Epi Cafe, Richmond

The Overview…

Food: Chicken Laksa, Aussie Burger, Chocolate Cupcake

Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5

The details…

Epi is a new cafe located in the Epworth Medical Centre in Richmond. The cafe is large and bright, and has a consistently bustling trade. There is plenty of seating, from simple small tables to large comfy booths for larger groups. As you would expect from a new space, it is very clean with a modern aesthetic, with large white walls and ceilings with huge light panels. The long counters, divided into specific functions (sandwich bar, main course, off the grill etc) have a lovely light wooden finish, and the large, bright display cases are simply bursting with colour and great looking food.

There are a tonne of options when it comes to the food. They have a specific breakfast and off the grill menu with many of your standard brunch / lunch options, as well as the aforementioned build-your-own sandwich bar and the buffet-like main course counter where you can make up a dish of your choosing from the many different options on display. This is perfect for those busy hospital workers who don’t have much time but still want to grab a good hot, and filling, meal. Add in the juice bar, the salad options and the abundance of rolls, toasties, wraps and desserts, and you can tell they are trying to offer something a little different to your bog standard, hospital based cafe. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but instead just want to focus on creating a health conscious menu of good food at a great price.

Staff were very friendly and helpful and, despite being kept busy by the constant influx of customers, they still spent the time going over their various offerings with us and explained how the different sections of the cafe worked. Service was speedy and the food all came in good time, even when it started getting much busier as lunch time approached. We opted for the chef’s special of the day, the chicken laksa, to start with, and followed it up with the Aussie burger with a side of chips, and finished it all off with one of their cupcakes.

The chicken laksa had a lovely mild flavour with a subtle amount of chilli giving it just a bit of spice. There was a generous amount of chicken and each piece was melt-in-your-mouth soft. The cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms were all well cooked with good flavour. The noodles could’ve done with being just a tiny bit softer, and a slightly better balance of carrot to mushroom – there was a little too much mushroom for my tastes and not enough carrot – would have helped, but overall, this was a very tasty, warming dish full of great, rich flavours.

The Aussie burger looked fantastic and was pretty huge. Stuffed to bursting with a grilled Angus beef patty, smoked bacon, fried egg, pineapple, beetroot, lettuce, and some very tasty cheese, this was very much a knife and fork job. The beef was so soft and juicy and the bacon complimented it well. The cheese and BBQ sauce provided some subtle flavours while the butter lettuce helped cut through some of the meatiness. The pineapple and beetroot gave the burger some added colour and texture while also helping with balancing the flavours. The side of chips were large, thickly cut and tasted great; a perfect accompaniment.

Finally, we got to try one of their delicious chocolate cup cakes. With a thick chocolate frosting and a scattering of coloured candy, it looks great and has a lovely rich flavour. While the sponge was a little on the heavy side, this was still a very pleasant dessert and a lovely end to our meal.

Everything else…

Website: https://www.zomato.com/melbourne/epi-cafe-richmond

Address: Epworth Hospital, Level 2/89 Bridge Road, Richmond

Opening Times: 

Mon        6:45am to 7pm
Tue          6:45am to 7pm
Wed        6:45am to 7pm
Thu        6:45am to 7pm
Fri          6:45am to 7pm
Sat          8:30am to 6:30pm
Sun        8:30am to 6:30pm

Parking: There are a few paid parking options nearby, or you could try your luck on one of the nearby side streets, but this is one of those cases where you’d probably be best opting for PT.

Getting here on PT: It’s about a 10 minute walk from Richmond station. The 48 or 75 trams stop outside the hospital at stop 15 on Bridge road. There’s also the 78 tram to stop 61 (Church st / Bridge road) or the 246 bus which stops at the corner of Bridge Road and Hoddle Street, with an approx 8 minute walk to the Epworth Hospital from each of these stops.

Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Epi Cafe, Richmond. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a cafe won’t change including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting.