40's Cafe — Restaurant in Angaston

Shame, 3rd year in a row coming here for my birthday. Last 2 years 10 out of 10.

This year, we booked 2 months ago, second group of people to arrive (at 12:02pm) party of 7. The first group was a party of 4.

We waited in line for 5 or so minutes to place our orders as the single lady serving was in the dining room shuffling tables around for a large walk in group.

It took 25  minutes for 2 drinks to come out, a further 5 or so for the next lot and a further 10 for a single coffee. (The coffee machine had not been touched the whole time)

After 55 minutes we enquired about our food as other people who came in a reasonable amount of time after us had been served similar meals.

The lady we asked became rude and defensive, saying a number of walk ins and large groups had come in.

My wife explained this was irrelevant, as we had come in first, booked months ago and a single kids meal had not even come after such a time.

She came out shortly after to say the pizzas were in the oven, when we questioned her again she was rude to all of us.. she then lied and said there were a number of big bookings (she had previously said a number of times they were walk ins)

Shortly after the kids meal and pizzas followed.. all ok.. not great like usual.

Then crumbed fish came out, battered had been ordered, the server came back a few minutes later to say the docket had battered and they could re make it, we refused (after waiting over an hour so far)

We ordered a 'mild' salt and pepper squid.. due to to much pepper plays up with the person who ordered it, it came out and it was close to black with pepper, soggy, limp, un crumbed and had a pungent seafood smell (this is a telltale sign that seafood is fresh).

We were told by the server that the coating of flour was 'crumbing'.

We could have almost forgave the wait time if it was not for the servers attitude, lies and argumentative attitude.

During a chat to a number of local store owners on the way home they all said they had heard quite a number of the same stories and it was becoming quite well known how poor the 40s experience was becoming.

This was my go to for my birthday lunch, and it was unquestionable.

It looks like next year we will find a new...

My recent visit to 40's Cafe was nothing short of a frustrating experience. After a 30-minute wait, we were finally served our order, which included an overcooked pizza. What disappointed me most was that I had specifically requested the staff not to overcook it, but it seems my request was completely disregarded.

In addition to the pizza mishap, we also ordered a main-sized salad. We double-checked with the staff to confirm the size, and they assured us it would be a main-sized portion. However, when the salad was brought to our table, it was evident that it had been placed in a small bowl. When we pointed this out to the staff and mentioned that we had ordered a main-sized portion, their response was far from satisfactory. The chef simply transferred our small salad into a larger plate without adding any extra salad to make up for the size difference. When we raised the issue with the staff, they attempted to convince us that the "large size and main size servings contained the same amount of food but were priced differently." This explanation seemed highly questionable and left us feeling like we were being misled.

I regret to say that our recent experience at 40's Cafe was a stark departure from the many enjoyable visits we've had over the past decade. It's clear to me that something has changed, perhaps even in the ownership, as the decline in the quality of food and service has become evident.

It's disheartening to witness such a decline in a place we've considered a go-to for so long. However, the consistently poor quality of the food and the dismissive attitude towards our concerns during this visit have left us with little choice but to conclude that it's time to part ways with this cafe. Sadly, we've decided that we won't be returning to 40's Cafe again. We hope this feedback can help the establishment understand the importance of maintaining consistent quality and attentive customer service to retain...

Repeat visit, have been there several times and has been our favorite place to eat when staying in Angaston, particularly for the best ever pizza. We were staying in Angaston again on the long weekend and made a point of going there for a pizza and a bottle of red. We wish we hadn't, very poor on all counts. Pizza was very sub standard, the base had not risen. The wine prices had gone up 50% since April. Could not eat the pizza complete but the topping was good so just ate that and left most of the base, although we did eat the edge as it had risen ok and was delicious. Waitress asked us how the meal was so we told her the bad news and requested that the kitchen be advised, which she said she would do. Insult to injury was that they were charging a holiday tax of 10% due to the long weekend. Summation, no apologies, $80 for 1 pizza and a bottle of average red... sorry you have lost us. Maybe an acknowledgement of the problem would have kept us on side. Not recommended.

EDIT: Returned in December and had takeaway... back to their great form, best pizza around! Had it again the next night....