The cafes lining Eaton Mall serve strong espresso coffee alongside a selection of Greek sweets, and they operate according to a different rhythm from the specialty cafes of inner Melbourne. The coffee is made to be drunk at a table, with company, over a conversation that is not expected to conclude quickly. Outdoor tables are occupied in all seasons, and the crowd at any given time is likely to be a mix of Greek-Australians who have been coming to the same table for years and visitors discovering the strip for the first time.
Baklava and loukoumades appear alongside the standard Australian cafe pastries. Some shops sell Greek mountain tea (tsai tou vounou) and frappe — the instant-coffee cold drink that is ubiquitous in Greece and not easy to find anywhere else in Australia. On a warm afternoon, a frappe and a piece of baklava at an outdoor table on Eaton Mall is an unexpectedly good way to spend an hour.
The cafes are generally open from mid-morning through to late evening, with the busiest period in the afternoon and early evening. On weekend mornings they fill up with the post-church crowd — families in good clothes, the coffee orders large and the pastry orders larger.