I am a local and this is my favourite place to dine with my family, the food is great and the service is just the way I like it, service with a smile, the price is a refection of the quality of food and service, like others have mention the atmosphere is very nice.

Approximate cost: $21.00

My partner and I dined at Golden City recently on a brief stay in Ballarat. The atmosphere was great... a warm fireplace, very welcome on a winter's evening; music not too loud; prompt and friendly service; great food. My steak was cooked to perfection (medium) and melted in the mouth. The vegetables were garden fresh. My partner's lamb pizza was surprisingly good. Dessert selection was superb. We will definitely visit again!

I might just add that I have background as a food writer and reviewer; and formerly owned a cooking school, so have seen and tasted the food and cooking of the cream of chefs from Australia and the world. I'm talking about Maggie, Stephanie, Gabriel, Geoff Jansz, Charmaine, Margaret Fulton, Rick Stein, Kurma Dasa et al.

Approximate cost: $25.00

Probably my favourite cafe in Ballarat. The quality of food, coffee, and atmosphere is superb and overall it's great value. I particularly like their menu and find it's often difficult to decide what to order - I have many favourite dishes! They do get a quite busy, particularly on Saturday and Sunday's so the service can be a little slow. Worth the wait though.

Approximate cost: $15

Visited for breakfast and ordered off the menu with some minor changes. This obviously annoyed the staff member serving me as she went into 'rude mode' with mono-syllable, short answers to each of my questions. She then saw the need to tell the others working there that a customer had wanted to order 1 egg benedict rather than the standard 2 and a half-strength coffee (the single egg benedict was the same price as the 2 according to the waitress). The man delivering the coffee couldn't have been any more rude, dropping the coffee onto the table without even an 'enjoy' or indication which was the half strength. Obviously he was on the side of the waitress and was shocked I asked for half-strength.

The food arrives and the egg on toast (decided against the egg benedict) is exactly that - 2 eggs each on a slice of toast. The same as you make it at home. No garnish, no nothing. No more visits from me! Very disappointing and not somewhere you'd take visitors to showcase how 'friendly' Ballarat normally is.

Approximate cost: $12

quality food but pricey , if you are a first timer no indication of what to do , ie sit down browse menu order at the bar etc no room to move between tables mind you it was over crowded during the x'mas holiday but I won't go again

Approximate cost: $22

I have been to GC's many times and have always enjoyed the food. It can get very busy and with that a little noisy, always nice though! Really nice Coffee and Cakes, yum yum.

my parents were visiting me from geelong, so i decided to take them to gc's. bad move, the place was packed (usually a good sign). and we were very patient, we waited for 20 to be served, another 20 for the orders to be taken, and then on top of that about 45mins for the food. to make matters worse, not only was the food expensive, but it was shockingly bad and the only (ironic) positive was that there wasn't much of it there. never again.

Approximate cost: $20