194 Toorak Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
(03) 9827 5058
Google map link
Coffee Brand: Padre
Is Crue Coffee Lounge a true specialty coffee venue offering the type of coffee experience that it brings? Or is a standard “cafe” that just happens to serve specialty coffee?
We have experienced the poor, mediocre and good in this place which screams inconsistency. The coffee quality and presentation has been up and down, but when it is on song the coffee has been great. Apart from our first visit the staff seem friendly enough and the service ok. It is again one of those places where it is unclear whether table service is offered or not. It is not open on weekends and as pointed out in earlier visits this seems bizarre considering its location.
Our first impressions is that Crue is a just a pure coffee place, the full width of the shop frontage opened revealing the coffee machine and counter immediately behind. On further investigation one realises that there is a lot more behind the scenes. Upstairs to the left is a full-sized kitchen and reasonably large room with tables. So another question begs – is Crue trying to be a pure coffee bar or a fully functioning cafe? We are still unsure, the place seems in two minds. However, our impression is that Crue is focusing on coffee first to be fashionably part of the burgeoning specialty coffee scene. Padre coffee, their brand of choice, uses beans meticulously selected and roasted and forever experimented with. So a venue like this needs to be able to showcase the brand to the uptmost all the time, not some of the time. This place gets our Recommended rating but it comes with a provision.
Score Summary.
Macchiato: 13, 14, 15
Espresso: 18, 14.5, 18
Ristretto: 17, 16, 16
Overall Mean Score: 15.63. Recommended.
