The Little Mule Cafe

This is a Melbourne special — down an alley and hidden away but great once you find it. They offer both take away and table service. The seating is a combo of benches, tables and comfy chairs. During the day there are people comfortably working on their laptops and keeping in the caffeine flowing. There are special origin coffees plus a breakfast menu until 12 and then lunch menu after that with a mix of something for everyone. If you’re going to eat in, order at the counter and take a seat, you can pay on the way out.

There are a lot of good coffee options in the CBD and have tried several. Today, I’m giving The Little Mule Café a go. It’s down an alley off Lt Bourke St so very Melbourne. Coffee was very good, and the carrot cake was tasty but would be better sans sultanas in it. I’ll be back.

Hidden away behind the mayhem of Elizabeth street, the Little Mule Co. is definitely worth a stop. It’s nice and quiet, even at the busiest of times and an ideal place for a conversation over coffee. Conversation that could be made even better if you can claim the leather couch and accompanying coffee table they have.
Cosy and welcoming, overused descriptives I know, but are words that come to mind when I think of the Little Mule. The simplicity of the space creates a certain sense of familiarity — like being in your parent’s garage. They used to have bikes hanging toward the back of the shop but they seem to have disappeared recently.
I’ve been going to the Little Mule since it opened on about a twice a week basis. The coffee is always good and the food is simple and prepared to order with care using fresh ingredients. The breakfast roll with bacon, eggs and roquette is a winner for something light but satisfying. It’s not one of those greasy drippy ones, so I’d suggest going elsewhere if that’s what you’re craving as we all do now and then.

Cool little café we stumbled across when looking for breakfast during our weekend in Melbourne. Great coffee and juice (served in a mason jar). Busy place, but we were able to quickly get a table. Variety of seating areas — a big high wood table with stools, normal sized smaller tables, sofas and low stools around a low table.
The menu was really simple — muesli, ham and cheese, toast, eggs etc. Prices weren’t bad — most items were under or just over $ 10 from memory. 3 out of 4 of us had the toasted ham and cheese and the 4^th had eggs and toast dippers — both were great!

Amazing coffee. Yum food. And try to visit around easter when they have delicious hot cross buns. You will get fat. You have been warned.
Great, hidden location. Sometimes it’s a bit freezing! Bring a jacket if you’re there in the winter months.

Okay, I’ve never seen a baked bean toastie on the menu until I came to this place and I must say I was really, really tempted (but then chickened out and went for the tuna salad). My friend found this place as he was coming to meet us for lunch and decided that it would be the perfect place since it was down a side alley and looked really quiet (which are the types of places we like to go for lunch). In fact this place looks like one of the trendy places that is decked out with mostly secondhand furniture and other nick-​naks picked up from random locations — another thing that I really like. Okay, the menu wasn’t hugely extensive, but I didn’t let that get to me all that much, especially since the tuna salad was pretty good. I’m sure we’re going to be finding our way back here again sometime soon.

I’d noticed this some time ago, on the periphery of my senses, but never really voyaged down. Then more news became of this place and it dropped off my radar.
I first initially noticed it when they changed somerset place to become a hipsters’ paradise as opposed to the tradies and delivery guys’ car park it was before. Pretty good coffee here; cold drip and others on offer apart from the regular espresso machine, but even that is great. Good range of bottled drinks and sodas make for tempting other beverage options. Nice spot with the recent makeover.

Apparently you can buy bikes here, who knew?
This trendy little café is a great place to find a quiet nook away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When I want to find a quiet place for a chat this is reasonably high on my list.
The food is decent and the coffee is inconsistent so don’t expect miracles but if you’re after an out of the way location without walking too far this is your place.
And if you’re after a bike… best to talk to read one of the other reviews :)

Smashed avocado!

Holy *****!
This is a fantastic spot. Great coffee (dare you to walk out without trying their single origins), great fare (who needs a large menu when the few nibbles are quality?).
Tried the crushed avocado on toast. At first I was skeptical given the price ($ 10), but it is a bucket-​load of avocado smashed with some feta on olive-​oil-​drizzled toasts. The olive oil is full of flavor — unlike may other joints these guys use good stuff.
Each bite was in tune with the most awesome beats coming from the boombox.
The staff are nice and friendly… In all, it is hard to leave.

Little Mule is one of my favourites for breakfast or lunch in the city.
Coffee is excellent, bikes are awesome and the Friday pulled pork is amazing.
Can get quite busy at lunch times but the food is certainly worth the wait.
It’s also a great spot for the Laneway learning sessions they have there on anything from brewing beer to king cupcakes or learning Italian.
Gotta love the Mule! Highly recommended.

Good food, good coffee, and some seriously fantastic custom bikes at great prices make this hidden gem a seriously good stop for a quick break.
Their beans and feta on toast is great, and for $ 12 is a bargain. Wash it down with a good coffee and free WiFi an your morning feed is all set.

Café in a bike shop down a lane way, what’s not to love! Get your fixie fixed while you stuff your face with delicious.
Considering this place is cozy (a communal table that fits about 10 and a few other 2 and 4 seat configs) it packs a punch in terms of it’s offering.
There’s a menu of 5 different options, plus a rotating specials board, which I usually tend to go with.
Yesterday was Ratatouille with Cous Cous, which in our group of 6 was ordered by 4 of us and devoured with great gusto.
It’s a super friendly crew and the guys there have started to do their own coffee blends, in which they love hearing thoughts on.
Off you go now, on your way.

Really interesting selection of sandwich fillings, the one that I had was great but probably could have gone without that extra «unique» inclusion of mango chutney.
Four stars because I didn’t figure out which drink it was that came in a jar, and my carrot cake was disappointing.

Tucked in off Little Bourke street is this charming cave of bikes, books, clothes, coffee and food. Came here for lunch with a friend and the place was cozy but not overcrowded. Staff were polite and on the ball, food and drink was quick and very reasonably priced.
Had a great chai tea which was brewed from the real reagents and not from syrup! For ten dollars more I also received an almost-​exhausting portion of tuna and wild rice salad which tasted fresh and alive, if lacking just a little bit more salt for my taste. The acoustics and décor make this a great place for a chit-​chat, and you almost won’t want to leave. Will definitely be returning again!

Wow, talk about hidden. This is a tiny little place at the end of a lane way that you would not find without already knowing it is there.
A simple menu, with good, basic lunch & breakfast food. Well presented. Good portions. SUPER cheap… and it’s also quiet. I probably shouldn’t even be writing about it.

Little Mule does coffee so, so well. I am going to stick my neck out here a bit and postulate that it may be one of the best flat whites in the city.
Toasties are yummy, as well as the sandos of the day.
Charming staff, lovely open space.
This place is quintessential Melbourne, and I love it. Can’t wait to come back.

I will keep this review short and sweet just like the venue.
A short menu that is quick and easy. and cheap unlike most places in the city where you will be paying $ 25+ for one person you can get out of this place you less than $ 20 with coffee.
If you are bike person you can also pick up accessories for for fixie!

It has been too long since I’ve paid under $ 30 for breakfast and coffee on a weekend (admittedly, I have expensive taste and frequent great cafes).
The space is open and peaceful and the menu is simple. The avocado toast (which we convinced them to serve with a side of their house made beans) was perfect and satisfying.
If you’re shopping for a custom made bike, this place is actually a bike store that also serves food and Coffee Supreme. I know nothing about bikes, but they sure were purdy.
The wait can be a bit long and the service is hit and miss. I’ve both loved and hated this place on separate occasions, but would still recommend it for a quiet bite to eat.

Before I begin, I’d like to notify all animal rights activists that this café is not in the business of harbouring or trafficking little mules. This revelation was much to my disappointment but I was gladly consoled by all the other bells and whistles (get it, cause it’s a bike store? Oh wait, I haven’t told you that yet) offered at this charming little café.
Part bike shop, part eatery, this place a delight for those seeking both the practical and cute façade of the Melbourne CBD. The menu is minimal, offering mostly baguettes, sandwiches and a fair assortment of hot and cold drinks. People seem to love drinking milkshakes here, I’m yet to examine the sociological causes. Perhaps they’re simply delicious, we’ll never know.
Although minimal, the food is altogether scrumptious. Nothing fancy here, just fresh ingredients that marry together really well. The staff is friendly, none of that pretentious nonsense here. It’s just a nice stopover on your way to a shopping spree or a relaxing break in a business day’s merry chaos.