Banette Bayside — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Alright, let’s talk about Banette—the kind of French bakery that will make you reconsider every croissant you’ve ever eaten. (And yes, that includes the ones you smugly tried to recreate at home during the sourdough craze of 2020.) Banette is where you go to remind yourself what flaky, buttery goodness is really supposed to taste like—and to drown your pastry regrets in some truly exceptional coffee.

Walking into Banette is like stepping into a postcard of a Parisian street, minus the awkward attempt at French you’d normally stammer out to order. The shelves are stacked with golden, puffed-up pastries that glisten in a way that feels a little indecent, to be honest. (I mean, who gave a croissant the right to be this alluring?) The chocolate éclairs practically wink at you from behind the glass, as if to say, “You didn’t need that summer body anyway, did you?” Spoiler alert: you didn’t.

Let’s talk croissants, because you can't not. Flaky on the outside, soft and airy on the inside—these aren’t just croissants; they’re culinary therapy. Each bite is like a buttery hug for your soul. And the pain au chocolat? Don’t even get me started. Imagine layers so delicate they’d break your heart, filled with chocolate so rich it could buy out a tech startup. (And honestly, I’d happily invest.)

Now, if pastries are the divas of the bakery world, Banette's coffee is like their Oscar-worthy co-star. Smooth, bold, and without a hint of pretension, the coffee is the kind that makes you want to sit down, close your eyes, and just be for a moment. It’s the perfect complement to all that buttery decadence happening in front of you. No need for fancy syrups or elaborate milk foam art. This coffee stands on its own, confidently and caffeinatedly. Banette has nailed that “effortlessly cool” vibe that only the French seem to have mastered. It's the kind of place where you can savor your pastry with the quiet, contented knowledge that you’ve won at breakfast today. People linger at their tables, nursing their coffees, watching the world go by like they’re auditioning for a French indie film. You can almost hear the accordion music in the background—though, thankfully, none actually plays, because we don’t need that level of cliché.

To sum it up: Banette is a place where your coffee is as impeccable as your croissant, and your only problem will be convincing yourself not to buy one of everything. (But let’s be real, you want to be buying one of everything if only you...

I went to Banette on the same day as the patron that left the one star review & saw her interaction with the lady making coffees. In my experience there was no issue with the service, wait times or quality of food or experience. It was windy - the owners & management cannot control the weather. It was busy, every table was in use, there was a long line to order, and a line of people waiting for take away HOWEVER. I order two drinks a hot & a cold, completely different & food. My total wait time was 13-15 minutes from point of order to receiving all goods. It was pretty reasonable. I have worked in hospitality in fast pace environment and I have never seen somebody work so efficiently, so calmly under pressure.

The lady behind the coffee machine sending out 3-4 plus coffees without error per minute was so apologetic to this lady and apologised that she felt her experience wasn’t good and this lady still had the audacity to try to tell her how to run the cafe. It was busy when I got there it was busy when I left. There’s gotta be room for grace & a little common sense. The unhelpful feedback and exaggerated wait times were not it, don’t let that review stop you from great food, friendly staff & great coffee. Keep up the good work, you’ve got a great team.10/10 would...

My first visit to Banette this morning. I'm hoping that the pervading atmosphere of it all being a bit understaffed and erratic in terms of service will be a thing of the past soon. Because you have to line up for just one person to take your order, the wait time can be substantial. Surely there has to be a better way? For example, when you go to Flour & Chocolate, multiple people are there taking orders and using the cash register without a problem; it's a much faster way to get everyone served in a reasonable time. And, because I was ordering takeaway, I had to wait for a young waitress to eventually find her way back behind the counter and find the receipt of my payment sitting on the counter somewhere and then find a bag and so on. Frustrating! I ordered a takeaway sausage roll which was pretty underwhelming in that the bottom of it simply wasn't cooked long enough. Some of the pastry was a little raw and it wasn't pleasant. The Kouign Amann (I hope I'm spelling that correctly) pastry was fine - very light and sugary. I was there at 9.30am and there was very little choice left, so perhaps that's another issue they'll need to address if they want people to become regulars. So, overall not a terrible experience, but it could be a lot better....