Eat. @ Ora Cafe

156 Pakington Street, Kew 3101 ph : (03) 9855 2002

Ora Cafe is a new addition to the increasingly cafe-centric Kew.  I have on my list quite a few more places to try in the coming months in this area.  Opened by Johnny Vroom (how awesome is that name!) previously of Proud Mary, this went to the top of my list, and I headed there with my friend one weekday morning after school drop off to catch up over coffee.

First up, coffee, and my mocha is not surprisingly faultless. ($3.5)

I ordered an "Ora Mini" ($5) for Macaron Monster.   This is a little roll, more like a snack or entree, with a daily special filling.  It's also a perfect size for little kids, and on the day we had lamb, with minted yoghurt and leaves.  The lamb was very tasty, complimented perfectly by the yoghurt, and would make a good starter for big kids like me!

The menu was filled with interesting items like fried duck egg with black pudding, chicken liver parfait, and salted cod.  I went for something quite boring in comparison and had 2 poached eggs with bacon.  ($9+$4).  A decently sized serve and good quality bacon, coupled with perfectly poached eggs made this a great brekkie.

My friend had the vegetarian option with avocado instead.

The meal itself was fantastic, and I enjoyed this, even though I felt a bit out of sorts with the patrons there.   We were initially seated outside as the place was fairly packed already, with Bubs in the stroller.  It got quite chilly so we asked to be seated inside when it was convenient, and the staff were most accommodating and offered us some seats next to the wall on the long communal table even before we put in our orders.   As there were no high chairs, the staff removed one of the chairs so Bubs could sit at the table in the stroller.  To access this I had to ask a few people to move their chairs forward a bit to get past, and once seated, no one else would be bothered by us. (For those who know their strollers, we have a Quinny Zapp which is one of the smallest and most compact strollers out there.)  We were seated next to a party of four ladies with 2 young kids on the communal table, and one of the ladies had to move their chair.  I was caught off guard when one of these ladies, who didn't even have to move her chair, turned and told me unsmilingly that I should have left my stroller outside.  Furthermore when I smiled and thanked another lady on the table behind us for letting the stroller through, she too gave me a massive greasy and a distinct look of disapproval.  My friend and I were both shocked to be treated in this way.  The cafe IS quite limited in space, and if the staff had asked me to leave the stroller outside, or had told me that children were not welcome, I would have gladly complied (probably with no choice but to dine elsewhere), but I would not have been upset.  However I am quite unaccustomed to such frank intolerance from other patrons in my cafe trips with my little ones, and it did make me feel uneasy for the rest of the meal. 

Nonetheless I think Ora is a great addition to the cafe culture in Kew.  For the coffee and meal I would definitely come here again, but perhaps just with some "girlfriends", and I would make sure that I am pleasant to others who might just want to grab a sanity-saving coffee and a bite with their little ones.

Eat.Play.Shop. Says - Great quality coffee in this part of Melbourne!

I believe there were no high chairs, and I didn't get a chance to check out their toilets.