CLOSED: Blue Buddha Cafe

I went here for the first time recently to buy a piece of cake. I chose the chocolate blood orange cake to take away and it was a decent sized piece for $6. The staff were really nice and I enjoyed the cake. I'll be going back to try their breakfast.

It is great to visit a place and have so many breakfast options. I tried the banana pancakes with fresh fruit, caramel sauce and soy ice cream. It was filling and good value at $12. I will be visiting again to try the other food options. I again took some cake to take away. All very nice.
Updated from previous review on Friday November 28, 2014
Updated from previous review on Saturday December 06, 2014

This was my 3rd visit for lunch after initially being very impressed. The 2nd time, they didn't have ice cream for pancakes and it was a very hot day so I left unimpressed and made my own at home.
This time, I asked for the vegan version of avocado smash so I didn't have the feta. I was still charged the same though and there wasn't a substitute. It was advertised with mushroom bacon. There wasn't any on the plate and no mention of where it was. I should have asked them as well. But couldn't they have given me something else? I had one tiny piece of toast with avocado and a cherry tomato. I could have had that at home for about 1/4 of the price with 2 pieces of toast. There were no cakes in the fridge so I'm not sure if they have stopped making them. So disappointed and hungry!
Updated from previous review on Saturday May 16, 2015

My partner and I thought we'd try this place out recently for lunch. We shared the avocado on toast and the beans on toast options, each costing $12.
Both meals (aka snacks) consisted of one small slice of bread cut into three pieces/nibbles. Whilst both were reasonably tasty, they were incredibly small serves for the price and left us hungry and looking for somewhere else to have lunch.
As for service, we had only just been served our snacks moments before the staff member asked "how long will you guys be". Although we were the only people in the café at the time, another customer had come in and indicated she would soon be joined by five others. Despite being shocked at the appallingly rude question, the likes of which we'd never encountered before, we hurried to finish our food by the time the other group arrived (which didn't take long given the bite sized portions) and approached the counter to pay. Instead of taking our money there and then and allowing us to clear out as desired, the staff member made us wait until all of the group of six had placed their orders after various discussions took place. Unbelievable! Not smart business given my partner works a few doors up in an organisation made up of predominantly vegans! Word is the café is owned and run by two spoilt rich kids as a hobby whilst at university. No wonder their hearts aren't in it and they lack any customer service skills.
Updated from previous review on Thursday August 28, 2014

My partner and I decided to check out somewhere new in town and came here for lunch. It's tucked just a little out the way but close to Vic Market. When we arrived we saw space was of a premium, particular as there was a large group taking up most of the cafe on that occasion. We sat at a small table made of crates and looked at the menu (which is small but mostly vegan), deciding to share the Smashed Raph (avocado) and the Housemade Beans between us. I was a little disappointed that the vegan version of the avocado simply involved removing the feta and keeping the price the same. Anyway, I had a decent fair trade soy flat white while we waited. The portion sizes weren't huge, but other cafes would charge more. Both the beans and the avocado were each distributed over a single small slice of sourdough bread. The avocado was delicious though: fresh with plenty of lemon, red onion and mushroom 'bacon' (although some bits of this were a little burnt). The beans on the other hand were a bit too sweet for my liking. My partner had his plate on his lap because of the limited table space. After one of the friendly and helpful staff had explained the desserts, we ordered the raw vegan chocolate and caramel tart with blood orange and sea salt. This was dense but nice with a cuppa of choice. I'd come back here occasionally when in the city and the food was OK.

Some more nervous veg*n's may be unsettled by the reference to bacon in the menu not being an obvious bacon substitute, but the staff assured me this was the case. Food was very expensive though, and although it was nice it wasn't anything that I felt could justify the price tag.

This is a little cafe near Victoria Market. The kitchen is open and when we went there were two staff. The menu is limited maybe 7 dishes and apart from a beans dish, largely carb heavy. My main criticism was service is unbelievably slow. This is not great for a CBD fringe restaurant.

We ordered an Avocado Ralf to share. The guys were mashing the avocado fresh one stroke at a time. The dish was tasty but out of balance, basically mashed avocado on three wafer thin pieces of toast. No protein worth mentioning.

Coffees were good but again very slow to come.

We shared a rich delicious cake but I had to stand over the counter to make sure the staff member cut and plated it.

I would go back, but order from the office so that the food might be half ready by the time I walk across town.

The other thing - make sure you go before you go as three is no toilet.

If the staff can lift their game and tweak the menu it could be fantastic.