Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird @ Gardenvale, VIC

By On February 12, 2012 · 28 Comments · In Bar, Coffee, Tea or Other Beverages, Breakfast, By Cuisine, By Location, Eastern and South East Suburbs, Food Reviews, Gardenvale

Quite a while ago when Celeste was back for one of her visits from the country (as in, with the population of less than 500), we decided to pick her up and drive around to the winner of The Age’s 2011 Local Hero award to slowly acclimatise her back to Melbourne’s wonderful cafe lifestyle.

So off we trundled, us three to Gardenvale.

Don’t know where that is? Gardenvale is a leafy suburb surrounded by Caulfield South, Brighton and McKinnon. It’s a little hidden place (well, not so hidden anymore) which serves up good coffee and food.

Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird (OMCB) is a cafe as well as a roastery where they are able to control the quality and product of the coffee beans sourced from around the world.

When I was there, I had to get the coffee of the day and ordered the Ethiopian Sidamo in a latte (apparently you should have it black and not white :P ) which turned out to be surprisingly good!

Whilst I enjoyed my Latte ($3.50), Celeste had the Zokoko Organic Hot Chocolate ($4.50) as she has built an intolerance to caffeine, or rather, caffeine has built an intolerance with her (poor thing!)

The Boy as usual, went with his choice of an English Breakfast Tea ($4.00).

You will have to forgive me in regards to my memory of this, it has certainly been a while since we visited OMCB and my notes have gone missing.

Celeste ordered the Black Rock Smoked Salmon with Labneh and Avocado on Sourdough ($17.00) which was very fresh in my opinion.

This was definitely before I started my Paleo diet, so I enjoyed the tasty Crowley’s Smoked and Cured Bacon, Tomato, Avocado, Mayo and Rocket on a Toasted Turkish Bun ($12.00). The toast was done just right and the avocado and mayo provided a lovely creamy texture to the sandwich.

Also, it had bacon! That in itself was good enough for me!

The Boy had the winning dish of that morning which was the Smokey Salami, Red Capsicum Relish and Cheddar Cheese Melt ($12.50). 

He kept going on and on about how tasty the salami and relish was that Celeste had to try it for herself and declared it a winning dish as well.

This is definitely a place to head to if you are in the area. It’s relatively easy to find (with street parking in the area), serves up good coffee and food and the people who work there seem genuinely happy and relaxed.

I really liked the minimal and zen-like decoration they had going on in the place (I’m a sucker for artsy deco warehouse/ industrial places). Not to mention, their tables are easily connected together as they sit on “railings”. Definitely makes it easy to join tables when there is a big group.

*Disclaimer: All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

Food/ Cuisine: Breakfast, Lunch & Coffee
Dining Style: Cafe
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7.25/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7.5/10
Service/ Attitude: 7.5/10
Value for money: 7/10

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday, 6:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday to Sunday, 7.00am – 4:00pm
Public Holidays, 8:00am – 3:00pm

Address:
124 Gardenvale Road
Gardenvale VIC 3185

Tel: (03) 9596 4186

Website: http://www.omars.com.au/

How to get there:

Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird on Urbanspoon

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28 Responses to Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird @ Gardenvale, VIC

  1. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:
    February 12, 2012 at 11:57 AM

    That has got to be the best name for a cafe hands down! And interesting that you’re trying the Paleo diet!
    Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Iron Chef, Cabramatta

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  2. Michelle chin says:
    February 12, 2012 at 5:04 PM

    Such a strange name for a cafe! But it works. :)
    Michelle chin recently posted..Exuding negativity

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  3. Fatbooo says:
    February 12, 2012 at 6:27 PM

    There are just too many places to visit… aaaaa!! The name of the cafe sounds like the title of a storybook. ;)
    Fatbooo recently posted..Mr Mason

    Reply
  4. Hannah says:
    February 12, 2012 at 7:27 PM

    Salami and cheese…. that brings back primary school sandwich memories for me!!
    Hannah recently posted..Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Bubble Slice with Jackson Pollock Chocolate Icing

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  5. Nathaniel Stockley says:
    February 12, 2012 at 11:23 PM

    Supposedly the name relates to an ancient myth or legend as explained here;

    http://nowmasterespresso.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/coffee-origins-as-a-drink-omar/

    I visited Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird a few times when they first opened and it was still very quiet.

    I recall describing their decor as industrial IKEA.

    In any event, the coffee is excellent and right up there with the best of them IMHO.

    Cheers
    Nat Stockley

    Reply
  6. Daisy@Nevertoosweet says:
    February 13, 2012 at 1:27 AM

    I went to Uni at Monash Caulfield but I’ve never heard of the suburb called Gardenvale :P The name of the cafe is so unique hahaha

    Poor thing! Celeste can’t have caffeine anymore, but hot chocolate is good too ~

    I’d probably get the smokey salami and cheddar cheese melt :) Yum!
    Daisy@Nevertoosweet recently posted..Coward’s Split – Serendipity 3

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  7. Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan says:
    February 13, 2012 at 3:04 PM

    Dear I-Hua,

    The food in this cafe looks pretty good but I like funky names like that. I also love to go to a cafe that serves great fish and chips in Perth call The Whopper and his wife :)

    Reply
  8. EatPlayShop says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:28 PM

    I definitely like the funky name and the look of the food! I’m putting my hand up as one of those Melbournians who had no idea where Gardenvale is until I read it on your blog!!! :P
    EatPlayShop recently posted..Batch #18 – My First Macarons Sale and the Hello Kitty Macarons

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  9. Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:30 PM

    Ahhh another great coffee place to try. :) It’s not as far from me as the CBD so I might just give it a go. I really miss coffee!! Just had a horrible coffee last night which made me realise even more how lucky I am to live in Melbourne. People in China are missing out. :P

    Reply
  10. penny aka jeroxie says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:42 PM

    I reckon I need a drive around Melbourne cafes when I get back too….. the coffee in Sydney… MEH
    penny aka jeroxie recently posted..Banana cake with caramel sauce

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  11. InTolerantChef says:
    February 15, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    I like places that roast their own coffee, that way you try-before-you-buy. Great name indeed!
    InTolerantChef recently posted..Magic Mushrooms

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  12. cc11 says:
    February 20, 2012 at 2:38 PM

    Yep, never heard of Gardenvale, makes me wonder how many other hidden gems there are in this state of ours

    Reply
  13. Lena says:
    April 14, 2012 at 4:15 AM

    Good day! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading through your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thank you!

    Reply

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