S H.
Google
After a fantastic first visit on a heaving weekend, we happily returned to Auction Rooms on a much calmer weekday, expecting the same magic, great food, great coffee, great vibes.
Auction Rooms remains an absolute Nth Melb institution. The industrial, loft-style space is still gorgeous, flooded with natural light, filled with plants, and offering everything from communal tables to outdoor street seating. It’s vibrant, welcoming, & effortlessly Melbourne.
The food? Still outstanding.
The Rhubarb French Toast ($26) to me is a show-stopper.
The Beer Braised Pork Benedict ($28) is rich, indulgent, & worth every calorie.
And the coffee is strong enough to hold its own in Australia’s coffee capital, which is saying something. Every dish is delicious & Instagram-ready.
Unfortunately, while the plates were warm, one part of the service was… distinctly cold.
On this quieter weekday, we were served by a male waiter (skinny, bald Caucasian name unknown) whose enthusiasm suggested we’d interrupted something deeply important by asking if we could sit down, he pointed us to a another table & directed us to sit on the other side instead. There was no smile, no welcome, just an air of urgency usually reserved for emergency rooms or kidney heists.
He took our coffee order quickly, stated to return for food… & then vanished. Coffee arrived. Time passed. Still no waiter. Eventually, we waved down a much friendlier waitress who kindly took our order, thank you, mystery hero.
The plot thickened at the neighbouring table. A lady dining solo politely asked the same waiter, who was clearly assigned to our area, if he could take her order when ready, mentioning her friend would arrive shortly. A simple “Sure, I’ll be back soon” would’ve done the trick. Instead, she received a curt response about needing to do “these tables first,” delivered with the tone of someone under extreme pressure.
“These tables,” by the way, were two recently vacated tables that required resetting, not exactly a fire-alarm crisis. He then proceeded to reset them… wander around… do various low-priority tasks… before eventually returning to her. Watching this unfold was uncomfortable to me enough that I could only offer the poor woman a silent nod of solidarity.
Confidence is great. Hospitality without warmth, however, is just theatre without an audience.
To be clear: other staff members were friendly, welcoming, & professional, just like during our first visit. This inconsistency in service is what left a sour note in an otherwise exceptional experience.
If this were a factory canteen, I wouldn’t blink. But in a café of this calibre, every customer deserves basic courtesy, not a “do as you’re told” attitude from someone who seems to believe they’re the most important person in the room.
Bottom line:
Auction Rooms is still absolutely worth visiting, weekday or weekend, if you love great food, excellent coffee, & soaking up Melb café culture. Just cross your fingers that your experience doesn’t depend on the overly confident, snobby waiter making a guest appearance.