Journal

A Clumsy Girl in a Cafe World

Food

Service

Atmosphere

I will remember Journal for two things: the best soy chai latte I have ever ordered, and the first place a Melbourne waiter actually smiled at me.
The chai latte was perfectly spiced, perfectly temperature controlled, perfectly dosed up on honey. Instead of the usual derision, or sneer, or curt "What?" after ordering my perfectly new-fangled drink of choice, the waiter smiled and nodded, after catching my bag as I clumsily dropped it on his feet. Having endured several not-so-cheerful waiter encounters in the last few weeks, I positively swooned as he smiled down on me, and perhaps a small ridiculous giggle escaped from my body, but I won't go into details on that. 
I looked around at other diners, observing their meals. The food looked wonderfully fresh and simple in that good, wholesome way that makes you feel good after eating it. I wished I had not eaten lunch already at another cafe that shall remain unnamed and not revisited. 
Instead, I will frequent the welcoming ambience of Journal in the near future, sans bag, with a smile of my own.