In Short: Good Times Milk Bar in Melbourne’s Bentleigh community is a playful mix of nostalgia and a refined foodie experience. It blends friendly service with top notch coffee and, undeniably, quality food that delivers on taste and presentation. Tip: The Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Hotcakes are next-level yum and Instagram gold!
Pastels, pancakes, piccolos, and a real community café vibe, in a space that evokes a little retro nostalgia and café ‘cool’ all at once. Like every classic Aussie milk bar should, Melbourne’s Good Times Milk Bar dominates a suburban street corner with colour and tempting treats. This re-imagining of a cultural icon lures the Bentleigh café crowd with top flight coffee and food that is just as pretty, as it is tasty!
It’s one of those perfect Melbourne winter café days, right in the middle of the week, when sipping a warm brew and watching the world drift by from a window seat makes you realise why this town is the crown on the world’s coffee culture. So, we pull up a seat right in Good Times’ front window and get stuck into that amazing brew they are famous for, and can instantly see why this place is packed on the weekends!
The roast is by Small Batch and this one is in the form of a brilliant cappuccino. Smooth as silk and bold in flavour, this cup doesn’t sit around for long!
Guzzling the brew, it’s not long before the Good Times Milk Bar crew start us off with the first of those temptations. The Dippy Eggs are a nod to those memories of toasty soldiers and yummy, runny eggs of childhood. School day moments of watching the morning cartoons and a warm brekkie before rushing out the door to start the day all come flooding back. This playful plate (or carton, more accurately!) explores all that, and adds an ‘adult’ element, with rustic sourdough toasted soldiers dusted in pecorino cheese, gooey eggs, and a 2×4 selection of ‘dipping’ choices of avo cream, relish, bacon bits, and delicious dukkah.
“…You gotta have your veggies, if you want dessert…” was the ever-present echo through every meal in our house. I wish Good Times existed back then! Their Smoothie #2 with kale, pineapple, spinach, avocado, apple, dates, coconut water, and coyo make getting your greens soooo yum! The mini-me would not have protested!
So, now that the delicious greens have been downed, we’re allowed to have dessert…well, kind of! A little bit brekkie food and a little bit naughty treat, the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Hotcakes gush with choc-orange maple ganache, golden poached pear, double cream, meringue crumb, and berries. The pièce de résistance, is the pot of decadent ganache that you get to playfully pour over the entire stack to your hearts content. This is definitely one of those “…I’ll have what she’s having…” dishes!
The Duck Poke brings us back to earthy goodness with a bowl of black rice, avocado, edamame, cucumber, seaweed salad, radish, wasabi kewpie, nori crisps, and of course, crispy roast duck. This is beyond just ‘healthy’. This is textures and tastes that burst with the nutrition and refinement in every bite. Its roots are in Asia, but it feels right at home here at Good Times Milk Bar.
With the magical mix of friendly service, outstanding brew, and beautifully presented plates that deliver on a true food experience, we head back out into the chilly Melbourne day knowing we’ll be back for more Good Times.
*Coco & Vine dined as guests of Good Times Milk bar and onetwo Agency. However, all images and opinions are our own.
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