I am not going to sugarcoat my words. I was disappointed. Central Perk Cafe, a cafe theme revolving around the popular sitcom – F.R.I.E.N.D.S, failed to impress me on several fronts. I think I was probably too pampered by the quirky cafe culture in Melbourne and the quality and quality of the food and coffee there. The quality of the food and prices I had to pay here was in my opinion – overpriced. However, if you are a big fan of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S sitcom and you want to take Instagram-worthy pictures, consider that your time and money spent there are for the ‘entrance’ fee to the ‘studio’ at Central Perk Cafe will be more appealing than… paying for lunch/dinner there.
The Menu
A cup of ‘artisan’ coffee costs $8, a tad pricey.
Pictures fit for social-media purposes
The food
My friend and I ordered two cups of iced-coffee, Tater Tots as sides, Chandler’s Thanksgiving Chicken for me and Monica’s Lasagne for him. In addition, we also had The Break-Up Ice Cream and the Heavy Fudge Chocolate Mudcake for desserts.
Seriously, more thoughts had been put into the presentation and name of the food than the taste of the food itself. The chicken I had was bland other than the “Chanberry” sauce. The Lasagne – was overcooked and slightly charred. One word to describe our experience – disappointing. Really disappointing.
In conclusion, although the food and prices were a tad disappointing, the cafe makes it up for very attentive servers. They are polite and I can feel that they are putting a lot of effort into the customer service aspect of the cafe.
TIP: Having a cup of coffee or two with friends after lunch or dinner is probably what I am willing to do at this cafe if ever I am nearby. Otherwise, I would give it a miss.