Finnegans Cafe

Located beside one of the main entrances to Brookside Shopping Centre, Finnegans is a high volume and high turnover café that tries to bring a little bit of nicer service to this end of the market. I recently dined there as part of a group of five for brunch. As another reviewer has noted there is only a limited number of menus on hand so ordering was slowish at our table as we had to pass the menu around. We had a complex order and the staff handled it professionally with no confused or missing orders. I had the Eggs Benedict with a side of mushrooms. The béarnaise sauce was cold and the poached eggs were hard. These both made the dish a letdown. The mushrooms were fine. One of the other in our group had a bacon wrap which was enormous and he couldn’t finish it. The staff quickly provided a doggy bag when one was requested. All in all, nice service could have been helped with better preparation of the dishes. We did enjoy ourselves, the café is quite pleasant but there are better value meals to be had.

Whilst not in the most decadent of shopping centres, Finnegan’s sits on the corner entrance where the bus stops are in Brookside Shopping Centre. The café itself has been there for ages, I remember coming here first when I started dating my husband 9 years ago, we ordered the mini pancakes (they call them something else) and it was under $ 8 which was a bargain I thought until I saw what size they were. Tiny! Not sure it was worth even that much. Tasty they were though. Very tasty… but there just weren’t enough of the little round taste delights to go around our hungry mouths.
A lot of people have coffee here and the cakes are very average for the prices they charge. The coffee isn’t great, it’s not bad though. Although this might be the case, one thing has been true, they are always consistent. It’s a café in need of a makeover I think, but as it stands, is a great little sit down place to rest your weary feet if you’re ever on the northside.

Finnegan’s may sell cakes and whatnot, but that’s not its primary purpose (even though the caramel tarts look amazing). Ever since I was little, my mum and I have always stopped in at this place for lunches, even before it was Finnegan’s Café (I think it was even a Short Black Café at one point?) and though I don’t associate it with the highest calibre of meals, I still think it rates up there.
Lunch is always better than breakfast here because Finnegan’s offers a pretty decent range of gourmet sandwiches and wraps. I always get a chicken and avo sandwich with a side of chips, and I’m never disappointed. The only down side I find coming here is that there’s only one menu on a stand to peruse before you order, and many people like to hog that menu. Kind of rude. But. I’m actually pretty impressed with how long Finnegan’s has lasted in this spot because this space has changed names or hands at least a few times. It provides a welcome break when I’ve had enough of the Coffee Club and want to have something a little different. It’s been a staple space for local dining out experiences for me growing up, which is probably why I like it so much.
Meals are reasonably priced, the chicken is juicy, and there are kids options including nuggets, which I regularly see the kids enjoying. High chairs are also available, for any parents who are interested.
Brookside’s a small, local shopping centre where people mostly pop in for a grocery shopping trip, maybe a pop in to Myer, and a quick bite to eat. Finnegan’s is a great way to satiate the latter.

Finnegans Café is located in the «Western Mall» exit of Brookside Shopping Centre, right near the on-​top customer parking.
Though Finnegans is essentially a cake-​and-​coffee shop, they also serve meals here. On the down side, the meals are not Finnegans’ strong point. On my last visit out with an old friend, we both received our meals after a lengthy half-​hour wait (though admittedly the café was packed) and both were sub-​standard. I’d ordered the breakfast (because a decent hot breakfast tastes good at any time of day) and my toast was burnt, but cold, leaving a question mark over how much time my meal spent idle before reaching my table. The yolk of my poached egg had unfortunately hardened, and anyone who loves egg like I do knows what a crime this is.
My friend ordered the lasagne, which came with a side salad. Predictably, the salad constituted mostly lettuce and sprouts. The lasagne serving, which I sampled, was mammoth but not great in terms of taste. The lasagne was also very creamy and cheesy — not much meat.
The one major upside was my coffee. I ordered a skinny melloccino — and then ordered a second one. Perhaps the sugar in the marshmallows drowned out subtle faults, but if so I couldn’t detect them.