Nic and Kolo — Restaurant in Applecross

On Saturday 17/4/21 my sister in-law had organised for me to have my baby sprinkle at Nic&kolo for a high tea. I had 29 people confirmed to be coming but on the day only 28 came as one couldn’t attend last minute. $35 pp was what we each paid. Unfortunately on the day everyone was advised that this did not include tea or coffee. Which confused everyone as when you go to a High Tea keyword being TEA you would think that was included. Apparently not, I understand alcoholic or speciality beverages but not to include Tea or coffee is very Strange if you ask me. Even though that was disappointing all the guests happily bought themselves a drink. I wish I could say that was all that happened. We had dietary requirements, 2 pregnant girls one who also had a nut allergy, gluten and seafood allergies. Now this is not my first time attending a high T I have attended plenty over my time Infact I went to one the weekend B4. And anyone who had dietary requirements or allergies had been given there own little plate and then those who didn’t have allergies shared off the tiers. It made it so less complicated and you knew exactly what you could have. Nic & Kolo did not do this for myself and my other pregnant guest, they did for the gluten free and seafood allergy guest although they did put prawns on that guests plate which could have resulted very poorly if they had not seen what it was. One staff member in particular was very rude! This High Tea was held for myself and my sister-in-laws chose this venue as they had been regulars and highly recommended it and honestly thought we would be looked after so well. I have never been to a High T where I had been asked to keep swapping seats because of the dietary requirements. I was getting extremely flustered as I’m heavily pregnant haven’t been well and I just wanted to sit and enjoy myself where I wanted to sit. I asked them could they not just put my food on a separate plate and the answer was no. There was not enough food for each person on each tier, staff accused my sister in-laws for inviting extra people when in actual fact one guest never showed so there should have well and truly been enough. Then to have staff come over to the tires and physically take food off and move it to other tiers cos there wasn’t enough food even though we hadn’t finished eating the food that we had been given. Both my sister in-laws went to speak to them and just express how they were not happy how everything went down and they were spoken to so rudely. This was witnessed by other guests and I can honestly say everyone has decided that they will not be attending this place again which is sad as there was 28 of us and those 28 guests will at least tell 5 people about the treatment. The saddest part was we didn’t even get an apology or we are really sorry how that was handled. Nic & Kolo don’t offer High Teas if you can’t cope, a lot of money was spent that day by all of our guest’s. The food was lovely but unfortunately your lack of service and respect tainted that. We will not be returning and highly suggest that if you want a nice high tea don’t go to Nic & kolo choose a place who listen to the customers and treat them...

I was in a group of ten that had dinner here towards the end of 2023. We had the set menu. Firstly, we were seated at a table that was a real squeeze for ten. Comfortable for eight but uncomfortable for ten. Service was perfunctory and very basic, lackadaisical. We ordered drinks to start, and most of us ordered a cocktail that cost approx $19. The waiter just put all the drinks on the table in a group and walked off, we had to work out ourselves what was what. The cocktails were insipid and watery, not good. Food came out in share plates. Portions per person were very small. eg one very small piece of bread, one prawn, one 8cm lamb rib each. Plates and cutlery were then cleared away, and again the waiter just dumped fresh plates etc in the centre of the table and we were expected to set our own places. She came up short, and for about 20min I had no plate or cutlery while everyone else was eating, despite her being asked twice to bring out more. When the mains came, mine was steak. And just steak on the plate, no fries or potatoes, no vegetables or salad. Dessert was quite a generous serve, and I don't usually eat much dessert but I did here, as essentially I'd been fed nothing but tidbits so I was still hungry. We paid the bill and we were all charged $75 per head - with no explanation. The set menu is STILL listed as $70 on their website. On the way home, my partner and I thought the whole experience was very disappointing, and then we BOTH got belly aches and reflux. We both ran for the Eno as soon as we got in the door. On reflection, all the food we had eaten was fatty/fried, there wasn't much of it, and the menu had no carbohydrate and vegetables or salad. No wonder our stomachs turned. Would not recommend, in summary we were overcharged, underfed, underserved and given food that was nowhere near...

Waited an Hour for No Food.

I’ve previously had a positive experience dining at Nic and Kolo, but unfortunately we were met with poor service on Mother’s Day. I empathise it would be one of the busiest days of the year for establishments such as Nic and Kolo - I personally worked as a cook for years and understand the extreme pressure hospitality businesses undergo.

However, it feels like Nic and Kolo extended its ambitions today in an effort to maximise patronage at the cost of providing a positive experience. I may be mistaken, but it seemed they grew their outdoor seating with several foldout tables to take advantage of the busy day.

Thus, my wife, mother and I waited an hour for our food and ultimately had to leave as we were told it would be another 25-minute wait. We did have some great coffee that was served up very quickly, but the real disappointment is management didn’t seem all that bothered we went without our lunch.

A young front of house employee apologised profusely and sincerely - but another employee who took our payment didn’t seem all that fussed. I’m not entitled enough to think we should be given anything for free, but my biggest takeaway from working in hospitality for years is that you move Heaven and Earth to give your customer a positive experience. An offer to comp the payment of our coffees; a pastry to take away; a promise of a better experience next time with some kind of discount - any of those would wash the bitter taste of not being able to give my mother the day I wanted to.

My sympathies to the kitchen staff, they would have been buried in dockets. I hope they can kick back with a beer...