ORA

Top service. Top food. Top coffee. But don’t tell anyone, I don’t want it getting too crowded again!

When out the other night we got heavily chastised by friends for living so close to Ora but not yet visiting. They were so insistent (almost bullying!) on their recommendation we decided to rectify that the very next morning.
Very glad we did. This one’s a keeper.
It was a busy and bustling morning, and a public holiday, and quite a few people waiting outside. We were told there was a 20 min wait, but it ended up being about 5. A lot of that crowd outside must have been waiting for coffees as apparently this place is renowned for it.
Inside is pretty tiny with a few communal tables, the walls all furnished with blown-​up Banksy images. My peppermint tea came out in a cute little glass holder, which was new, but the smell of the coffee and the extensive and curious coffee menu made me regret not breaking my no-​coffee rule and sampling some of their delights. Maybe next time.
The food came out, plated up like a boss. (Strangers wanted photos of our food). The menu is short, but what they do they do very well indeed. There were some ingredients unfamiliar to me, but everything tasted amazing so my blind faith and culinary ignorance paid off handsomely in the end.
A new favourite.

After hearing great things about Ora for years from our Kew and Hawthorn dwelling friends, I was expecting great things. Rocked up to the cute and charming space on an unassuming residential corner for lunch the other day. After perusing the menu I realised I was a bit limited as to what I could order due to my temporary (thank goodness) dietary restrictions. Not Ora’s fault exactly, but the menu is short and sweet. I settled on the brisket sandwich, which was pretty expensive at 18 dollars, but I like brisket and I couldn’t really eat very much else. My eyes almost bugged out of my head when the sandwich was brought to the table. it was piled sky high with brisket meat, so much so, that I had to remove more than have of it. My husband and I could have easily shared it, but I was dining alone and had little notion of what to do with the pile of meat accumulating on my plate. The sandwich itself was tasty: It was served on a bun with confit garlic and carmelised onion, along with a creamy bechemel type sauce. It was certainly not for the faint of heart or anyone on a diet, but I am neither of those things so I enjoyed it. For the price, it would have been nice to have a side salad, something green and fresh to cut through all the fatty flavours. In fact I would even go as far as to say that I would have preferred a much smaller sandwich with a salad, for about six dollars less.
At one point the waiter came by and inquired why I had removed the meat from the sandwich. I am tiny and it was a meat mountain so I thought it would have been obvious but I explained it was just too much for me and asked if I could have something to wrap it up in. He responded (very nicely I must say) that they cannot allow patrons to leave with prepared food. It could have made an entire lunch the next day but instead it gets tipped in the bin. Fantastic. It also gets my goat (or cow) to be told what I may or may not do with food I have purchased. There is no law about taking food to go in Melbourne, only individual policies set by café/​restaurant owners.
I didn’t have a coffee or anything to drink so I can’t comment on that… It was hard to come up with a score for Ora: I left feeling a bit annoyed, but overall the food was good. Settling on an «ok» because, despite my reservations I would give it another try if I was in the hood again.

If I lived in this part of Kew, I can honestly say that ORA would be my go-​to local brekkie, brunch or lunch spot. Yes it wouldn’t be the preferred automatic choice of café for those who are commuting but it’s worth paying this great little café a visit at least once.
We had lunch there a while ago on Sunday and, as expected, it was very busy. The crowd was made up of a mix of local residents (and their pets!) and others (perhaps like myself) who’d decided to give this place a shot on the day.
We managed to secure a window seat facing the street, which is actually my preferred spot in such a café. My flat white was really good and my Crumbed Pork Schnitzel Roll was also delicious. I really like their menu. It’s a little fancier than your typical café but not too the point where they’ve ovderdone it. I’ve seen cafes who have complicated their menus so much that they couldn’t come back to basics, and had to shut up shop. ORA is not one of those.
I really enjoyed our lunch and shall definitely return!

Ok, let me talk you through our Ora experience… So we (me and my best friend) drive into Pakington Street and initially I’m thinking, no way, we’re in the wrong place. No way would there be an award winning Melbourne café in this odd, old, battered looking strip of shops. I was mistaken. There it was, looking inconspicuous. Ok, I thought, as we walked in, it doesn’t look much — their food and coffee must be incredible! Which it absolutely is! We ordered coffees, and were both immediately won over — one of the best coffees I’ve had in Melbourne. Then. oh then… I know I can be a little too excited about good food, but honest to God, I know why this place won best café food in The Age Café Guide! Our breakfast comes out, the usual staple of poached eggs, bread, avocado, smoked salmon (cured!!), and it was the freshest, best prepared variation of this brunch I’ve had anywhere. Anywhere! My best friend and I were sitting there like two little kids, staring at our plates, eating, grinning stupidly at each other. «Can’t talk. Eating». Not much makes us stop talking but this breakfast definitely did! So so good, so so happy, so so can’t wait to go back. All the time! And the odd little street grew on me. To be honest, I’d have been happy eating that quality of food anywhere!!!

Voted best food in Melbourne’s good café guide for 2014 and it didn’t disappoint! If anything it exceed expectations.
It’s a tiny little place in Kew that is constantly pack as the food and coffee they’re are producing is being adored by one and all! If you go during a peak time expect a 10 – 15 minute wait, but by golly is it worth the wait.
I had a latte which was good, I mean I wouldn’t purely go back for it but it’s better than most. But then the main event roller around and with the stage set and hush of silence my eggs on prawn toast had arrived. It was one of those glorious moments, sort of like when you start undressing a really attractive person in your mind and because it’s your imagination its perfect… that happened but with the plate of food in front of me. I actually don’t think I can describe it well enough but here we go. It was incredibly light, filling and tasty. The most remarkable thing was how well the combination of flavours worked. To me it’s was everything anyone one could imagine and want for brunch.
It doesn’t matter where you hail from, take the time and get to ora, the hype is completely justified. It’s your dream eat!

A recent visit to ORA provided one of the nicer meals I have had recently. Nicely tucked away in the quieter area of Kew, it’s definitely worth the visit. It was made even more special that while sitting outside the sun was beaming over us, creating a lovely atmosphere.
It was very hard to choose what to order from the menu. After a great sell from the lovely waitress I settled on the Prawn Toast with Avocado Whip — something that I don’t think I’d normally order. It turned out to be an inspired decision as it was absolutely amazing — it had a great variety of flavours, and was very filling with out making you feeling flat after. Definitely try out ORA if you get a chance!

Ora is one of my all time favourite cafes. Set in the middle of almost-​nowhere in kew, they manage to draw a crowd from all over Melbourne.
The menu is quirky while still being edible — think freshly made sesame prawn toast with avocado whip and lime or Beetroot terrine with goats cheese — and changes seasonally. The food is always freshest, and the dishes are well thought through and taste great. (The LFC (Louisiana fried chicken) roll is a personal favourite!)
The coffee is also great. They roast their own beans sourced from many different single origins. The latte is always perfect temperature, black coffees are hot and never over extracted. They offer filter coffee done a variety of ways — syphon, V-​60, cold drip — with a dedicated menu of filter-​roasted coffees showcased. They also have a selection of specialty teas.
The décor features prints of Banksy street art, which goes nicely with the functional-​but-​pleasant interior. A large communal table and a long communal window bench provide plenty of space, and a handful of two-​or-​four person tables are clustered in behind. If it’s a nice day, the seats outside are very pleasant.
I wish Ora had 8,637,921 more tables. They are very popular, especially on the weekend, so get in nice and early if you don’t want to have to wait! Or just head in mid-​week, have a chat to the staff about the food and the coffee, and enjoy!

Ora is emblematic of Melbourne’s serendipitous café scene. I wandered down the street to find this gem sitting inconspicuously amongst a small group of suburban shops, where it enjoys cult status amongst locals (attested by the queue waiting for the 8am Saturday opening time).
Their La Marzocco is always at full tilt, and while I prefer a more ball-​tearing coffee intensity, the quality here is still top shelf.
The artisan breakfast menu is exceptional. Highlights for me include the fresh tomato salad served as a side with eggs, the home-​made breakfast sausage (divine), and the house-​made pumpkin jam I just devoured with their a-​grade fruit toast.
The service is faultless, delivered by real people who obviously love working here. So they should — I LOVE this place too.

Through random circumstance, I found myself having lunch at ORA today. I am so very, very happy I did. This café is still home to some of the best coffee in Melbourne. It is hidden away in the eastern suburbs on a little shopping strip with not a whole lot to offer. That is, not a whole lot to offer other than amazing coffee and food.
ORA roast their own coffee here and have a number of single estates to serve every purpose. I can recommend that you try the Rwanda Nyarusiza as a Pour-​over. It went down a treat. I also find that ORA make some of the best milk-​based coffee that I’ve had. I don’t know what milk they use but it always makes the coffee unique and well-​balanced.
If you come in for a meal, I suggest that you try the prawn toast. It is spectacular. smashed avocado base, shredded veggies, poached egg. It was all the delicious, so very good. They also do pretty much any kind of egg on toast that you can think of with every kind of add-​on you can think of.
ORA is spectacular.

Delicious food. Great coffee. Gorgeous staff. Is there anything else?

Although I am giving 3 stars… it’s more like a 3 and a half.
I have been dying to try Ora as I live locally and it sounded great! I went on a Sunday morning with some friends for a much needed breakfast. I knew that we may need to wait to get a table but managed to score 4 seats on the outside bench.
The menu is very creative, which I love! The coffee is also very good. My only gripe is our food was a bit cold. I wasn’t sure if this was from being outside or not but it wasn’t too appealing.
I would definitely give it another go and look forward to trying their lunch menu! Oh Ora, you haven’t been written off just yet!

My favourite local, awesome food and coffee, the only problem is that there’s not enough space, so you need to expect a wait. Which is the trade off for a place of this calibre :)

Amazing brunch and coffee! Was in the area with a friend and decided to drop in after hearing a lot about this place.
It was quite busy for a weekday but we found a seat at the window relatively quickly. It’s nice and bright in there and not too noisy, but most of all, it didn’t feel pretentious at all unlike a fair few other similar hipster-​magnet café joints in Melbourne.
The staff are really friendly and informative. After looking at the blackboard and telling the waitress we were unsure what kind of coffee we wanted, the barista came over and sat down, and gave us a run down on all the different types they offered. He knew his stuff, and explained how they made each type and the flavours without confusing us layman coffee drinkers (I learnt enough to now be able to bluff my way through a coffee connoisseur conversation). We settled on a Kenyan filtered ($ 7) and a good old latte. He was even kind enough to make us a sample of a ‘cold shot’ coffee for free. All of which were really good.
Food, as the others have mentioned here, is bloody nice. I had the duck egg and blood pudding. Would definitely come back!

Best Breakfast in Melbourne! Amazing coffee, great service and the Ricotta and Broadbean with poached egg is delish!

This little gem opened mid-​year and quickly jumped onto many of the radars of Melbourne’s brunch set. It was conceived by a couple of friends and set up in the perfect location — away from the competition and with a willing local customer base. For those of us with dreams of owning a small brunch destination, the team here have showed us how to do good coffee (a specially created blend by Proud Mary), food and service, with great atmosphere. Feast on veggies plucked straight from the large garden outback, as well as pancakes, sandwiches and pasta dishes — you won’t leave disappointed.

A neat little package of a café, Ora makes me want to move out to the ‘burbs and start living in a house with a white picket fence. The coffee is cracking, with the house espresso blend from Proud Mary and a rotating list of single origins from the who’s who of coffee world — Market Lane, Seven Seeds et al. which you can enjoy as a pour over or siphon.
The menu is, well, delightful. Seriously, it made my heart feel all squishy and happy as I browsed through. Maybe it was the delicate logo and pretty typeface (font nerd), the seasonal menu ingredients (broad beans picked from the café’s veggie garden anyone?) or perhaps the non-​standard café ingredients (duck eggs, manchego, black pudding? Yes please!)… Either way, my face was all happiness as I sat in the sun deciding what to eat at this barely two week old café.
I settled on ‘Smoked trout, soft boiled egg, avocado and herb salad on sourdough’ ($ 18) and it was everything I’d hoped it would be. High quality ingredients put together without apparent fuss, but a whole lot of love. The smoked trout lay sexily amongst chunks of avocado and a soft boiled egg, cut open to reveal its bright orange oozing centre, the herb salad (complete with another non-​standard café ingredient — fennel pollen) scattered over the top. A winning dish and one I’d be keen to have again next time if it weren’t for the pea and bacon hash, the bircher muesli or the prawn and scallop ravioli that sit high on my «must try» list.
If I were going to move to the suburbs and have the white picket fence, I’d move to Kew just to be close to Ora.