Proper & Son - South Melbourne

Great for a rest and a coffee while shopping at South Melbourne market. Service was excellent and friendly, good coffee and cakes

I thought I’d try this place instead of my usual. Like every other blond wood slick cafe around these parts, staff have to remember old fashioned smiles and warmth of character. ‘Sign in’ as you get a QR laminate plonked in front of you is not what people like or need right now. A hello first, ask about the coffee order and then ask kindly to please sign in is what staff need training for. Like many olaces staff act ‘above their station’, forgetting we are the paying customer and they need us to frequent these places. Also don’t make us call you over in a more than half empty cafe to order after a 5 mins of being ignored. It’s simple smiling, even a faking of kindness if you can’t pull any manners or niceness out of yourself. I won’t be back .

We were excited for a delicious Sunday breakfast, but were disappointed by the avocado toast at this restaurant. The hotcakes were tasty, with a perfect balance of lemon curd. However, the avocado toast came with hard boiled eggs instead of poached eggs, and the toast was cold and tasteless. The avocado was too firm and the additional pickled vegetables and toppings added strange flavors. The coffee, on the other hand, was excellent. Overall, the experience was mixed.

Before the COVID lockdown it was good and after the COVID lockdown Proper Son is just as good and maybe a little better...more creative and better pastries. One of the few places where prices have remained the same. Service was prompt and cheery. Coffee was strong and hot and the eggs in brioche buns were light, tasty and generous. The atmosphere was humming. The waitresses allowed us space to chat as they quietly presented our meals and filled our glasses. Deep cleaning was thorough as tables changed over. There is plenty of quality competition in this food court but Proper Son is right up there in a cosy setting with comfortable seating protected from the madding crowd.

I enjoyed breakfast as well as the coffees. There was a good variety of choices on the menu. Staff were friendly and helpful.