The 35th floor of the Sofitel is somewhat famous for the windows in the restrooms which overlook the city. Don't come up here if you're scared of heights. If you like the view from above, however, and you're after a good value buffet lunch, you might want to check it out.
The buffet lunch at Café Là costs $25 per person (not including drinks) and there are some 40 different dishes to choose from (we didn't check if they count the little things like garnishes and condiments). 40 dishes or not, at any rate, there is plenty here to fill you up. I won't go into detail about each dish we tried, but suffice to say that the variety compares well with the other hotel buffets that we've sampled (admittedly, not lots).
The quality of the food is perfectly adequate but it isn't something to write home about. We've had better buffets, but they were also more expensive. The modest $25 charge is actually kind of surprising given the spectacular view - they could charge more and still draw plenty of customers.
A couple of the dishes stood out, most notably the Lobster Bisque, which was very strongly flavoured and somewhat more-ish. The Trevally (with Lentils, of all things) was a nice surprise once you got past the dry texture (not much you can do about overcooking fish when it sits in a bain-marie for an hour). There was a decent selection of desserts, which Dave sampled most of (I was too full for more than one visit).
Service was pretty good, but we did have to ask for water refills. They were very efficient at clearing our used plates whenever we got up to get more food.
The restrooms are worth a visit (you don't have to actually eat here to enjoy the view over the city, since the restrooms are in the public space on the 35th floor). They are actually starting to look a bit old (worn fixtures) but they're still clean and well stocked.
Rating this place was a difficult task since there is no denying the value for money aspect of the buffet (there is an a la carte menu, but it is more expensive). All you can eat for $25, and the food is reasonable. However, we've been a bit spoiled by the overall quality of Melbourne's restaurants, and we'd be willing to pay more if the food was a bit more special. But if you haven't seen the view yet, it's worth coming at least once.
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Dave's summary: "Dessert was good."
Probability that we will return: 30 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.