Grigons & Orr Corner Store

An update — still tasty, good food. Menu changes have reduced the appeal, though, and the food is relatively expensive for what it is.
To summarize, it’s slipped a bit amid increasing competition in the area. It was a first pick for breakfast for me at one point, now I only seem to go there if everywhere else in North Melbourne is packed.

Had a very enjoyable breakfast café experience at Grigons & Orr this morning.
It was great to see a steady flow of regulars flow through the door.
As it was too cool and breezy outside I side inside next to the window and quietly caught up with some reviews.
The latte and poached eggs were delicious with richly coloured free range yolks… Definitely give this café a try… :-) PK

I used to go to grigons and Orr quite a while back and loved it. So when my friend asked where we should go for a big vegan breakfast that was close to home we chose here.
I was let down this time. Their vegan options had dwindled to just one and we had to ‘make your own’ to put together a meal which turned out extremely expensive for what we got. The vegan option was crumpets with spread. As we were hungry we opted for toast with the sides of avocado, hash brown, mushrooms and tomato. This came to the hefty sum of $ 22! (I’m certain we were charged for the eggs even though we didn’t order them)
The meal it self was tasty! I couldn’t help wishing for lemon with the avocado but the hash brown was so delicious! The service was great and friendly and the place is so adorable.
There was a very long wait on food, which we were fine with and they had set our expectations early. There also seemed to be a bit of a wasp problem so we needed to move inside. I love the outside tables on what is a quiet spot on queensberry st, so I hope they deal with the wasps somehow. It was like watching a comedy sketch, everyone flapping them away or running about then sitting down again.
Overall, it was too expensive for such a basic meal and took way too long to come out considering there was still empty tables. Order the set meals and you will probably have a much better experience!

Quaint little corner store that transports you back in time to when you were a child hanging round the counter waiting on your 20 cents worth of lollies to be counted. Scones were fluffy and jam very tasty. The coffee strong and rich. Customer service is friendly and they have a menu of healthy options as well as fried chicken and corn bread. Worth a visit.

Amazing little café that has all the classics on the shelf — mixed lolly bags, Fads, Big Boss, Mates. The lot. I love the collection behind the counter.

My favourite coffee place.
The staff are awesome. The coffee is delicious. The food is also delicious. The place just looks amazing, it’s decked out like an old corner store where you can buy milk in bottles, fresh butter, and old school lolly bags etc.
There are so many great little touches to this place, like the combinations of strawberry, lemon, cucumber and fresh herbs in the bottles of water for the tables. And the coffee cups and decorative spoons that remind me of my nanna’s house. And the fake grass on the barriers around the outside area. And all of the little knick-​knacks on the shelves behind the counter. Crocheted blankets for customers in case they get chilly while sitting outside. (Plus, I love that a lot of people take their dogs to the café and sit with them outside).
Try the berry smoothie that comes with a fresh leaf of basil on top, which is delicious. And the home made crumpets. And the cannellini beans. And any of the cake and treats they have.
I just love this café.

Griggons & Orr is a café and quaint old-​worldie milk bar. The food is really good. It has a fairly standard breakfast menu (baked eggs and such), and a lunch menu with various specials, salads, and bagels, etc. it also has a good variety of cakes and muffins on offer.
The old-​school milk bar layout gives the place a really nice vibe. It’s clearly quite stylised and calculated, but it works well. With your BLAT bagel and malt shake, you can also buy a pound of butter (wrapped up in baking paper) or even a toothbrush.
My favourite thing about Griggons & Orr is the fact that water decanters that they give you have things like mint leaves, cucumber and strawberry in them, which is a really nice touch.
The one problem that I have with Griggone & Orr, however, is the fact that occasionally the staff can be visibly moodie. It’s a bit hit and miss like that. They’re super friendly some times and then strangely icy at others. It’s clear that the staff are all good friends, so sometimes theres the sense that they’re in a private clique that you (the customer) aren’t in on. Which is quite strange, but only worthy of a minor criticism.

Grigons & Orr isn’t really my kind of place. I ended up here to investigate after it was crowned Melbourne Magazine’s best breakfast in North Melbourne. I have a bit of a controversial claim to make on that front… I think the reviewer was either high or just out to name a café that wasn’t Di Bella or Auction Rooms.
To be completely fair, G&O isn’t bad. It’s super dooper kitsch (hand-​knitted blankets for those outside on frosty days, mismatched cutlery, furniture that looks like it was rescued from kerbside collection… you get the idea). The food and coffee is really quite adequate. If this was my local, I don’t suppose I’d complain.
For me, there’s only so far a place can go on cute though. It needs something special to make it stand out. I’d be amazed if someone sat in their office during the week thinking ‘I can’t wait for Saturday so I can go for breakfast and have a nanna blanket’.
Look, maybe it was an off day. Maybe I just didn’t order THAT dish on the menu. At any rate, I’m not itching to go back.