*NB this is also a photography business but I'm reviewing it as a cafe as that's what we went there for*

I went here with 3 friends for a high tea deal that was offered through the living social website. It was a pretty good deal, high tea for 4 people including a bottle of Riccadonna for something like $89.

Booking the high tea was really difficult. They provided a mobile number which I rang multiple times and left messages, but it was never answered and it took multiple attempts before my call was returned.

The week before the high tea, someone called to confirm the booking. That's great. However when I rang back, the person I spoke to was really confused and couldn't seem to understand what I was calling about. Plus, even though I had confirmed it, when we arrived on the day, they apparently had a booking only for 2 people.

The food itself wasn't too bad. Nothing special and certainly paninis and mini-pies with packet tomato sauce is not something I would associate with a traditional high tea. The service from the man who served us initially was great. He was friendly and attentive.

However, the thing that marred the whole experience for us was the service from a second woman towards the end of the high tea. After finishing our first glass of bubbly, we asked this woman if we could have the rest of our bottle (as the people at the next table had, and as per the deal on our voucher) - this woman made a face, argued that we had two vouchers for two (not correct), and finally stormed off to get the bottle. She came back, slammed it on the table and said in what seemed a very surly tone "go nuts". There was no apology at any time for the mixup, not even an attempt to be polite or suggest that there might have been some miscommunication. All in all she made us feel really uncomfortable even though we had only been asking for what was meant to be included in what we had paid for.

So overall, for $23ish per person it was a really good deal but I will not be returning here and would not recommend it to others.

What more could you want? Fried chicken in a number of delicious delightful flavours. Beer by the 4-litre barrel-ful. Everyone fed & happy for a very modest price. Yum!

On Lygon St looking for Italian food? Avoid the touristy places on Lygon St itself like the plague, and instead, head down to Cafe Italia. Eating here was such a pleasant and refreshing change from the usual Lygon St rubbish. Lovely food, lovely setting, lovely service.

I guess other people have lucked out, but the times I've been here, service has been TERRIBLE. Each time they have stuffed up our order and not brought something. On the most recent occasion, they forgot my meal, and I had to have an extensive argument with the waiter and have my friends back me up to say I had ordered a meal! Hello, why would four of us only order three meals? By the time my pizza came everyone else had finished eating. When we went to pay and asked for a discount due to the mixup, the owner/manager man at the counter refused to believe that the mistake had happened - resulting in yet another extensive discussion/argument. What a waste of time and for totally average food. Apparently their customer service motto is not "the customer is always right", but rather "the customer is ALWAYS wrong unless they prove otherwise"! Never again.

Handily located on High St in Preston, Preston Eyecare have a friendly and professional team. I was particularly impressed by how well the optometrist explained every step of the process and what all the tests and results meant.

These guys have the best range of movies, and it's a great location - handy to the city and lots of great venues for eating and drinking and socialising pre/post-movie. People seem to love the tiny cinemas and cosy/intimate feel, but in some of the smaller cinemas (or when with a larger group) the size has seemed a bit small to me. But it's not a big deal. Overall it's a nice friendly relaxed feel and a nice change from the noisy crowded mainstream cinemas.

This is supposedly *the* place to go for Devonshire Teas in the Dandenong Ranges. It's always busy and can be hard to get a table, but the staff are pretty efficient at figuring out when a table will be free. The food is variable - some of the mains we had were a bit so-so - and the prices are fairly high for what you get. The Welsh rarebits are nice - recommended. And the scones (the reason most people go there!) are nice, light and tasty with yummy jam and cream. Service is great, prompt, polite, and attentive.

Highly recommended. Food is fantastic, really good quality and taste and decent prices. Service is prompt and efficient. Great variety of dishes.

Oh my goodness the food here is delicious and really that's all that matters! Can't go past the beef and burgundy pie - it can be hard to find a good pie these days and at $7+ it's a bit pricey - but worth every cent...

You'll be hard pressed to find a better Chinese takeaway in Coburg. Most other places are really average - here the food is good, the service is great (they always get our orders right, and often throw in some free prawn crisps), the food's prepared quickly, and delivery is free for orders over $20!