Abacus Bar & Kitchen

Great service, amazing staff. Oysters, scallop and lobster dishes amazing. Oh and the Hey smoke mash a must. Only miss Need a bit more cooking and more miso on the eggplant!

Fantastic experience food was amazing and coffee is perfect. Also staff give you an amazing experience will definitely be back again

The coffee is smooth and silky, the food is delicious and the service is first class. LOVE Abacus!

Great location and atmosphere. Staff are friendly, the food presentation is superb, and very tasty

Im on holiday and decided to get breakfast at a nice looking cafe. The cafe's atmosphere is beautiful and the staff very polite but I was surprised when my food came out, I ordered poached eggs on toast and well I got two eggs I only got one piece of toast. This dish is $12 and looks so sad and bare, makes me regret coming here to be honest for food considering what Melbourne has to offer.

The coffee is good though so if you're going to this Cafe just get coffee and pick somewhere else for your food.

Possibly they were understaffed the night we went, had to wait too long for service and food.
Food was ok, bit overpriced for dinner menu.
Loved the brunch options though, def recommend for brunch and coffee. But minus one star for dinner service.

I was very eager to experience cafes after lockdown, but unfortunately Abacus did not deliver. I ordered the avocado & pumpkin croquettes, but sadly a key ingredient in the dish that I dislike intensely ‘coriander’ was not listed on the menu, resulting in myself and my friend disliking our brunch and leaving the plate mostly uneaten. Additionally the service was well below par, with waiters and waitresses barely checking in with us, collecting our finished coffee and meals ect, we also asked for the bill to be brought to the table but this never eventuated and it was not a busy morning.
All together the experience was very disappointing and a waste of money.

Loved the decor of the Cafe very industrial with the hard lines softened by the foliage that creeps up the wall. The menu was not quite what we were expecting but I ordered the avocado and pumpkin croquettes these were delicious, my partner ordered the poached eggs and bacon. Service was ok but at times they did make you feel like you were hindering them.

Atmosphere was great, good clean setting.

Staff were very polite and friendly, made us feel very welcomed.

We ordered oysters, which were room temperature and didn’t taste super fresh given on the menu it said “freshly shucked”.

We order the scallop dish, we watched the dish get delivered to another table and the customer was about to start on the dish when another waiter ran over and took the dish away from underneath her and brought it straight to our table. I found this very off putting especially during COVID.

We ordered the snapper and beef cheek for our mains, the fish and beef cheek was cooked perfectly with no complaints.

The gins were definitely the high light.

However our night took a turn when we arrived home, both my partner and I got food poisoning. Given it is very difficult to put a finger on which dish caused us to get sick, I’d say it was the oysters.

Will only be back for the gin.

Finally out of lockdown we were able to visit Abacus Bar & Kitchen on Chapel Street.
Despite the limited seating capacity we were able to get a table outside, and the updated menu exceeded expectation.
The two mains chosen were lamb and linguini with mushrooms and caviar. They were both amazing, in quality, taste and cooking to perfection, compliment to the chef and the team.
To end the night, an excellent peanut parfait for dessert.
Thank you for a great out of lockdown experience

The staff are super friendly and accommodating and made sure that we absolutely loved everything

Came here with my friends when it wasn't that busy, and we felt invisible and uncared for. We checked in and got asked to show our vaccination status so we did and were guided to a table. We then got no menus or water and had to ask for them, to which they then accused us of not checking in. We got the menus and then had our hands up trying to get some service, had no one approach even though there were 2-3 people at the service desk in front of us. We got up and left after 10 minutes because we were so fed up. Never coming back here again

The staff were super friendly and helpful. Our meals came out quickly. Loved the vibe with good music playing in the background. Everyone dressed immaculately. I had the beef cheek with black garlic and mash potato. Next time I want to try their pasta that I heard is made in-house.

I would give 10 stars out of 5 stars if I can!

There is nothing I don’t like at this restaurant.

1. Number one customer service in Chapel street. I was very impressed with how their waitresses worked, those three waitresses today at lunchtime are amazing. They pay attention and care for customers. I feel like their services are very outstanding compared to other restaurants.

2. I love what I ordered today! (Avocado and pumpkin croquette. I feel it’s really delicious and well presented.

3. Environment and Ambiance is excellent. It’s good place to spend time with friends or your date.

I will definitely go back again!

Quick last minute trip to Melbourne last week. Brunch at @abacus_melbourne: very hip and trendy place with excellent food and drinks selection.
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Torched hiramasa kingfish: with fermented bullhorn peppers, pickled almond. This dish was delicious! Super tasty kingfish with a great sauce. Very refreshing dish.
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Smoked mozzarella and jalapeno croquettes: loved this one! Super gooey and savoury, and not spicy at all.
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Grilled octopus, with fried egg, saltbush, potatoes: amazing octopus! Tender and full of flavours. Lots of different and yummy components to this dish!
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Lemon myrtle iced tea: delicious iced tea. Just wish there was more!

This place is a bit all over the shop which is a shame because it could be really great given the location & great fit-out.

The staff all run around like headless chooks! They run between being too overbearing asking if you'd like to order more drinks when you have half a bottle of wine on the table that needs to be poured into your glass to disappearing for 20 minutes after you order to inform you the dish is not available.

The food is fair. The acoustics are terrible and its a joke if they sit you near the doorway which remains mostly open in the peak of winter.

Beautifully presented food and interesting indoor atmosphere. Hubby’s meal was delightful although mine needed a bit of oomph. Portion sizes could be a bit more generous as well. If only there were salt and pepper shakers on the table!

Disappointing experience, I've come here a few times and have always known the service is sub par, the food has always been average (needs seasoning) but coffee is lovely.
I went a few days ago and had an issue with my order, granted I had them fix it on the spot, but by the second time I received it the waitress just dropped it on my table without saying anything and sped away unfortunately the issue wasn't fixed and during my dining there no-one came to food check, there wasn't even a server around to ask for salt and pepper to season the bland food. On my out no one asked how my food or experience was.
It's a bit of an anticlimactic experience in a beautiful venue and great location but sadly falls short on everything else.

This is one of my locals. Have great chai, brunch, lunch and dinner. Chill vibe during the day and great atmosphere during the night. Also sold local products during first lockdown to help the community out. Big plus.

Avocado and Pumpkin Croquettes
? Black Rice Porridge
Abacus do a great job, always with a creative and season menu that gives you a little more than just your standard breakfast or lunch options. The venue is stunning, very open and luxe. I love the little extra touches, like the flowers in your drinks. The porridge was unique and tasty! The croquettes were nice and I’m pretty sure you can order them on their own, the dish as a whole was pleasant and refreshing. The service could be more attentive, our dead plates were left on the table for so long after we had finished, and it wasn’t a busy morning. Will return some time to try their dinner menu.