The Nomad Cafe

A lovely hipster joint disguised with fine dining flare. The best quality about The Nomad Café is that all the ingredients are fresh and local. This was definitely reflected in the dishes I sampled. However, if you’re a picky person this might not be the lunch you had in mind. Much of the menu items are «as is» and the chef won’t make modifications to the dish. If you can get passed that, then The Nomad Café is certainly worth a try.

First time visiting historic melbourne with hubby and had a craving for mexican food. This was the first place we found.
Wonderful staff, the food was perfect– seriously, husband can’t stop raving about it. We had the chicken nachos as an app– simple but delicious. For our main course I had the fish tacos and hubby has the burrito with chorizo. Fish tacos were fresh and fabulous. Burrito was also delicious. The highlight for my husband was the craft beer list. He found his new favorite IPA, and is actively trying to find it back home.
Overall, fabulous meal and definitely a place we’d visit again. Sitting on the patio was an added bonus!

We really enjoyed our lunch at the Nomad Café. I had the fried haddock tacos with Mexican Coleslaw. The fish was fresh and crispy and the Mexican Cole slaw was full of flavor. The Carnad burger topped with shredded duck and Brie was excellent.

This restaurant had real potential with a local produce and meat angle. They boasted of fresh veggies and we expected a fresh taste. We ordered an herbed hummus platter appetizer which came as a blob of green hummus on a plate decorated poorly with 8 wedges of pita (one slice) and 4 raw carrot sticks and zucchini sticks. The hummus was fine but the presentation was lacking and there wasn’t enough dipping material to clean up the hummus.
For my main course, I ordered ossobuco. This was the special to be served over mashed sweet potatoes and served with green beans. It arrived swimming in sauce with 5 green beans perched on one side. The meat was tougher than I expected for a braised meat and the low point was when I discovered it was served on a bed of red potatoes. The potatoes had large pieces (greater than 1″) and were uninspired. When I asked the server about the potatoes she said that «it must have changed».
Others at the table ordered the salmon special that came with seafood rice. The rice must have come straight from the sea as it was very fishy and salty. Inedible by our standards.
The carne asada was not a thin flank steak. It was dueling thick portions that arrived with something that appeared to be converted rice (AKA uncle ben’s).
All in all, we were highly disappointed and can’t recommend this place especially given the price.

Great atmosphere, fun menu.
Portions are perfect.
We tried everything– all was good.
Drunken fish sauce should be on every dish!!!

Loved it. Scratch kitchen.
Had Chicken curry tacos, and really enjoyed the meal and flavors. had a little kick to it.
Nice patio seating, attentive waitress. Will be back.

If you want to talk about complete delight, without a passport… here’s the place! Came here with a coworker for dinner during one of Florida’s well known monsoons, and dried off with a 3 course feast! The portions are filling but not overwhelming. They have a list of fresh specials changing weekly, due to their farm to table moto. I was able to dine beyond satisfaction on a gluten free and dairy free meal!
They clearly mark the menu if it’s vegan or gluten free friendly with willingness to accomidate. We started with the stuffed cabbage. (Better than mom’s. I can say that because she doesn’t have Unilocal) then moved on to their curry beef soup. Should have stopped there but their pork stuffed dinner was cooked beyond my expectations. We topped it off with chocolate mousse, which is homemade. It was particularly generous of them to have those dietary needs addressed with each course.
Go.
Now.

The food was definitely enjoyable, and locally sourced which is a big plus. Also portions are quite large, my date and Inhad plenty to take home, which was also nice.
The service was very good as was the ambiance.
Only downside was we accidentally ordered a bottle of champagne instead of wine — because it was listed in the white wine list and not labeled as champagne.
A fun night out indeed!

We’ve been coming to Nomad’s for a while now. It became our special place, Valentines Day, birthdays, Thursdays, we even had or rehearsal dinner here. The food was fabulous, the ambience eclectic, the staff all on point.
What happened?
There had been a steady decline in the quality of food and service. This last time started out like an Alanis Morissette song with seriously, a black fly in my Chardonnay. But I guess it started before that because our bottle of wine which we ordered before we ordered dinner came out after the soggy drunken fish. But back to the wine. He poured the sample which is when I saw the dead fly so he took my husband’s glass and repoured the sample before getting a clean glass. Waiting… waiting… wait… is that my server cleaning a Window! I had to go and get a clean glass myself and yes, I was incredulous.
And my rice had more crunchy to it then my beer battered fish.
I’m sad because I feel robbed of my favorite restaurant. The decline had been steady in direct proportion to the improvements to the exterior. It used to be reservations highly recommended and now friday night feels more like tuesday afternoon.
I know we will go back though it will be awhile and I just hope they bring their A game.

Wow, what a meal, we had simple nachos and fish tacos and they were some of the most flavorful ever. Flavors I have never tasted before! Hope to return someday!

We’re foodies and The Nomad Café was tasty! We had the egg roll app, parmesan salmon and pork loin. Fish cooked perfectly and both dishes were served with fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, we forgot to take a pic, but the presentation was spot on.

Strongly recommend this place. Best chicken Caesar salad ever. Really. Great little-​known artisan beer from Kentucky. Natural ingredients, and it shows/​tastes. Dessert menu should have more healthy options. I will be back to check on that!

Way over priced for the food. $ 28 for a fatty piece of pork, and $ 12 for a sponge cake with creamy milk over it… no thanks.
So disappointed, was really looking forward to this experience tonight and left with sub par food and an empty wallet. Will not return.

1 star for the eclectic variety
1 star for the best damn carrot soup i ever tasted
1 star for the courteous wait staff they had on hand.
I was not impressed with the main entrée itself. I ordered the vegetable plate with a salmon filet on top. the mix itself was not to appealing to me. It did taste ok but i think i made the wrong decision. the salmon filet that was served on top was burnt to literal crisp. it was completely hard and chewy. they did not charge for the salmon but the dish was a let down.
The prices were fair and my GF’s pork Milanese was really good. These people can do grits right. Id definately go and give this place another shot.

Right off he island so very convenient for us. Food is best we have had in Melbourne. All Ade from scratch
This is a keeper. Come early as this is a small intimate place. This has become our go to place for date night

Melbourne has needed a place like Nomad for a long while.
Trendy, eclectic, great food and service … it’s a winner every time. Prices are reasonable, wine/​beer selection is great … just wish there were more parking!

This is a really nice looking restaurant, and the food presentation is beautiful. Our server was pleasant and attentive. We ordered the nachos for an appetizer, and we all enjoyed them. My husband ordered the Hibachi steak, and he said that there was a very strong indescribable flavor to the meat and veggies. The closest thing he could compare it to was charcoal flavor. I tried a piece and I definitely tasted what he was talking about. Unfortunately, he did not enjoy his meal. I, however, really enjoyed my meal. I ordered a weekly special — pork loin, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, and a Dijon cream sauce. I thought the presentation was lovely, and it tasted great.

Great place! Great food and great service! A lot of options for gluten free! We really enjoyed ourselves sitting on the cute patio. We will be back!

We had an amazing meal! The service and wine recommendations were on point! Very intimate atmosphere. The food was delicious! I ate every bite!
I started with a fresh Cesar salad just the right size. Between courses we were served fresh chips and house salsa. For my main course I had a perfectly cooked New York Strip with hashed potatoes, fresh local in season vegetables (asparagus) and cream sauce (I believe Monti Carlo).
Finished with a coffee and chocolate mousse. I highly recommend this restaurant in the quaint historic district of Melbourne!

As the Unilocal rating description says, this place a «A-​OK». My boyfriend and I stopped by for lunch on a Monday afternoon, so they weren’t too busy and service was good. I believe the restaurant’s concept is serving international flavors made from local ingredients.
My boyfriend ordered the lunch special (which changes weekly) of Shawarma, and I had the Tacos al Pastor. They were both good, but not great. I think the food could use a little more seasoning. The menu boasts that the Tacos al Pastor have spicy marinated pork, but it was just kind of bland and definitely not spicy at all.
Overall, I still had a nice experience here, but was just a tad disappointed by the lack of flavor.