The Vogue Cafe

Hidden away near the underground car park lies this secret garden cafe. Although it has been part of the centre for a few years now, Macquarie's new renovations exposed this hidden treasure. With some prior research, I discovered that The Vogue Cafe is the big brother to The Missing Piece. So it's no wonder that both cafes are so popular. 

The Vogue Cafe is surprisingly roomy as the seating area extends deep into the store and sprawls out to the centre entrance from the car park. 

They also have tables in the main promenade of the centre. Even with all this space, The Vogue Cafe is in high demand with queues building up during the lunch rush.

Pram wise it's advised to sit in the 'outdoor' setting as theres a bit more room and flexibility to move.

Just a caution though, be mindful of the possibility of the stagnant car park air and the not so atmospheric sounds of trucks passing if you do opt for an outdoor setting. 

Regardless, The Vogue Cafe and its Alice-in-Wonderland style decor is pristine both inside and out, making the most out of their space.

Compared to Missing Piece, overall The Vogue Cafe is a nicer place to dine and enjoy a full meal.

The cafe is adorned with a wide selection of pastries and sweets for the morning/afternoon tea goers as well as a wide menu as well. Similar to The Missing Piece the main menu has creative names  that make it difficult to skim through the menu to find what you want. 

The price was pretty standard in terms of cafe food sitting anywhere around $12-18 for mains but little on the pricier side for drinks. 

When you're drinks arrive decorated in an assortment of extras you sort of understand why. 

Iced Coffee (soy, no whipped cream) 

Lacking a little of the height without the whipped cream, the drink still arrived in the signature Vogue/Missing Piece style. Rimmed with chocolate and full to the brim with marshmallows and Malteasers this jar will bring the child out of any adult.

Flavour-wise the coffee was well pronounced and nicely pronounced and it wasn't very sweet which worked well for me. 

Soy Decaf Latte

 Great quality coffee, just like the Missing Piece they know how to make coffee and make it well. 

SPECIAL: Jaime's Pasta of the Day: Avocado, spinach, chicken and Chorizo Penne with a creamy sauce

Upon requesting an order for Jaime's Pasta of the Day, we discovered that our waitress was Jaime herself! She was very excited that we were the first of the day to order her pasta.

At first I was wondering how the chorizo would taste with the classic combination of cream, chicken and avo but surprisingly the whole thing came together beautifully. The pasta was absolutely delicious and big kudos to Jaime for this special. 

Clun Sandwich with Spicy Wedges

The club sandwich had all the best things that you would want and there was no overload in low quality lettuce or small pieces of chicken.  The ratio of every part of this sandwich was well thought out and was wonderfully assembled between fresh bread.

The wedges had an edge to the standard potato snack with the well flavored spicy kick which was crunchy and cooked to perfection. The only downfall was that the small jar that held the sour cream and sweet chilli was not quite wedge-friendly.

Ginger Beer

Even the simple Ginger beer had a few finishing touches with the sugar rim and mint. 

Sticky Date Pudding

Althoughou drinks came topped with extra lollies and chocolate, I felt like the sticky date pudding was a bit over-the-top.
Served in a latte glass and adorned with decorations, the classic dessert was unrecognisable. Not until after a bit of digging around did we find the delicious cake. 

Although chocolates and sweets were fun and pretty, I found the combination of the sticky date and abundance of Malteasers and m&m's a bit too sweet for me and took away from the integrity of the cake. 

From the moment we entered to the second we left, the staff were extremely friendly and all smiles. At first I thought the service was a little on the slow side but looking at the line outside of customers waiting outside, the hard working baristas and multi-tasking waitresses, it was pretty understandable. The staff really made Vogue shine as they were very accommodating with out pram and even though the line built up outside, we weren't pressured in any way to leave. 

Honorable mentions to Jaime our waitress who was super friendly and was the creator of the amazing and delicious pasta special and the Arya Stark doppleganger who was one of the friendly faces at the barista bar. 

Overall, The Vogue Cafe was a great little spot that definitely puts a major emphasis on presentation in every aspect. The staff was friendly, the prices reasonable and space very cosy. 

The Vogue Cafe is definitely a hidden treasure of Macquarie Centre. 

[The Missing Piece update post coming soon]