Abacus All Day - Kurunjang

Points for: beautiful space, good location, great for catchups. Abacus South Yarra is one of the most beautiful cafes in Melbourne, and I expected no less with Abacus All Day in Ringwood. High ceilings, spacious, large booths, indoors plants and lovely ceramics make Abacus All Day one of the better eateries at Eastland, but it is a little on the pricey side. Love their in-house breads and pastries. Char-grilled baby octopus was a light salad of chopped cos, chilled grilled baby octopus, goats cheese and a poached egg. Not sure why I was a little underwhelmed. Maybe a couple fresh char-grilled large legs of octopus would give a little more bite and character, and chopped cos makes the dish feels “thrown together”. For $21 I expected a little more. The open steak sandwich $24) was tasty: beefy flavour from the dry-aged rump cap and crispy textures from the fried onion. Service was spot on. If I was to come back, I’ll stick to my favourites like chilli folded eggs or a pork belly roll.

The staff was very friendly and attentive. My pork berry with coconuts rice were very tasty. We had two desert which were taste ok but bit boring.

The venue is very lovely as are the staff. I wish I could say the almond lattes were good but I can’t. It was sour and split. I didn’t finish my coffee as it was unenjoyable. It’s good they make their own almond milk, but the flavour, look and texture was not pleasing.

Being a fan of Abacus in South Yarra, it was a no brainer to try Abacus All Day when I was recently at Eastland. There are some similarities between the two venues, but Abacus All Day has a gorgeous decor, with a gorgeous mural, cool lighting and plenty of greenery. It's a huge space with plenty of natural light and the seating is really comfortable. Being part of a shopping centre, it gets really busy, but the staff are still fab and attentive. The coffee and food is fantastic. The folded eggs are so good, nice and spicy. They also have a great range of cakes and pastries, which are so tempting. It's great to see that the Ringwood version of Abacus lives up to the original, and that I have somewhere great to dine or grab a coffee if I'm back out Ringwood way.

Friendliest and most attentive wait staff, also makes a big difference when the staff are knowledgeable about the menu and can assist where needed. Food was beautifully presented, gnocchi was hands down my favourite and hope it stays! Great place if you're after a welcoming place that's a little bit fancy