Mount Dandenong cafe reviews

Cafe Review: Café de Beaumarchais 

After dropping our luggage at the lovely and luxurious 'Tree House' wood-fired lodge, we headed out for some food. Miss Marple’s was our first stop but the cafe was booked out so we made reservations for an hour later. In the mean time, we decided to stop by a French-style café named Café de Beaumarchais.  

Ham and Cheese Croissant

It was so cosy and lovely inside. The striking wall paper and the colour scheme worked very well. The food was good too. J enjoyed his croissant and I enjoyed my quiche. The pastry encrusting the quiche was particularly good. Incredibly short, it melted in my mouth.

Quiche Lorraine

Crisp shortcut pastry filled with egg, bacon and onion served with fresh garden salad and tomato chutney

As we still had more time before our afternoon tea at Miss Marple’s we stopped by a speciality tea store next door. J saw a giant tea cup and saucer that he wanted but didn’t need. It was the wrong size but to scale, just the way he liked. Much like the giant cupcake I made him :) 

Cafe Review: Miss Marple's Tearoom

We were finally at Miss Marple’s. J had warned me that the hype surrounding this place was incredibly unwarranted but I didn’t think that my first trip to Mount Dandenong with J could truly be complete without a visit to Miss Marple’s.

Devonshire Scones served with home-made jam and lashings of freshly whipped cream

We ordered scones, waffles and tea. There was clearly too much food but we managed to finish it thanks to J’s magic tummy.

Belgian Waffles

Two lightly toasted waffles served with cream and ice cream, mixed berries, and raspberry sauce

The food was of an incredibly poor quality. I was surprised at how dry the scones were. It was clear that they had been baked in a large tray and then just sliced before serving. As such, they did not have the traditional roughly cylindrical shape and the lovely crust that surround a good scone.  The waffles were at best passable. Although they were not burnt, they smelt burnt. Perhaps the waffle maker needed a clean?  The "best cup of tea in England" was pleasant. The service was quite poor. Each item that arrived was slammed onto our table. Overall, it was a disappointing experience. That said, I really liked the ‘feel’ of the place. The flower prints on all the fabrics were a nice touch. It really did feel like I was in an old English lady’s cottage. Albeit, a very crammed cottage with angry ladies serving you.

Cafe Review: Pie In The Sky

An eatery that is widely known for serving the best pies in Victoria, is Pie In The Sky.

The whole cafe was bustling when we arrived. We were both excited to dig into some pies.

Beef Burgundy Pie Floater $14.90 - Our gold medal pie, in our thick, tasty 'Pea & Ham soup' topped with a scoop of fresh, creamy potato.

We both ordered a Pie Floater each. The Pea & Ham soup was watery and quite tasteless. The pie crust was far too dry. The beef burgundy filling however, was nice. There were generous chunks of meat that were well seasoned. All in all though, it was very average.

Cafe Review: Cafe Sassafras

J decided to take me out for more scones. This time we decided to check out Cafe Sassafras. It is literally down the road from Miss Marple's Tea Room but across the road. And this time, they were absolutely delicious - delectably buttery and moist. I would highly recommend the scones here over Miss Marple's! It has even convinced us to make scones and tea a regular J and I activity going forward!

Cafe Sassafras scones