Mr Tulk

Just went in to Mr Tulk to purchase a latte and received the worse service ever by a certain member of staff. She was hostile and arrogant and made it seem like she was swamped off her feet when it was in no way busy. I don’t usually do reviews but I want the world to know my experience. I look forward to my morning coffee. Felt very uncomfortable and will not be returning. Definitely ruined my day. Why can’t we all just get along?

The service is appalling. It’s not even busy and the staff are wafting about like they’re on holiday. Fill the water jugs! Clear a table!” After some pretty awesome Melbourne experiences, I’m disappointed when I see drooping staff sloppily dragging cloths over tables and ignoring our presence. Nothing snappy and keen about Mr Tulk other than it’s brilliant location. Oh, and the silver teapots and enamel water jugs are excellent and stylish. Just a shame that I had to go hunting for water and service.
And the menu? No points there either. Who doesn’t love a choice of great breakfast breads and free range bacon and expect that in Melbourne CBD? Maybe the cakes are good but I also saw my colleague struggle with some dried up crisp chicken or something on a bed of julienne radish (?maybe), which looked good but was limp and tasteless.
Great location but needs to get the mojo back, take an interest in serving some awesome and enthusiastic people with seriously good food. And spark up your staff — they’re too young to be sludging around like that.

I have always come her for coffee only but the last time my coffee tasted so bad that I haven’t been back for more.
This time, I thought we would try and have the lunch. We had the salmon baguette, the avocado on toast and I had the meatball. The meatball wasn’t too bad, but I keep thinking I have had better. For $ 11.50, its not too bad.
I might come back and give them another go for their coffee again! Stay tuned!

Quick and easy café to have breakfast and coffee before running to work. Friendly staff and not over priced.

Oh Mr Tulk you’ve been here forever and a day. We still love you oh so much. you’re still delivering up delish cakes, muffins and cookies. Never one to disappoint with decent coffee or tea, or what ever tickles your fancy.
Still one of the cheapest places in town to grab a cookie and a coffee.
Some how you have managed to cross over that blurred line of sophisticated uni student– free spirited freelancer and cranky corporate clientele.

This is one of my favorite cafés to study in. There are a lot of benches and tables inside and outside. I found you can tap into the State Library’s WiFi here too.
Lattes are true to Melbourne coffee — smooth, creamy and great beans. Definitely fantastic.
The service is second to none. Smiling, happy staff greet you for both takeaways and will show you to your table and do a great job at service — even when it does get a bit busy.
I didn’t stick around for happy hour but noticed the beers and wines are pretty reasonable — great for knock offs. Store that in the memory bank. Enjoy.

I really like people to use a strainer when they make their tea so I can remove it before it becomes too strong (I don’t like strong tea). So, when I get my pot of tea and they haven’t used either a tea bag, or a strainer, then I am immediately put off, and you guessed it — this place does not use a strainer. Mind you, I have been here a couple of times before, but after about a year I completely forgot how they made their tea, so went back and had a throughly unenjoyable beverage. They aren’t cheap either. The place itself isn’t all that bad, and maybe I am being a little picky, but since I don’t drink all that much coffee, I do like places that make the tea the way I like it.

I quite like Mr Tulk because of its location (directly across from work). It’s housed within the State Library Building accessible from with the library just past the bookshop and direct street access is via LaTrobe street. The café has a nice open feel and outdoor tables are roomy and comfortable.
The coffee is nice so are the cakes and slices. It’s a great location for a ‘work meeting’ over coffee. Staff are nice but it gets very busy and service can be a bit slow even when it’s not busy.

I had a breakfast ceasar! What is this delicious madness??? Crumbed poached eggs, char grilled cos lettuce, and other yummy stuff. A fantastic redesign of a classic salad.

I love cafés located nearby libraries. Gives me a reason to pop by for a productive study session and take little short breaks over a cup of delicious coffee. And sometimes maybe even a sweet treat, depending on my stress level. Love the coffee here and love its price. One of the better coffee places with a reasonable price tag.

We had a very late and super cute breakfast here today. The sun was out and the coffee was delish. I destroyed a massive omelette and had to waddle out of the café. Happy days :)

I am obliged to give my hats off to this incredible high designed boutique cabinet café. Not to mention the amazing interior architectural finishes with dark wood floors and elaborate romanesque detailed walls conveniently positioned as a store front to the extravagant Victoria State Library and bookshop. The service is uniquely divine in the more relaxed tone ‘not your servant, but your distant friend type mentality’. I always fancy the soothe mocca latte.

On days when I need to escape the rat-​race and hide in the beautiful confines of the La-​Trobe reading room of the State Library, then Mr Tulk is the cafenation station of choice.
Their coffee is great and I love the big table in the middle to sit at.
A perfect and light brekky is the steamed egg with vegemite soldiers, with a side of avocado to also put on the vegemite.

Good coffee, good lunch and good sweet treats. Great for a quick lunch on the run. Don’t leave without trying the lemon tart.

As my regular coffee haunt I can’t help but rate these guys highly… They keep me alive for the work day ahead!
Admittedly I don’t eat here often, but credit where credit is due for friendly staff and a decent soy flat (albeit maybe a smidge on the expensive side for a cuppa).

Great location, fabulous coffee with great service!
Open from 7am and open late on Friday nights

I keep wishing Mr Tulk would be better, and it keeps disappointing. The food is over-​priced and not amazing. The sweets are average — the only saving grace is the chocolate cheesecake brownie, which is FANTASTIC. Memory of that brownie is all that’s stopping Mr Tulk getting a single star from me.
Why am I so cranky? Because I just spent 15 minutes waiting for a takeaway coffee. When a women who came well after me got hers, i asked if my order was coming. The barista sharply replied that its because they do the milk one at a time to save him having to do it over and over. Sorry, what? I’m waiting 15 minutes for an average coffee because you can’t manage to do skinny milk and full-​fat milk at the same time? And because you can’t prioritise to get cranky take-​aways out the door before all the soy flat whites go out to people sitting in, making a morning of it?
Not.Impressed. By either the excuse OR the attitude, which was hostile and arrogant. If I can’t come here to grab a good takeaway, and if I won’t come here for the food, well, sorry Mr Tulk, but I’m sure you won’t miss me.
I just changed my mind: it has to be one of my only half a dozen one star reviews.

I’ve done it again. Managed to finally review a place many, many, moons
after the fact, years more likely.
This space opposes Rmit University, and sits within the foundations of the State
Library. Mr Tulk is one of those places that is bursting at the seems and about
to break apart. (Being busy and all.) Such is this modernist café. The long black I drink is fantastic, but holds no real effect, but that’s more the blame of the copious amounts of coffee I’ve had prior. Brilliant lunch things are on offer. Focaccia, filled baguettes and little pastries and mini cakes. All of which transcend bland and boring flavours.
Hip, young, and suspiciously too attractive is the precedent set for most floor staff here. They seem all au-​fait with the most current trends. Ergo, it would be easy to enjoy one’s self here in a work environment. Lunching bread based options; meat ball, salami, Vegetarian, etc. As well as other brilliant option that I wont tell you about as you’ll just have to visit for yourself. All bread based lunch things are around the $ 9.50 mark.
Not the cheapest in Melbourne, yet it remains relatively good value. At least in terms of how’s its framed. Melbourne is getting more expensive by the day. One can’t really go wrong for options though. I imagined Mr Tulk as a squared reading room, but it more a long a skinny annex. It’s also the haunt of literary types, and the hordes from the state library.
It’s not as if someone can absorb knowledge here by osmosis, but I decree that involving one self in the practise of such questions (information) would certainly yield results. Oooh, I almost forgot; they have alcohols here; beers, ciders, wines and spirits. This could make just not for an extended stay, but future «later in the day» visits too. There’s more than one reason to have you coming back.
Mr Tulk sort’ve has a life of it own; poly-​rhythmic, with a double heart beat. Judging by the amount and types of people that flood through here it’s not about to abate any time soon.

Great that this café opened up at the State Library. It’s such a treat to have an excellently made coffee on hand when it’s break time from the hard slog in the Library.
It’s obviously a very student-​y hangout, which is no bad thing, but they were also ok with me arriving with my sister-​in-​law and her two little girls, both of them old enough to move around and make lots of noise and mess.
The staff are a bit up themselves or perhaps they just don’t really care about being there, but one senses boredom and a nonchalance bordering on resentment coming from them.
Food here is sandwiches and stuff. All pretty good but not the cheapest around.

Mr Tulk: hot coffee, hot waiters. ‘Nuff said.
It’s also got some other things going for it — the main one being that it’s attached to the State Library, so is the ideal place to procrastinate when you should be studying. I also enjoy both the outside area and the interior. The outside is a lovely sunny spot to watch people and traffic go by, and in winter the heaters keep you toastie warm. Inside there’s a wall filled with books — it reminds me a bit of Bruce Wayne’s library — very cool (am I alone in wishing I lived inside a Batman soundstage?).
Make sure you have the avocado on toast — it’s such simple comfort food. In fact, over the years I’ve had everything on the breakfast menu and it’s all been great. Everything they do is wholesome and packed with flavour, with serving sizes you can actually finish… Yum.