Alice Nivens

Turns out the cake isn’t a lie!
I’m not much of a cake person but I love this place.
Getting to know them, the pastry chef Jean, is very passionate and excited about her work.
It’s very Alice in wonderland inside, kinda like you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole into a slightly strange café.
Great coffee from Small Batch, Mörk chocolate, and Storm tea. They have a small savoury food menu with sandwiches and bagels but I think everyone comes for the amazing sweets.
Muffins, slices, brownies, and an amazing cake is always on offer with different varieties every day. Follow their Instagram feed to get updates of what’s on offer, which might be dangerous, but that’s the only motivation you’ll need.

If you’ve ever stumbled across the instagram feed of Alice Nivens, you’ll know they specialise in what could only be described as ‘cake porn’. Their baked goods are enough to send anyone running their way.
Tucked inside Port Philip Arcade off Flinders St, you’ll find yourself walking through this aging ugly arcade wondering if you’re in the right place. Until you see the cute little tables and bunny rabbits of Alice Nivens. Inside awaits Small Batch coffee (Candyman + Single Origin), delicious treats and beaming service to match the café’s sweetness.
Grab a seat inside to really soak up the atmosphere of this cute little hole in the wall (and to avoid the parade of Melbourne’s weirder folk in the arcade!)

Alice Nivens makes the best muffins in Melbourne. Each day they make a different flavour muffin and cake and every Friday they will bake scones. Each day they will upload their creations on Instagram and Twitter so you will know what’s on offer.
Whilst I am a huge fan of their muffins I am not a huge fan of their cakes. I have tried their strawberry & lemon cake and peanut butter & choc cake and I always find it a bit on the dry side and too dense and sweet for me.

What a surprising find!
I had known about Alice Nivens before but I had never quite read into the café. I was walking past with a friend last week when I looked up and saw the sign. We thought we’d stop in for a quick coffee. In the end we stayed for closer to an hour. It really was a nice little café in a very busy mall.
The coffee is what surprised me the most to be honest. I was hoping for the general Melbourne standard but what I got was at least 3 shots better than par. The coffee from Small Batch was made to perfection and I savoured every last drop of my magic. After my first sip, I just looked at my mate with the ‘not bad’ face and nodded several times. You know what I’m talking about.
The thing that really give this place that final star is the atmosphere. It has that minimalistic feel to it. It really does hit its theme spot on. Alice in Wonderland. A spectacular little café down a busy mall of Flinders Lane. When you fall down the rabbit hole, this is what you find! I’ll be back again soon.

I walked through Port Philip Arcade a few times until I got really cranky, hopeless and frankly annoying a friend who really did not see the reason why we were looking for this particular place so much. Either way, hoping my friendship is not in danger, I set out a task that unless I find this place we were not going anywhere. Finally after finding this place, it turns out that we passed right in front of it.
Once inside this little wonderland I have to warn you that nothing is ordinary, the cakes (depending on the time/​day), cupcakes, scones, coffee and tea are sure to be something of an amazing quality that is hard to find anywhere. Plus there is a small lunch menu as well to try out (Which I only found out last time after I had stuffed myself with cupcakes).
It doesn’t have a large sign in front or flashy lights flashing out anything neither does it need any.
At the end this place just strengthened my friendship. There is no wonder in any wonderlands that it deserves its spot in some other great Melbourne institutions and will always keep you wanting to go back hoping to uncover on what sweet treats are on offer.

Small, Hidden, Intimate and lots of great things; maximizing the small interior to the max, inviting, cozy and warm, great kitchen set up, must admit just a little lost on the theme although with 3 daughters I did not read Alice in Wonderland … got to go back again especially for those creations made by this talented girl …
Yet to go through the coffee menu … looks semi serious.

What a cute space hidden away on Flinders St. There needs to be a sign on Flinders St pointing people to this café. It’s got some outdoor seating and just one big communal table inside.
They serve amazing cakes, a bunch of them GF and they are made fresh everyday! Janet’s (the owner) personality is pretty displayed throughout her whole café, from the large mural on the wall, to the polaroid photo wall… right down to who she is herself. If you ever need a pick me up because the winter blues have taken over, pay Janet a visit at Alice Nivens!
Definitely worth a trip down!

Alice Nivens can be found down the rabbit hole in Port Philip Arcade. The three most interesting things about the shop are the mural, the communal table, and owner Janet. Once you step inside, it’s almost like being transported into a whimsical fairytale where it’s teatime all the time and coffee and pastries are being served.
What this place lacks is the Cheshire Cat, a Terrarium with the hookah smoking Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. But till then, I am satisfied sipping coffee (Beans from Clement) in this wonderful little joint.
Note:
Space is limited, so I would recommend getting your coffee and pastries to go.

‘I have an affinity with rabbits,’ jokes owner Janet Wong, by means of an explanation for opening an Alice in Wonderland inspired café — an unusual choice for a chemical engineer. ‘I was born in the Chinese horoscope year of the rabbit and they’re known for bringing good luck.’
Janet worked with Kris Wood, who she sites as her mentor, while completing her five year double degree, using her science skills to master the perfect coffee. It inspired her to open her own place which is how Alice Nivens came to be. ‘It’s a fragment of my imagination,’ smiles Janet, explaining that the lesser obvious ‘Nivens’ is the name of the rabbit in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland adaptation.
With an emphasis on the sweet treats, baked fresh every morning in Alice’s kitchen by pastry chef Jean Cleary, expect mini cupcakes, cookies and brownies (when I visited there was white rabbit cake and mini Christmas pudding red velvet cake pops). Barista Emily Ch-​Ng pulls a mean cup of Clement Coffee through the Spirit, or allow your Storm in a Teacup tea to brew whilst taking in the quirky Alice mural by illustrator Sam Octigan.
‘I asked for a big Alice shrinking to a small Alice,’ grins Janet. ‘But Sam heard a big Alice spitting on to a small Alice and I didn’t correct.’ Curiouser and curiouser!

Tumble into a secret laneway café for sweet things and addictive cakes with story-​book names like «White Rabbit» and «Queen of Hearts.»
Can you detect the shift from summer to autumn? It’s in the wind. It changes from imperceptible rustles to sniffling flurries, and just before winter, blustering gusts. The wind calls to the trees, who answer by aging to rusty browns and fiery reds. As the seasons move, one also wishes, no, yearns, for a change of scene. A little adventure. Please. Let us tell you one. Not very far from home. Anyone who is a true Melbournian knows that the best things in Melbourne are hidden — in laneways, underground, rooftops. Enter Port Phillip Arcade however, and it is hardly the sort of place you would think that there are hidden treasures at all. You will see a cake decorating store that is the first-​stop for many bakers and just across, a cluttered den for the dedicated philatelist or coin collector. Someone ought to enter these two stores as the perfect contenders for a «clean up your obsessive compulsive hoarding disorder» television show. You will also see a strip of canteen food joints stuffed full of bain maries of ethnic cuisine and a strangely-​placed hairdresser/​nail clipping service. You might entirely miss a relatively new bakery-​café of the tiniest proportions.
On the outside, Alice Nivens’ shuttered frontage is reminiscent of primary school canteens. There’s a sun-​lit, faux vine terrace made for dreaming. Stepping inside, the café is a hoarding photographer’s wonderland. There are so many little things to enchant at Alice Nivens. There’s a bright wall mural that elicits a range of responses — do you see a monstrous decapitated head spitting a black pool at a vulnerable little girl cowering under an umbrella? Or do you see a modern depiction of a shrinking Alice? In any case, it is certainly as captivating as the inverted teacup pendant lights that we simply must get for our reading room, the stack of dried tea leaves and rose buds in glass bottles, and the open cake kitchen. Let us not digress however, you simply cannot miss a glass cabinet holding a scrumptious array of baked goodies — brownies, marshmallows, macarons, muesli slices, cupcakes, muffins, and a fat cake. More home-​style in looks and flavour than laboratory cake artisanship, they rotate flavours on a daily basis — a very clever move of the café owner or cake chef that guarantees the return visits of insatiable sweet-​tooths such as these Dessert Correspondents.
If you can’t decide from the array for baked beauties what to eat, eat cake. Eat cakes ($ 6.50 per slice). They are all excellent at Alice Nivens. The «White Rabbit Cake» is perfect exquisiteness, one that we would probably designate as an Alice Nivens’ signature. It’s an airy, vanilla-​toned, sweet white chocolate cake bisected with a thin line of berry preserve and cream, and dressed in a shaggy cloak of shredded coconut. Another favourite is the gluten-​free «Queen of Hearts Cake,» which is less dense than most gluten-​free cakes. It has a very smooth, very very rich chocolate fudge-​like taste and texture. …
Apart from Little Cupcakes and Babycakes, say hello to Alice Nivens’ cupcakes. Made daily in small batches, the cupcakes are consistently cushion-​y soft and well-​flavoured, usually with a hidden center surprise too. …
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There may indeed, be many places in the CBD to fulfill the need for good coffee and lunch. But, for good coffee and addictive cakes — for morning treats, afternoon nibbles or a cheeky replacement lunch — as well as a delightful burst of chirpy service, tell us a better proposition than Alice Nivens.

I had heard this café was pretty cool so i was looking for it. I walked past it twice before i realised where it was! Situated in an arcade opposite flinders street station, alice nivens is a delightful addition. The interior has some fantastic artwork on the wall and some tea cups hanging from the ceiling — what a fantastic idea! The café is really cute and unique. We sat outside and the staff were really helpful and offered us tips on which delicious sugary treats to get. I finally decided on a raspberry muffin, which was so tasty! The waitress even brought out some complimentary shortbreads that were fresh out of the oven. They too were delicious! The coffee was good and price was very reasonable! Will definately be back!

Cup cakes yes… they are the cutest two sizes too — not that I can eat them however.
This place is supper cute and a must go. There are Gluten Free cakes here. eek (this made me very happy) the brownies are to die for.
Coffee perfect, serve friendly and engaging.

I liked this cute little café tucked away in an arcade virtually opposite Flinders Street Station. It is a tiny, intimate place selling coffee, cakes, biscuits etc with a large Alice in Wonderland mural on the wall.
What I liked most about it though was the large communal table inside. If you go into this place, there is no other table to sit at inside the actual shop — which means that you are in a position where you cant help but chat to the people sitting on either side of you!
For those of you out there who want your privacy however, then there are several tables outside the actual shopfront and because it is in an arcade, you can avoid sunburn, rain, rain, traffic noise etc.
I didnt get a chance to taste any of the food (except for one coffee) but based on the atmosphere and quaintness of the place, I will give it 4 stars!

How to get here? How indeed!
Enter through port Phillip arcade, if on Flinders street, or via the lane way dotted
with shops in Flinders lane; on the left down from Swanston street. It is a bit
of a tumbledown a long rabbit hole to find it, but much less Topsy turvy than the original journey. It’s a good way in, or down rather, and inside you shall find a cute
and small little sitting with some outside yet still inside, and double inside seating. Great pattern tiles complete the look, with a cool coffee machine.
you can’t go past the toasted sandwiches; not merely because they have an
awesome sandwich toasting machine, but these also come with great skills! Also
they come out great; especially the roasted vegetable sandwich with roast pumpkin etc. Again another item with the goat’s cheese! But it turns to awesome tasty goodness. Good lunching menu etc for a grand pit stop in the city. And pretty
darn good Baristas too I’m told.

Opened just a few days, Alice Nivens is already bringing delight to what is a bit of a sad-​sack corner of the CBD.
The interior is whimsical — a dreamy Alice in Wonderland mural (picture a sea of coffee), tea cup lanterns from the roof, cake towers, and open kitchen where you can watch the baker work (you’ll drool over the red velvet cake covered in sparkly red crystals and mini stars), violet coloured stools around a small communal table, and the waft of espresso coming from the very sexy Spirit coffee machine (only the second I know of in the country)… cute cute cute!
Don’t be late for your very important date with Alice.