Axil Coffee Roasters, Hawthorn Vic

The visit to the mother house didn't disappoint, and Axil Coffee Roasters delivers good coffee, great food and a genuinely-friendly fast service in very modern and stylish settings. I liked their coffee, but I really enjoyed the croquette dish I had. It was well balanced, a good-sized portion and with a great mix of textures and flavors and eggs perfectly poached. Menu was a bit disappointing regards variety and lack of specials, but beyond that, I really enjoyed my visit. 

 

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Sushi Hub (Hawthorn, Vic)

Fresh and yummy cold and hot dishes and a great selection of Japanese drinks. The nicest dishes aren't usually on the train but have to be ordered. It takes little time for them to arrive, though

Fast and friendly staff.

Good priced. 

Sushi trains are one of my fav things in the food world. The reason I go to a food train is because of the variety, the freshness and the fact that you have most things already on display, so you don't have to order anything unless you really want. And that is, precisely, what this place fails at, because most of the nicest things aren't on display, just the average ones, the rest have to be ordered. This being the case, part of the enjoyment of the train adventure vanishes like a puff. Said differently, this is more a la carte and takeaway sushi place than a proper sushi train, even though there is a train

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Rococo (Hawthorn, Vic)

This is a family-friendly, all-rounder Italian restaurant that does well everything. They have a large menu with things you don't usually find in average Italian restaurants. Their food is tasty and their portions big -- size does matter to me. Even if you order just one dish, you won't leave hungry. My duck risotto was stupendous regarding flavour and the rice was perfectly cooked, not too chewy not too soft. Very friendly, attentive staff. Service can be on the slow side on weekends. A bit pricey.

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Muharam Cafe (Hawthorn, Vic)

I had a great experience at this Middle-Eastern influenced cafe. I ordered one of their breakfast boards, which has a few samplings of everything. Everything was good, especially the fritter with avo, poached egg and accompanying capsicum salsa. The granola was yummy, too. The mini-croissant was average. Good coffee. The place is modern, clean lines and decor, and very vibrant. Some of the staff were really friendly, but others were totally the opposite. I visited late in the day, so it might be tiredness.

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Rustica (Hawthorn, Vic)

I've been here a couple of times, and I like the place. The menu, to be fair, wasn't that innovative, but if you do well what you offer, then you win me over easily. I had the Babaganush eggs and wow, I could not fault the dish. All the flavours worked beautifully together, a great mix of textures, the eggs were perfectly poached, and the whole ensemble was flawless. I felt tempted to lick the dish! I love Rustica doughnuts, they are sweet but not overly so, and full of flavour. Coffee is good. Fast service. My main complaints are the seating area itself, and the fact that the staff aren't especially friendly

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Shade Cafe (Hawthorn, Vic)

Coffee was really good. Food was nice, but not beyond nice, really; good serving portions, and good priced as well. However, it took about 15 minutes or so for my food to come out and, honestly, it was not worth the wait. The staff were really lovely but there was an evident lack of coordination and attention to detail. There were a good deal of patrons when I visited, but the place was not full by any means. This is a good addition to the Glenferrie coffee strip, but there are so many awesome cafes around that they need to step up their game if they want to survive.

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The Resistance (Hawthorn Vic)

Don't resist the resistance! They have great burgers and fries at reasonable prices, in a killer location and very friendly staff. The burger was asbsolutely yummy, well assembled, the bun the righ size, so tender and briochey. Flavoursome well cooked meat. I had the simpler burger and I was impressed. Why not 5 stars? Because it took ages for a simple burger to come to my place even though I was the only customer waiting. And because, to me, the place lacks a bit of glam.

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Ubuntu Vegan Cafe (Hawthorn Vic)

I had a great experience in this vegan cafe. I am not vegan but omnivorous, so I also eat vegan. and I am fascinated by how veganism works with taste. 

I had the Lizzy burger, with comes with a basket of sweet-potato chips. Wow! It is a mix of beetroot brioche bun, pineapple and Portobello mushrooms, an odd mix of things, I thought. However, all the flavours work together and my burger was finger-leaking yummy. The chips were also yummy, crunchy and very tasty.   The main downside is  that, due to the way the burger was assembled, the filling kept sliding out, so I had to use knife and fork to finish my burger. To me, that's a let down because a burger is something I want to eat with my bare hands.

I'm a bit of a coffee nerd. Not having skim milk to have mine was a bit of, I dunno. However, they have an excellent soya milk coffee! The soya barely noticeable.

The staff were totally awesome, genuinely friendly.

The premises lack character, so it is not a place you go to experience the place and ambience.

Pricing is on the high side.

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