good exhaust fans. We will be back, keep up the good work and continue to serve with your big smile!
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

I came past the breakfast hours so I ordered ham & cheese croissants. The chef heated my croissant perfectly. The cheese melt just right and the croissant was flaky and crispy on the outside while still soft and fresh inside. The almond latte was good too. During peak brunch hour they can get really busy, you might have to wait a bit longer for your breakfast meal but hey, you can’t compromise quality!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

great food for me, , My partners Risotto was undercooked hence the 3 stars instead of 5 stars, my porterhouse steak was cooked very nicely and i had along with it a side of mash potatoes with a salad with a good old cup of tea, a little pricy for the over all experience but a lovely layout and friendly staff. not sure if ill be back as i don't get a lot of time in the city but certainly wasn't an unpleasant experience and i would stop by if i was passing and had the time.

Great service and great food. I go quite frequently due to the quality for your money in a timely fashion. Even though I get the same thing every time I go I am never disappointed. There has been a time or two that I can say the staff was not so friendly. In these situations the place was busy. So I was not too bothered. Overall I would recommend.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

I was really disappointed by my coffee here. When I received it was too hot to drink and burning my hand through the take away cup. I left it a few minutes to cool down during which the coffee started seeping through the cup as if melting it. It tasted very chemically, possibly from the chemicals released from the melting cup. I threw it away after just one sip and purchased a coffee from somewhere else.

Plain poached eggs over cooked dry. On toast no butter. Dry boring breaky. Took forever not busy. Some helpful nice staff... For a cafe in the dead centre of a major capital city cnr Swanson and bourke i would expect better..$13 for that. Put something on the toast. Just flew in from syd. This was plain ordinary.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

Coffee is great, there aren't many options on the menu. It's not very busy like other cafes. Staff are nice and quick. Has wheelchair access. It's a good place for a quick snack and go, not a place to sit for a long time. There's no windows and it doesn't have the atmosphere of suburban cafes. Overall good.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch
Price per person
$20–40

Had the misfortune of having breakfast at this place. Ordered a late and bacon and egg roll. Well the coffee was cold and the roll firstly it wasn't even toasted properly but the clincher was that I had to get my magnifying glass to find the bacon.. I have never been to maccas but I would choose it if I had to make a choice. Save your money and go elsewhere

A great little spot for breakfast. Coffee was fantastic and the wait on the food was not long - enough time to enjoy the ambience and coffee. Food was very good. Have since returned to enjoy the outdoor space as well. Highly recommend.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40
Recommended dishes

Ordered my food half got brought out then waited 20 minutes for the rest still had not got the food so went up to check and they told me they forgot about the food very poor service and very unhappy my time was wasted will not ever being coming back ever again
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$40–60

Unfriendly staff and hands down the WORST Acai Bowl I have had, EVER. WARM mixture, hardly any toppings and what was on there was not fresh. Instead of natural peanut butter which any normally cafe selling Acai bowls would use, they use Kraft Peanut Butter. $14 for this. I actually asked for a refund and was ignored.

I stopped outside the cafe because the sandwiches looked delicious and I was not mistaken they were delicious! I asked for a mocka and so far it has been one of the best I've tried :)
Service
Take out
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 5
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Stumbled upon this place on my first day visiting Melbourne, one of the easy and convenient places to find for breakfast. Great food and fast service, seating was a bit small inside and would recommend takeaway
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 3

Classic little cafe with all the cafe goods. Eggs Benedict was wonderful, staff were lovely, and the freshly baked pastries were amazing.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Eggs Benedict

Not sure if this is the norm but our food took 20+ minutes to arrive at our table and the salmon we ordered in our bowl was not fully cooked. On top of that, something was burning in the kitchen area so the place filled with smoke. To be fair, the quiche wasn’t too bad. But I wouldn’t go here again.

Good food with attentive staff. We had large group so they gave us a table upstairs in their bar area. It might be hard to find a comfortable seat there since its a bar setup but we managed. I had the Egg Benedict with smoked salmon, which was great. They give Accor Plus member dinning discounts too

Ducked in here mostly as it was next to the grand mercury hotel. Menu had exactly what I was looking for and didn’t disappoint. Prices were good and meal (smashed Avo, feta and poached eggs) cane out very quickly. A little strange that it back into a pokie room but that may be temporary

Had a basic egg and bacon bun. The foot traffic through the venue to the pokies wasn't the greatest experience. Good enough for a breaky on the go.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3

One of great places if you are looking for a quick breakfast or brunch option in the city.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chilli Scrambled Eggs

Had breakfast here today. Presented beautifully. Decent sized servings. Didn’t have to wait long for the order either. I had the eggs benny and hubby had the smashed avo and eggs. Both meals were delicious. I love the potato rosti idea in place of the bread. It was yum.

Excellent looking food and great service As a healthcare worker, I felt safe because they followed COVID-safe principles. The staff were very kind mannered and the cook who brought our food out had excellent customer service, cutting out food in half so we could share.

Decent little cafe in a good location. Coffee's were served warm and the pastries weren't overly fresh. Service was slow but still had good attention to detail.
Meal type
Other
Price per person
$1–20
Food: 4
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 3

Nice cafe at the Pullman hotel - casual vibe. Good friendly staff on hand to take your order quickly. Lots of options for a quick bite to eat or a bigger meal. Nice coffee and croissant!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

Beautiful coffee! Only had a few pieces of toast but I swear my toast was the best I’ve ever had, perfectly toasted and not too hard that it doesn’t scratch the roof of your mouth
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20

Nice cosy place for a coffee break. Food is nice; a tad bit too salty. Otherwise fresh and tasty. Coffee is good - had a long black.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

A quick lunch, delicious, service impeccable and extremely well managed. Congratulations on training your staff so well.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Food is great and great coffee as well… But service is bad.. pointlessly waitresses behind counters while food is ready to be served.. and chef has to repeat service requests..
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40

$24 for a cheese platter that is advertised with ham, salami, chorizo, olives, relish, crusty bread + more and was brought out with 2 types of cheese, quince paste, biscuits and trail mix! Very poor service, not even an offer of a partial refund!

Excellent cafe. Great service and coffee and pastry was excellent. Well worth visiting from Brisbane.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$1–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Not a good experience. Felt not very friendly. Portions are very small for value. We ordered a berry tea and got mint tea with honey. When we told staff; didn't have a courtesy to come and apologise or give money back. Disappointed!

My son and i walked in, he had just finished from basketball game and was worn out and sweaty. They gave him the dirtiest look and told him he wasnt following the dress code and proceeded to kick him out. Absolutely pathetic.

Do not order extra sides. They charge $3 for extra mushroom, and gave only 1 small mushroom.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch
Price per person
$20–40
Food: 1
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3

Nice staff, quick service, standard cafe prices, well cooked food (but the hash brown tastes a bit weird, the only thing I’d have changed).
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch
Price per person
$20–40

Coffee was nice, the açai bowl is a huge waste of money. Comes with barley any açai, wasn’t cold at all. The toppings are average and the peanut butter comes in a tiny Kraft sachet?? Over priced for what you get.

Poor service from lady at front counter. asked for fully cooked eggs I get sunny side up after repeating myself i Wanted fully cook eggs. Coffee tasted like warm milk. Poor poor service don't waste your money.

Good brunch. Parmigiana burger was very tough and dry though and nachos without meat isn't how nachos should be served. Coffee and chips were tasty.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4

Not sure how many shots are used for the coffee here but it tastes bland, pretty much like drinking plain frothed milk.
Service
Take out
Meal type
Other
Price per person
$1–20

Nice cafe Pokies Drinking options are there Don't just stick to the menu Some items they have forgot to add in menu Quite place Good place to catch up in city if you are around Burk street mall.

Absolutely brilliant, friendly and kind staff Quick service As per the name very soulful coffee! A definite stop by for ur midmorning cuppa ✨✨
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast

Served by the wonderful oliver today. A throughly refreshing service with engaging chat alongside a gorgeous coffee. Highly recommended.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

I really like how they buttered the bread. I had eggs on toast. Most places don’t butter the bread anymore. Good work team
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Beautiful tasty breakfast. Lovely staff.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40
Dietary restrictions
Gluten free, dairy free.

Friendly staff great food good coffee. My friend spilt his coffee all over the table by accident and they cleaned it and re made it without and issue would go back. Good job

Bacon looked 3 days old, the smashed avo was brown all the way through. The hollandaise sauce flavourless, reheated leftovers disgusting, couldn't pay me enough to go back.

Amazing food! Absolutely loved the French toast and Aranchini balls, it was quite unique as they was kimchi inside! Definitely worth a visit! even the coffee was Devine!

We had bottomless brunch and the food/drinks were delicious. We were also served by Wendy and she delivered excellent service to us. Would recommend and come again!

Good service and great coffee. Only discovered the place yesterday and went back again today. Don't know what it's called but the almond biscuit thing is yummy.

Ordered food and waited 1 hour for it to come. When we asked where it was they said it was coming. When it came 5 minutes later it was cold and poorly cooked.

late ahh food; two orders of the same thing, one came w one piece of toast, the other had two (as it’s supposed to). tbf it tasted pretty good tho.

Had breakfast here. Panacotta granola with fresh fruit was delicious as was eggs bene with amazing bacon. Good coffee as well. Would recommend

Kale/broccoli/haloumi fritters and hot almond/soya chocolate tasty, friendly Service but need to focus on cleanliness of their water station.

Great coffee. Friendly staff and a good range of cakes and pastries. Became a regular place to go for a coffee while we stayed in Melbourne.

Food was really good, unfortunately way to overpriced for those small portions. Wouldn’t recommend coming here when you are really hungry

Nice environment, friendly staff, personally didn't like eggs benedicts on the hash brown. They were scorching hot and too oily.

Food was acceptable but coffee was super bad
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40

Great service, great food, great price. The food came out quickly and was perfectly cooked! Best big breakfast in Melbourne.

Only place that I know in Swanston Street where I can order bacon & eggs.Ignore back gambling section. And good service.

The chocolate mousse cake was so good i didn't have space for dinner. And grab the afternoon deal - coffee + cake for $8

Great little hole in the wall cafe. Nice banana bread and very good hot chocolates. This was a wonderful little find.

They don't sell souls,which is a bit of a bummer as I sold mine to be a better musician. They have coffee though.

The smashed avo on toast is amazing here. Service was very quick and the atmosphere of the cafe is laid back.

Staff not friendly, orders were mixed up, no conceivable concept of what a weak coffee should taste like....

Cool and stylish inside. A great retreat from the busy street. No smoking outside now makes it even better.

It's a pretty basic cafe, but when I'm in Melbourne and in hungry I keep going back. Good value for money..

Tasty. Decently Priced
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
$20–40

A quick bite eatery with nicely loaded bacon and egg sandwiches. Good Coffey and generous milkshakes.

Breakfast was SOOOOOOOO YUM! The avo, bacon & egg roll was perfect & the coffee was spot on.

Fabulous place for a quick bite and great coffee. Use your accorplus card for food discounts

Ok food and service. There are higher quality food if you are willing to walk little further

Very good food with nice presentation. Worth the wait and the coffee is decent too …

Good coffee, would love some more vegan options on the menu with a name like 'soul cafe'!

Scrambled eggs were very average and only one slice of sour dough. Pancakes looked good.

Great food and service. Can get very busy so you need to time it right to get a table.

Great hours and location. Fast, friendly service. Good food (I generally have brunch).

Had breakfast and coffee ☕. Enjoyed it. Service was good. Thank You . …

Good coffee, had a nice chat with the guy while waiting. Good to see a smiling face:)

Chips were 100% perfect. Had the prawns and the pulled pork sliders, both were fine.

Breakfast options varied. Large servings , well presented. Bit pricey though.

Really nice place
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Disgusting front for a gambling poky machine place
Atmosphere: 1

Nice coffee and the outdoor seating is cool. Parisian terrace feels.

Nice cheap breakfast toastie & coffee for $10... cant go wrong.

I enjoyed my chicken schnitzel.
Service
Dine in…
More

Lovely ambiance and staff. Must try the king prawn pasta

nice coffee shop in the middle of melbourne downtown

Food was tasty, staff were polite and seemed happy.

One of the best coffees ive ever had in my life

Good cozy cafe, loved their coffee and the art.

My favourite cafe for coffee and lunch

the worst affogato i have ever had

Great soy latte

nice food