Harveys

Harveys
10 Murphy Street, South Yarra , VIC
Vittoria Coffee


There's a certain charm about this place. Perhaps because it's situated in the quiet South Yarra street of houses, perhaps it's the cosy venue, perhaps it's the crisp white linen, or perhaps it's the dog-friendly, leafy courtyard. Whatever it is, that charm soon disappeared. The waiter told us to wait for a table - so we started reading the menu pinned up on the door, only to find the waitress seat the trio after us when a table freed up. Innocent mistake, but when she realised, she told us another table will be available shortly (not true). The waiter came out and explained the situation to the trio who were less than understanding and chased them out of their seats to accommodate us. Good on him.

Breakfast is offered daily - the bircher muesli with seasonal stewed fruit ($10) is a favourite of regular morning diners. Roasted banana pancakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter ($14) will satisfy the sweet tooths. He ordered the Potato roesti with smoked salmon, poached egg and sauce remoulade ($18).

I wanted the Scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, bacon and slow roasted tomatoes ($14) but change the bacon to chipolatas – same price - (I had this weird craving for sausages and scrambled eggs when I usually avoid them) and add hash browns. The waitress told us she would have to order it as scrambled eggs with sides of chipolatas, roasted tomatoes and hash browns. Fine. Whatever works.

The food came. His was pretty good except the roesti was a tad salty, chewy, and had the reused-a-few-too-many-times-oil taste. Not to mention tiny! Even the sole egg was small – definitely not the minimum 59g you buy at the supermarket…

My scrambles were normal, and while the tomatoes and chipolatas were nice, the hash was a salty, oily (same bad oil) disc of potato.

Then the bill came. A whopping nearly $50. We realised the small glass of juice was $5.50 - a little cheeky, especially considering it wasn't all pulpy and freshly squeezed! My meal was charged as a Scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, bacon and slow roasted tomatoes ($14) add sides of hash brown and chipolatas ($4 each) - extra cheeky as I didn't even get the bacon! Expensive meals. Impeccable service? I don't think so!Needless to say, there wasn't any tip (other than the $4 for the mysterious bacon) for the waitress and we won't be going back. Pity 'cos the elegant restaurant was so full of potential...