Melbourne - Carlton - Campos Coffee

Carlton - Campos Coffee - Elgin St Carlton

This is a great place to go to get away from it all and have a coffee. The venue is actually quite dark, despite the lighting and in summer its airconditioned and nice and cool. There is ample seating and you are just free to sit there for as long as you like whilst you have your coffee. The staff are friendly, they give you a bottle of water and glass when you sit down and the coffee arrives in good time. The coffee is very consistent here, its creamy and has a little kick in it and always goes down well. Its not too hot so you can drink it quickly and they know how to do a good flat white which many places struggle with. Foodwise this venue is not for the gluten or fructose intolerent because everything is wheat based and filled with tomatoes, avacadoes and pesto based sauces which will only cause you pain. However if you just wanted to stop for a coffee and a bit of piece and quiet this is the place to go.

Melbourne - Hawthorn - Mario's

Hawthorn - Glenferrie Rd - Marios

This is a great little place where you can sit for as long as you want and enjoy a coffee. This cafe is often frequented by students and as such they have a student discount on their coffee. The coffee here is smooth and creamy but slightly stronger then what I usually go for. It can sometimes leave a bad aftertaste but it does go down very well. The regular is a decent size. There is no table service, you go up and order but they will remember where you go and bring the coffee out to you. This place specalizes in coffee and as such they don't waste their time with food and the only things you can eat there are small wrapped chocolates or biscotti. Its perfect for those of us with food intolerences that probably weren't going to eat anything anyways!

Melbourne - Armadale - 8 Days

Armadale - 8 Days - 1184 High Street (near Glenferrie Rd)

Whenever I am in this part of town I always like to drop in here for a coffee. I accidentaly stumbled upon this place on its first week of opening and was impressed with the friendly service and how they opened the venue up. The coffee was top knotch and every time I go back its always the same quality - smooth and creamy and a decent temperature meaning it can last a while. They offer a variety of food, breakfast, lunch and offer gluten free bread. They also do fantastic shoestring fries, these are not gluten free but are acceptable for anyone fructose friendly. The owner is really nice and treats his customers well but some of the waitresses are a bit ditzy and forget to place orders however if you follow it up they will get onto it straight away and apologize. This place is becoming more and more popular because there always seem to be more people in it each time I go. Definetly worth a visit if you are in the area.

Melbourne - Camberwell - Lachlan's Cafe

Camberwell Junction - Lachlan's Cafe - Burke Road near Camberwell station

I stumbled upon this cafe one day because I noticed they had gluten free bread and thought I would give it a try with breakfast. I must say I was dissapointed with the whole experience. The coffee was very small, overpriced, bitter and I paid extra for bacon to only get 2 pieces. 3 is the going minimum and when there are alot of things you can't eat you expect more from the little pleasures in life like bacon. The poached eggs came with a helping of parsley, chives and pepper. I tried to scrape these off because I can't eat too many herbs and spices but parsley and chives are easily the worst. The gluten free bread itself was bland which isn't unusual but the rest of the ingredients couldn't add any value to it. I've noticed this cafe has had quite a few incarnations through the years and I certainly wouldn't go back here for coffee or food. If you like your coffee strong and bitter you may like this place but as I like it creamy and smooth its not for me. Also, if you can eat anything then you may find more things to your liking here but enjoy that state whilst you can because eventually we will all have food intolerences.

Melbourne - Camberwell - Collective Expresso

Camberwell - Collective Expresso - Cookson St, Camberwell Junction

This funky little cafe opposite Camberwell station and very near burke road breaths coolness. It fills  the void of cool cafes in Camberwell because many of them are filled with middle class Mum's and Dad's that want a respectable place to have coffee with decent service.  The clientale in this cafe are consequently very young and you won't find too many people over 30 here. The coffee is easily the best at the junction, its very smooth and goes down very easily. It could perhaps be a bit hotter but I guess that is there style. There is no bitter aftertaste and indeed you could likely drink a few coffees in a row. The service varies here but the one consistant thing is that they always give you a bottle of water if you take your coffee there. There are only 2 main problems with this place, the first is that inside the venue gets very warm if its a warm day and this is very uncomfortable. The 2nd is that they don't have a toilet and you need to grab a key and go somewhere else to use it. This is bad news for those of us with food intolerences. Foodwise if you are gluten or fructose challenge don't ever eat here because its all fancy food filled with gluten, vegetables and fruit but the coffee is worth a visit alone.

Melbourne - Ivanhoe - Cafe Agave

Cafe Agave - Lower Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe

This cafe is very local to me and as such I support it because for years there was nothing in this small strip of shops at the base of Marshall st and it was depressing. The owners are lovely and are doing their best to build the cafe up. The problem initially was that they were all learning how to make coffee and had trouble keeping staff but now they have a settled staff team and the coffee isn't too bad. It seems as though they struggle to do large coffee's well but a regular size coffee is pretty good. It could be a little bit hotter but its certainly not too strong and bitter and is quite creamy. The service varies, depending upon who is on and if you want to go to a cool cafe then this isn't your place. However its very servicable, newspapers are readily available and they have a good variety of food on offer. They don't have a lot for the gluten and fructose intolerent amoung us except a few token gluten free biscuits. Worth checking out if you live in the area.

Melbourne - East Ivanhoe - Vita Belle Cafe

East Ivanhoe Shops - Lower Heidelberg Rd

This is my favorite cafe in the Ivanhoe area. The coffee is always good and you never have to wait too long to get it. The service is top knotch, the staff know who you are and always ask how you're going. The coffee strikes that perfect balance between strength and creaminess. The most important thing is that they know how to do a good flat white which some places struggle with. I would almost go so far as to call it their speciality. This is a great cafe to laze around in because they always have ample newspapers on offer which is something other cafe's can overlook. Foodwise they don't cater so well for the gluten and fructose intolerent amoung us but as there are other cafe's in the area that do so it doesn't really matter. Its fine to just go there and have a coffee. The cafe has a great take away trade going because they get alot of traffic on their way to work stopping by and as such are always open from 7am.