The Counter

What a great café. On the recommendation of a local I dropped into this café on a cold Melbourne day to be warmly greeted by the friendly staff. You will see the counter stacked high with cakes, pastries and salads all made here too.
There is enough space inside for a couple of small groups though we chose to sit in the back courtyard which is under cover and slightly heated. We were all given nice blankets for our laps too — always a nice touch.
There is a full brunch menu with some great options if none of the freshly baked pastries are what you feel like eating. We went for the poached eggs with salad (looked great), the southern style chicken burger with fries (great burger) and a sweet orange and ricotta hot cakes with lemon curd butter, maple syrup and sweet dukkah. This was tasty and not overly sweet which is excellent.
Coffee was strong and tasty, I think it was Supreme. We would definitely go back and I can see why it’s such a local favorite.

Solid, sturdy, dependable. Call it what you want, The Counter is a great little place to come for coffee and condiments if you are Hawthorn side.
There’s a good selection of cakes (go Brownies, yummo) and rolls on display with some nice breakfast and lunch options also available. Mainly though it’s all about the coffee for me. Consistently good and the ideal hit to start the day.
They have a lovely little courtyard area out back where you can enjoy your coffee in the warmer months. The staff are also really lovely here.
The Counter would definitely be my local coffee haunt if I ever lived in Hawthorn that’s for sure.

The Counter is my home café away from home. The coffee is superb and the service is excellent… excellent. I went there everyday for almost a week for my morning coffee. Now that I’m home, I wish I had The Counter in my ‘hood.

The Counter was pumping the Sunday we visited for brunch, or maybe it was technically lunch time, but in my book, breakfast foods are highly acceptable (and in fact encouraged) to be eaten for any meal of the day, especially on Sundays, or any day for that matter…
We nabbed a couple of seats at the cafés namesake (the counter, in case you are confused) behind the coffee machine. It was pretty frenetic, and at times seemed a little disorganised in terms of service. We eventually had our order taken (including drinks) and then settled in to drool over the baked goods in the cabinets.
The husband had a smoothie: banana, date and almond that he really enjoyed, but given its size, we thought the $ 8 price tag was pretty darn steep, but these are Hawthorn prices after all… he followed it up with scrambled eggs with a side of mushrooms which he said were tasty (but also pretty pricey for simple scrambled eggs).
I had a tea, and the vegetarian shakshouka (baked eggs, goats cheese, tomato sugo and spices with grilled flatbread). They were delicious, and although the tomato sugo sauce was rather runny, it was totally fine as they provided a soup spoon to drink up all the tastiness (good forward thinking)!
We also got an orange & date scone (hers) and a raspberry & chocolate muffin (his) to takeaway, both of which were scrumptious.
All in all we enjoyed our first visit to The Counter, but I deducted a star (and a half, but rounded up) for the prices and the slightly frazzled service. If they pop one person in charge of greeting, seating and bills, it will go a long way to it feeling less frenetic.

Declared the best scrambled eggs ever. Big call. Worthy statement, because 2 days later, I am still thinking about how I would love to dive into a big bowl of those scrambled eggs. And it wasn’t even me that ordered it.
This is a wonderful little café offering up some amazing breakfasts. I had the Sashuska and oh my noms… Not one spec remained.
Lets not mention that there is a window full of decedent looking sweet treats. Oh my blood sugar levels rissseeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I’m actually a little hesitant to write this review and gush all over how I love this place. Because I want a table next weekend when I go back. But I love this place.
Don’t tell too many people.

Cute little café in Hawthorn that ticks all the boxes. Good coffee, solid breakfast options, salads and rolls for lunch, and the most incredible sweets display that I’m sure causes car accidents on Auburn Road.
There’s plenty of seating in the sunny courtyard *Melbourne weather permitting* out the back if tables out front are taken. During the cooler months there are plenty of knee rugs to go around.
If you’re popping in for a takeaway coffee keep an eye out for the chocolate brownie samples. Hello.

Quiona coconut porridge. I think of you. Sticky walnuts and date crumble, you are my new favourite breakfast. Coffee is creamy and dreamy. A selection of cakes availble in half or whole and loads of delicious goodies displayed in the front window. Always room for this kind of place and clearly the locals love it. I love Melbourne…