Garage Cafe
221 Berkeley St, Melbourne VIC 3000

www.garagecafe.com.au

When I was first heard of Garage Cafe, I thought it was a really cool concept. Close to Melbourne Uni, this is a cafe inside a big warehouse where on one side there are pool tables and a few car spaces whilst on the other, dark wooden outdoor tables and chairs are placed next to the bar. It's a nice place to hang out I suppose, except for when in winter, the cold wafts in and makes you wish you were curled up at home instead.

I was introduced to their deep fried chicken skin which is basically chicken skin deep fried - heart attack inducing stuff. It's not something I would order again, but if you like your chicken skin, then this is something you should try. I also find their Pisang Goreng Keju which is deep fried banana fritters and cheese with ice cream an interesting dessert. But aside from that, I am quite often disappointed whenever I go to eat there.

Their Soto Ayam is on the salty side, Ayam Bakar and Ayam Penyet too dry. I am always dousing mine with plenty of kecap manis. They tend to be stingy with the sides of vegie and the dishes are overall quite plain. And when ever I see someone order the Garage Full Penyet, I just shudder at how everything is deep fried and the big of cabbage, tomato and cucumber on the side just doesn't seem to offset the grease.

There are definitely better indonesian cafes/restaurants out there, but I am yet to try their noodle dishes at Garage Cafe so that would be an update for another time.

: Ratings :


Service: 8/10 - The owner is always welcoming and friendly and service is always quite fast, except the lose points for the time when they gave my order to somebody else who ate it.
Food: 6/10 - I didn't quite like the pork, but I really enjoyed the jelly so I'm a bit torn on grading this category. The food's not superb or anything, but it is decent, so it shall get a decent grading of 6.

Layout: 6/10 - Good spacious place for larger groups and as the area is quite large, it doesn't get too noisy. The heating is a bit lacking in winter and the toilet is definitely the biggest let down.
Overall: 6.5/10 - As mentioned, there are definitely better Indonesian cafes out there but if you are after a spacious cafe then this is the perfect place.