Monk Bodhi Dharma

Been here a number of times and the food is amazing however it feels as though the management has slipped in a big way. Last few times have involved waiting for a table for more than 40 minutes and then waiting another 40+ minutes for the food. This would be a 1 star review if the food wasn’t incredible/​if the staff weren’t incredibly friendly.
Apple buckwheat pancakes are amazing but not worth waiting one and a half hours for.

Overall, I wouldn’t mind having a vegan and vegetarian brunch if it’s taste like most of Monk Bodhi Dharma dishes. Even though I still prefer my meat. If you are looking for something similar, Monk Bodhi Dharma’s sister café called Admiral Cheng Ho at Abbostford served similar menu such as Umami Mushrooms. For the meat eater out there if you want to try your first vegan and vegetarian brunch, I recommend you to start here.

This place never fails to disappoint. Food both meets the palates needs and is catchy to the eye. The staff are always friendly and easy going people. Best known for there coffees this cute café is located in an alley way.

Monk is known for their organic, free trade coffee selections and a tasty, vegetarian/​vegan breakfast and lunch. The breakfast menu had 8 scrumptious dishes and the lunch specials were written on a chalkboard hanging on the far wall. While Iz and I aren’t vegan (far from it), we could tell from the plates that dropped in front of the customers across from us that the Monk kitchen means business. We could live without bacon and eggs for one morning if it meant we got to try the to-​die-​for Avignon Apple Pancakes. You think gluten-​free and vegan — how could pancakes taste that good? The fluffiest apple buckwheat pancakes were adorned with a vanilla coconut cream, cinnamon banana nice cream, strawberries, apple chips, and a mini bottle of maple syrup. They were heavenly. These apple pancakes didn’t taste healthy at all — they were moist (many of my friends’ least favorite word) and tricked your mind into thinking they were made with real butter, white flour, and eggs. My favorite bite was a small bite of strawberry and a lot of pancake, dragged through the vanilla cream, melted cinnamon ice cream, and maple syrup. Perfection. We also shared the Yucatan Beans — a savory, hearty dish with stewed beans and vegetables on top of crusty sourdough toast and sprinkled with the most delicious feta cheese we’d ever tasted. The black and kidney beans were cooked low and slow with celery, carrots, onions, and spices until it tasted like home. The Monk cooks give you the option of a vegan, almond feta cheese or the real stuff. We wanted the real stuff. This was some really good feta — salty, crumbly, but still creamy. I wondered if they had sheep out back that they had milked for this feta cheese. Yucatan Beans was such a simple plate and probably cost $ 4 to prepare, but each bite was rich with flavor. The staff at Monk matches the atmosphere — relaxed, warm, low-​key — and they really know their beans. Coffee beans that is. They had a ton of different coffees to choose from ranging from $ 4 to $ 11 a cup from all around the globe. Izzy chose the $ 4 variety — we’re not made of money — and raved about it. I got their chai latte (shocker) and it was the best chai I’ve ever had — intensely spicy and aromatic. This may be our new, weekly brekky spot. Monk — you didn’t disappoint.

Great coffee. Although I’m not vegetarian, I am always excited to see what options vegetarian restaurants have, and when they are as good as meat options if not better, I am delighted. And this café delivered. I had the gado-​gado from the daily specials and it was delicious. The vibe of the place is warm and cosy and the staff were friendly. Will be back for the Avo next time I’m sure.

This is the best vegetarian restaurant for breakfast and lunch in Melbourne. Both, coffee and food are excellent. Best avocado toast in the city. Service is friendly and professional.

This place doesn’t seem like it needs much more love. Busy with a nice feel and cool lay out as long as you’re prepared to be up close to your neighbours.
Possibly the best coffee I’ve had in Australia. The barista recommended a Bolivian single origin for my long black and you really could taste the butterscotch and plum notes.
The food also, was incredible. I had a lunch special of crushed white bean bruschetta with almond feta and dehydrated tomato.
I wish I could spend longer in Melbourne to go here more often, or take it back to the UK with me!

This is the best coffee I have ever had. Last time I went, I tried the espresso, flat white, and one of the pour over options. Each was amazing. The pour over was sublime, though pricey. I am still not sure why pour over is 3 times the price of espresso in Melbourne. Maybe it is because it is still fairly rare and a bit of a novelty, even at the better coffee shops. Maybe Melburnian coffee drinkers haven’t caught on yet. Maybe it is because it takes longer to make or because the beans are better. I don’t know. The prices for a tiny glass of coffee are what you will pay for a glass of wine or a pint of beer but, despite this, I will still happily order it at Monk Bodhi Dharma because they make it exceptionally well (something that can’t be said for some other local coffee shops).
If the price of the pour over makes you balk, go for an espresso or a flat white. The espresso is amazingly good and made by people who know what they are doing. The difference between a well made espresso and an exceptionally well made one is surprisingly large and MBD do it exceptionally well. You are paying premium prices anyways Melbourne, you might as well get the best.

I am still puzzled as to why it is so hard to find a good salad (or any salad) at a Melbourne café. I was super pleased to see a beautiful kale salad on the menu at MBD: It featured maple roasted beetroot, spinach goat cheese, pepitas, rosy slivers of grapefruit, and of course, great ruffly green leaves of kale! Healthy, colourful and delicious. We also ordered a red bean chili topped with avocado, which was warm and filling.
Monk Bodhi Dharma is great for vegetarians or those who just want healthy, tasty, and sustainable fare. They also do a mean cup of coffee.

Great space friendly staff, the best coffee in Melbourne and a healthy super tasty menu what else could you want? Monk is a must highly recommended!

This has to be one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants.
Thank you Monk Bodhi Dharma

One of the best coffee destinations in Melbourne (aka the world) and one of the few cafes also offering many single origin selections as well as pour over filter coffees. The staff is incredible friendly and polite, some more knowledgable than others, which just adds to the inviting and happy vibe of the café. Definitely my favourite spot for filter coffee, and shockingly good espresso drinks as well. They use very high quality milk from a local farm, and believe me you can taste the difference. They roast everything on site, hence the large selection of filter and espresso options each day, and the amazing smells flooding Chapel and Carlisle each night!

I’ve been here a few times for coffee before and had their organic toast (which is amazing, btw) but I had their Raw vegan trifle, and being a 100% red meat eater it was new grounds.
And…
It was damn fantastic! Will be back and will be trying their menu from top to toe. Just hope my bank account can take it.

Alright, this is the 3^rd review I’ve written and it is going to be the best. I have now visited Monk Bodhi Dharma over a hundred times and it’s going to receive a fair decent write-​up.
The coffee here is simply spectacular. As my main caffeine supplier, I make a couple of visits every week and have lost count of the amount of coffees they’ve lay before my eager eyes; hundreds and hundreds, lets be honest. They’ve got the largest range of single estates in Melbourne. The hoppers constantly rotate beans, in the morning there might be a couple from Brazil or Ethiopia, a Cup of Excellence or two then in the afternoon it might change to Bolivian geishas. You just never know. The left grinder is home to the house bean and changes less frequently. No matter what it is though, it’s always good in both milk-​based and black. If you don’t know where to start, start there.
Recently Monk has been home to some of the most outstanding beans Melbourne has ever seen. That’s right, you know what I’m talking about, Ninety Plus. My personal favourite like many others is the Nikesse. That berry jam, citrusy goodness. Ah, sooo good. Don’t get me started. What’s that? Nikesse Red here now as well. *starts wildly jumping around like a dog about to go for a walk*. But seriously, while you’re at it, try the Roteus and Solkien! And the Lotus… and the Perci… oh and the Silvia. Heck, try ‘em all!
This little café is full veggie, plus many vegan meals with delicious food (especially the muffins and brownies) and is open until 5pm every day for those of you like myself that end the day with a little cup full of heaven. Despite my thinking that Monk is underrated, it does tend to get quite packed around lunch time and it seems that it is getting busier each day. When you get your seat on one of the tree trunk stools with a rumbling stomach can I give you one suggestion: «The Avo». What is it? Oh, well, it’s just a mountain of smashed avocado with all the trimmings: feta, lemon, chilli, etc. It is my favourite lunch served from their kitchen and I have a feeling that it is the favourite lunch of a lot of other people as well. You can’t get in this place at lunch time without seeing someone enjoying this dish to the last delicious bite.
The staff are amazingly friendly and always give you a smile as you walk through that wooden glass door. Give Nathan a compliment about his beard and/​or moustache, depending on which he’s deciding to let grow wildly. The owner, Marwin, has been the key in my finding a very large sum of Melbourne’s best cafés. I’d been coming to Monk Bodhi Dharma months before I had even heard of Proud Mary or Auction Rooms. This little brick shack has been the stepping stone into my coffee enthusiasm and continues to please every single visit I make.
How about a fun face. The name comes from an Indian Monk, named Bodhidharma of course and in fact, they’ve got a second little café open in Abbotsford by the name of Admiral Cheng Ho. If you want to know a bit more, I am sure that Marwin will be happy to tell you. The new café, is a lot like this one but even busier. 6 grinders! Get excited.
Monk Bodhi Dharma has never let me down and will continue to see my face for years to come, occasionally twice a day and once even three times. I still make regular trips over, despite that I live in Clayton. It is worth it. Monk Bodhi Dharma is the definition of Melbourne’s coffee culture.

This has to be one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants out there. The staff are very knowledgable and friendly.
Their menu is vegetarian but they can make any dish vegan (excluding one).
Great atmosphere (very homey) and most of the time you’ll be waiting for a table but it’s definitely worth the wait!
This restaurant is great for lunch, dinner and even breakfast! They serve fresh coffee and all their desserts (muffins, cookies etc) are ALL vegan.
Their muffins use to be much better (cake too)(3 months ago) — now they seem like they’re made by someone else which is a bit disappointing.

The epitome of Melbourne’s coffee culture.
My local coffee haunt, Harrison C. and I tend to tickle our itch for hedonistic fulfilment here on multiple occasions per week. With 3 different blends available at any given time, there is an option for all palates, including one milk-​coffee specific blend– however the black coffee here is as good as any I have had.
My favourite blend is one with a molasses mouth feel, though its origin escapes me at this moment.
The location, down the alley next to Safeway at Balaclava, has kept this diamond in the rough from becoming overly mainstream, and characterises this venue as definitively Melbournian, yet expect to have to wait 20 minutes for a table as the weather warms up all the same; good things come to those who wait.
Enjoy.
BWA

This is another one of my locals, that a friend put me onto a number of years ago.
Great coffee (I even occasionally buy my whole beans here!) as well as an amazing atmosphere, but watch out… it can get busy!
It’s also perfectly located; a laneway café just like in the city (door-​in-​the-​wall style), yet in the suburbs. Easy to find, located just behind Safeway takes away some of that mystique, but none of the flavours :)
Worth a visit, and the vegetarian meals will also delight if you can get a seat around lunchtime.

Well ain’t this just the quaintest little café in town!
If you can appreciate a good cup of coffee then you should probably check out this boutique micro roastery that roasts all of their coffee in house. The coffee is direct trade, seasonal and offers blends from the South American and African regions, not to mention they also grind and retail their seasonal coffee.
Now if that wasn’t impressive enough, it also serves all-​day breakfast and lunch and is open for dinner on Friday nights.
The entire menu is vegetarian, but don’t let that deter the carnivorous beast inside you, because everything on it does actually read as interesting and appealing.
The café itself screams brick and mortar in a contemporary fashion. It’s rustic and hippy and everything in between.
It’s great to visit on your own, or with another, but be aware that it’s a very small space and when I say small, I mean 10 people to a share table and a few single tables!
And yes, if you haven’t figured it out by now, it’s mischievously off the beaten track!
Tip: Coffee’s are $ 4+

Hidden away making it hard to find (gotta walk away from the main street down an alley and its behind the main shops… see attached pics).
Was a bit sceptical sitting in the somewhat dodgy looking building but as the food and drink came out, its clear the reviews online were spot on… coffee is great, and today the umami mushroom dish was the best…
If your not an egg person, this place opens up a new range of brunch options.

I have a friend who is the biggest bacon freak EVER. The first day I met him he had a raging hangover and said that the only cure was a bacon sandwich.
So when he told me that he loved Monk Bodhi Dharma I knew that my assessment of this place was totally spot on. Why? Because Monk Bodhi Dharma is a vegetarian café but even the most hardcore meat-​osaur doesn’t seem to notice the lack of meat.
They do some of the best breakfasts here. Corn cakes, Yucatan beans topped with fetta, Umami mushrooms on a polenta pancake, oh and the Bircher muesli — I’ve whispered sweet nothings at it on at least one occasion. With a daily lunch menu rotating through stews, soups and interesting baguettes it always feels like such a wholesome experience here.
Then you realise that they have one of the best tea lists around AND they roast their own coffee. The options are always changing — but expect a house blend and a couple of singles that you can request either through the Synesso, syphon or as a pour over. The latter two will be served in a big brandy glass and you’ll feel rather sophisticated indeed.
Also check it out for dinner sometime. For two nights a week you can pick from a completely different menu which is mainly raw. The raw desserts are impressive, made with a mix of coconut, ground nuts, nut milks and fruit. The last time I went with five girlfriends, we picked one of everything off the dessert menu and rolled ourselves home…