Zouki

Hospitals for the most part are full of sick people, broken people. Generally they are not very fun placeses, no matter how hard the staff try and they to try very hard (and yes, this is from personal experience)
When you find a nice coffee shop in a hospital, you know you are on to a winner. You just have to look around at the people in it. They are having a break from whatever brought them to the hospital, they are getting a little slice of normal in the middle of their day.
Sure, there are the surgeons grabbing their coffee before heading in to put someone back together and the nurses having a few well deserved quiet moments on their break.
Zouki manages to be a huge multiple counter food serving machine, selling everything from mango smoothies (at 7am) to a full English breakfast, sushi and wraps galore. The staff are nice and friendly and are keenly aware of their customers and their challenges. They go out of their way to make sure their customers get what they need, sometimes with almost no regard for the length of the line behind them (very handy if you are on crutches or a wheelchair)
Sure, St Ali do a better coffee, Hellenic Republic do a better lamb roast, but Zouki do a perfect job!

Another staple coffee stop off on my way to work. There are 3 Zouki cafes in the Royal Melbourne hospital (2 joined together with 2 coffee pick up areas) and one mini booth in the back entrance to the Royal Women’s. They serve good coffee and the service is machine like in speed and they also sell cakes, sushi rolls and pies. The main cafes are also attached to the hospital canteen that actually serves a good selection of food. Worth a look if you need a quick coffee or bite to eat.

Zouki is the place to go if you work in the carlton, parkville or north melbourne area and want good quality cooked food for an affordable price. Zouki cater for staff and patients/​visitors at the Royal Melbourne Hospital but is also open to the public. The lunches are healthy and so varied. Expect Indian, Asian Fusion, Greek or Italian food cooked fresh to perfection. Zouki also cater for people food allergies. Everything pretty much sells out at lunchtime.

Cafeteria located in the Parkville Hospital precinct. (in between Royal Women’s & Royal Melbourne hospital’s)
Zouki is the only eatery in the building and takes advantage of this by serving rather over charged sub standard food. The display of their dishes are quite impressive, but when it comes down to taste, there is no wow factor and I find that everything has the same taste. Coffee is okay, the Batista’s work very hard as supply is high.
The food ranges from, Asian, Indian, fried, Sushi rolls, Vietnamese paper rolls, salads pies & sandwich bar and also has a yogurt & juice bar.
If you are in this precinct, you really have no other choice.

It’s a nice thing to have, comforting to know that a hospital has a relaxing and inviting café space for patients, loved ones and workers alike to escape the grind every once in a while.
Behind the statue of the women and up the stairs, Isabella feels tucked away and on show at the same time. Defeating the sense of escape, nurses and wards will sometimes have a staff meeting/​coffee break, but I’m told the most frequent are the families of patients. The food is better than all that I’ve seen in hospitals and in the movies, and the staff are normal enough to assist in the escape. Prepackaged sandwiches and wraps, and good coffee tops it off. Not somewhere you go by choice, it’s nice to know it’s nearby if you find yourself in hospital.