Le Gourmet Cakes

Their macaroons are garbage. They tasted like they were stuffed in a refrigerator for days or maybe even a week, and they were crunchy and nasty. Macaroons are supposed to be soft and moist and fresh. I brought this to the attention of the shop owner but he was just too stupid and hardheaded and cheap to address my concerns with how bad his product was. So I just left the macaroons on the table and left with the person I was with. If I could give less than a star I would.

Le Gourmet Cakes was our saviour on the coldest winter day to date this year! We stopped in for some warm drinks and cake comforts.
The hot chocolates were delicious, velvety and warm however the cakes and macarons failed to live up to expectations… they just looked so fabulous in the cabinet! A bit less icing and a bit more density would’ve made the carrot cake a bang on treat. knowing there were altenative cafes nearby that did deliver on desserts however made this experience not so sweet…
Although we didnt have any savouries the selection of baguettes at Le Gourmet did looks very tasty.

The toasted vegetable baguette was delish, excellent portion size and an absolute bargain. I shared it with my sister. Would come back to have it again in a heartbeat.
My partner got the chicken and avo baguette which he thoroughly enjoyed on his own.
Service was good.
The guy had no idea about the Unilocal checkin offer but still gave us a carrot cake which was yummo.
Coffee was decent.

Dropped into a suburb with limited wireless coverage and work to be done, Le Gourmet Cakes proved to be my primrary savior during a week in Melbourne, with staff kind (or possibly just apathetic) enough to let me sit for a few hours (the length of a battery charge) while sampling different portions of their menu.
The strawberry smoothie ($ 5) and especially the flourless chocolate cake ($ 4) made for great afternoon delights and sugar bursts. Skip the blueberry smoothie ($ 5) though. The clearly visible from the window monstrous carrot cake (~$ 4) looked more like a giant muffin — and that’s actually what I thought it was before seeing someone else order it — was unfortunately disappointing — too dry for something that was clearly loaded with all the necessary ingredients for a heart attack. On weekends a breakfast selection is also offered — the muesli ($ 8.50) was pleasant, filling and better than the pricier hipster variant across the way at Atomica Café.
On weekdays, these fine people can use your business — spending hours there was a bit too solitary for comfort and the ratio of prospective job applicants to customers was favorable to employment but not to continued need for additional staff. The customers did seem like a mix of regulars and newcomers but there just weren’t enough, and it’d be a shame to see this place go under to be replaced by yet another standard hipster bar/​café combination — Brunswick is already saturated.

I ordered the breakfast from this little shop and had a really great breakfast.
The service was friendly and there were plenty of places to sit. I chose a large table to the back of the restaurant.
The big breakfast was lovely and was served with a pot of tea in these fantastic old bone china teacups. Very enjoyable and very well presented!

Le Gourmet Cakes is a bit of a Jack/​Jill of all trades on Brunswick St, which is possibly why it’s often overlooked on a lot of fronts. It’s a café, but you wouldn’t necessarily even notice that function if you’re just breezing down the street — with only a couple of simple outdoor and indoor tables, it’s easily obscured by the fancier or grungier coffee stops on the strip. It’s also a caterer, but what use is that to me? And yes, as the name suggests, cakes are a specialty, but hey, when do I ever buy cakes?
What makes this place awesome to me is its beetroot bread loaf. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, it’s a crazy pink/​purple colour and is dotted with small pieces of beetroot. It goes surprisingly well with everything — savoury and sweet — and is pretty impressive if you bring it out at a BBQ or dinner. They also do nice light and buttery croissants. And the coffee ain’t bad either!