After checked-in at Best Western Atlantis, we were initially going to have lunch at Hardware Societe. Being highly rated on Zomato and seen such long queues from previous trip, we were looking forward to come back for lunch on weekday hoping it will be less crowded. And boy, we were wrong! There was a long queue just as bad as any weekends and by the look of it, we would not get a table in 30-60 minutes even.
We walked around the Hardware Lane a bit and could not decide what to eat. And somehow we walked north and went to Operator 25. This is also another cafe that receives many positive comments. So, let’s check out if it really lived up to that praises 🙂
We got there around 1 pm and it was still quite packed with patrons, a few free spaces only. And there were a short queue of people getting their take away coffees. A waiter quickly showed us to our seat in the long bench, sharing it with few other patrons and handed us the menu. We ended up ordering these:
Hubby loved his meal – said the yuzu hollandaise sauce is very delicious and it has the tanginess to cut trough creaminess of hollandaise sauce. The crispy wonton was also a nice addition to the meal, provides a different texture to the dish. Overall, this dish is very well balanced, taste wise and texture wise. Yummy!
While I am as happy with my omelette as well. Those big chunks of grilled octopus turns out really tasty and not chewy at all. They are seasoned well and cooked well, the omelette is light and fluffy. Also love the wakame seaweed salad, it works well with everything else on the plate. But, I felt my toast was just normal buttered toasts, couldn’t really taste the miso in them.
Over all, I think they did a great job coming up these dishes. Must be a lot of planning and efforts to finally come up with a dish with multiple ingredients that compliment each other. Definitely live up to the positive reviews!
Operator 25
25 Wills St, Melbourne CBD
Phone: (03) 9670 3278