5 Boroughs Everton Park — Restaurant in Brisbane City

An unfortunately bad experience.

Food ordered at 1605

One starter (corn) arrived after 15 minutes. Just the bowl, no side plates or paper towels so I asked for some napkins. Server gave a table of 3, 2 napkins.

Waited a little longer and the first of three other dishes arrived.... 'Poutine'

Unfortunately the 'Poutine' was drier than a pharoahs flip flop, had about 3 table spoons of gravy and what I had to guess was pre grated cheese. The gravy was so tepid the cheese didnt even melt. I respectfully told the wait staff there is no way I am paying for it so they took it away. I asked for it to be back charged to my card and I wasnt leaving till it was. A debate ensued as I was told this would take days. Then I was asked to write my name and number down, and I said 'reverse charge to the card, Im not expecting it to clear'. I then, politely asked to speak to whomever was in charge and was told 'there isnt really anyone'.

At the same point i mentioned the lack of cutlery and got an apology. No cutlery still though so I helped myself to some side plates.

Same lad came back saying his boss wanted to speak to me and I pointed out i was trying to eat dinner with my kids and just charge back the (19 dollars) for the poutine.

Aaanyway, got to the end of that, then realised the table adjacent who had come in 20 minutes after us were eating and my sons burger still hadnt arrived. All in all that burger took 40 minutes to come.

Another member of staff then came to apologise and I asked if he was in charge, he said no and that the shift came on just 15 minuted before my arrival. 5 minutes should be enough to know cutlery, plates and napkins are absolute basics. Refunding a sub par dish shouldnt need 3 different peoples engagement.

Ill always praise good service and tip accordingly. This felt like I was mugged off for $85 and thats assuming the refund makes...

I couldn't decide whether to give them 2 or 3 stars, but settled for 2. There are good points and bad points about 5 Boroughs and in all fairness I will cover the good points first.

Good The staff are very friendly and helpful and, despite arriving at a busy time service was pretty prompt. I ordered the Aloha burger with chips and enjoyed both; it wasn't the best burger I've had recently, but it was pretty good, and the chips, spot on.

Average My wife ordered the Brooklyn Brisket, now I can't comment on the burger myself, but my wife tells me it was pretty ordinary. In 5 Boroughs defense, I did try the Brisket and thought the meat was pretty well cooked and tasted fine, but that was all I had so I can't speak for the burger as a whole.

BAD The biggest and easily most disappointing part of the visit was the Karaage Chicken as pictured, it was dry, well over cooked, it tasted burnt, literally that was all I could taste, didn't present well and, if I'm being totally fair, didn't even have much chicken. This is one of those instances I just have to ask WHY? Why, if that's the best they can do, would they even offer it? Why would the chef serve something like that up? Does he/she hate his/her job?

I'm not the kind of person to complain about the food while I'm there, so after trying a couple of pieces each, while thinking it had to get better, we left the rest and lost our money on that. It was only $16, but it was overpriced to start with, and not up to scratch. If you want Karaage chicken, or any other similar chicken dish for that matter, I can highly recommend Seouful Chicken, who are just next door, and who for a few dollars more provides a far more substantial and tastier offering.

If you want to try the Aloha Burger at 5 Boroughs, that I...

Upon entry to the restaurant everything looked clean and ready. We were greeted by our server. We were nicely encouraged to sit wherever we wanted, but the server did seem rushed despite the venue being quite quiet.

Food took around 15 minutes, which is on the longer side for chicken and a burger, but nothing worth mentioning.

We ordered the Classic Cheeseburger on a Gluten Free bun, which was quite a nice burger. But at $20 without chips, sauce or a drink, it’s on the higher end to be sure.

We also ordered the Swiss chicken - which was a disappointment. The salad and chips were nice enough, even drizzled with a light balsamic and served with side tomato sauce. The chicken however was extremely grilled, covered in charcoal and was reminiscent of overcooked chicken on an uncleaned grill.

It was underseasoned and did not come with a noticeable flavour that was discernible over the charcoal. I would not order this item again, and I’d advise against it from this experience.

The drinks were expensive, with coke and equivalents coming in at a whopping $5.50-6.00. The water you’re given at the table is small and lukewarm, and was not refilled once during the meal. Other restaurants at the same centre offer ice water refilled regularly in larger cups.

We were politely given a nice farewell upon leaving the venue.

With every burger being gluten free optioned, with a nice bun, it would be an excellent option for adults willing to pay more for a burger. There are no age-viable options for younger children with celiac’s offered.

For the higher-end pricing of this restaurant you expect a lot, and this time it wasn’t delivered. Three stars because although the experience was far from terrible, we will not...