Charlotte's Corner Cafe, Blackburn South by Bureaucrat

Boy Chick is a winter baby and finding a suitable place to celebrate his birthday required a bit of consideration.  Ideally, some outdoor space that's sheltered and reasonably close to home were the main things I was looking for.  A bit of Googling led me to Charlotte's Corner Cafe in Blackburn South.  Alliteration aside (ha!), the charm of the murals, a heated and covered outdoor space (which included a kids' play area), the ability to make a booking (even on the weekend) and reasonable reviews of the food meant that Charlotte's Corner Cafe was a go-er for us.

Big breakfast

First impressions are important and the beaming smiles and friendly hellos from all the staff including the kitchen staff made us all feel very welcome indeed.  Our reserved table was in the courtyard.  While we were there, a few more families with little ones and fur babies also had the same idea of taking a leisurely brunch in the covered and heated outdoor space. 

Courtyard

While we waited for everyone to arrive, we ordered a bowl of chips for Boy Chick to keep him happy.  He, along with Bubba Chuck, quenched his thirst with a milkshake (vanilla for him, strawberry for her).  Boy Chick quite liked the milkshake as it was (disappointingly from my perspective) made with syrup.

The Lawyer and Mr Strong both went for the calamari with salad.  The salad came with orange segments and pomegranate arils - a nice touch.

Mother Hen went for the burger.  While it was a reasonable size, Mother Hen found it to be okay - it wasn't good or bad, just not very memorable.

Bubba Chuck and I both got the chicken tenderloin salad.  This was a fairly generous serve - although it was a touch dry, there was plenty of chicken.  I liked the pan fried haloumi but it was a bit burnished on some of the cheese.  The salad was a nice mix of different green leaves, which was dressed in a sesame seed mayo dressing.


Beaker opted for the pan fried salmon.  To me, the salmon looked a bit dry but Beaker didn't mind and said it tasted fine but could have done with a bit more seasoning.  It was served on a bed of potato salad.

Mr P went for the big breakfast (see first pic) and he seemed to be happy with it.


While the kids had their milkshakes, the rest of us oldies had teas, coffees and chai lattes.  Beaker thought her chai latte was a tad sweet.  I ordered an earl grey tea that was lovely and strong.

Kids play area

Verdict

We really liked it.

Mid value.

Overall

Charlotte's Corner Cafe is a nice suburban cafe.  The key standout of the cafe is the service.  For example, they allow you to bring your own cake and do not charge a fee for doing so.  From making the reservation, making us feel welcome and bidding us goodbye when we left, we were impressed with the level of consideration from the staff including accommodating our various requests - five stars for service!

We all thought the food was reasonable.  The serving size is fairly generous and the food was good but nothing exceptional.

Find it at

Charlotte's Corner Cafe
106 Canterbury Road
Blackburn South VIC 3130
Phone: (03) 9894 3907