Cafe Lacuna — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Cafe Lacuna has spoilt my Mother's Day brunch. I am very disappointed with the service and the food wasn't as good as Toasted cafe we went yesterday at Everton Park. I found the cafe on entertainment book and thought to give it a try. What a bad choice! I asked when I entered if I could use the EB coupon and she said yes and we were given a table to sit. We ordered our food, 2 x The Big Lacuna, a unicorn hot chocolate and a caramel milkshake. The wait for the food was SO long and my toddler started to play up, so I brought him to the aquarium across the room for a walk and the food hasn't arrived even AFTER we came back. Then I was informed that they made a mistake that the EB coupon actually cannot be used on mothers day but they will honour what they told me. Caught me by surprise but I thought that was nice. The food came after another short wait and 3 minutes after we tucked in, we were informed that we will have to leave in the next 10mins because some other customers will be coming! The food took longer to come than the time we were given to eat! I had a toddler and 2 little girls! I asked if there's another table we can move to but she said no. My daughter asked what about the bar tables then she said OK if we want to sit there. Then I asked for take away containers since we won't be able to finish eating all the food in such a short time and it's going to be hard to sit a toddler at a bar table. She came after another wait as she serve another customer and set up some tables, informing me that the container cost $2.60 each. Surprises after surprises! What a Mother's Day surprise from cafe lacuna! If they were THAT busy which it didn't look it as we walked in, they could have the basic courtesy to tell us or let us know they have reservations and we only have a limited time to eat. I'd gladly leave and come back another time to enjoy a meal, not to be chased out! I can respect and understand if some eating places don't want children or has limited eating time. I just need to be told BEFORE and not given surprises after surprises and got told you have 10 mins to get out - with 3 kids! That's just rude! Without the EB coupon, it would be a $52 meal that I was given less than 15mins to eat! In and out within an hour! $52, 40 mins wait, 15mins eat, with children! My toddler was making a fuss as I was hurrily trying to pack the food away because he was hungry from the wait but couldn't have enough time to eat! What a Mother's Day brunch all thanks to Cafe Lacuna. I won't EVER be coming back again and for anyone who value your dignity, time and good food, I won't...

I’m not one to complain normally. My reviews are almost entirely positive. I would prefer not to give a bad review, but I just keep going back to what happened when we went to Cafe Lacuna with overseas friends who were visiting for a few days in October. It was a spur of the moment thing and we thought it might be nice to walk over and enjoy a nice cafe not far from home.

We were delighted to see that someone was leaving, opening up a table large enough to seat our group. I said to the woman who was gathering her things up her things not to rush, we were happy to wait. The owner (I guess?) saw this and said to me “do you have a reservation?” She seemed to know we didn’t and quickly put a “reserved” sign on the table. Instead, she said we could sit at the bar on the footpath.

It was raining and the seating was uncomfortable. We spent the time with our friends, getting splashed by rain and trying to talk over the sound of the cars. The smell of car exhaust made it hard to taste the food.

We should have gone elsewhere, but we only had a short window of time with our friends. No one came to sit at the “reserved” table in the time we were there. I can’t help but think the owner just didn’t want to seat us, but I can't imagine why. I messaged later in the day to say I didn’t feel positive about our experience. I figured that we could talk about what happened and if there was some misunderstanding, we could resolve it. The message was left on read.

This sort of thing has happened when I’ve gone there other times to buy plants or have lunch with a friend. This could be a great little cafe in the local area, but because of the owner, I really can’t recommend it. Plenty of other cafe options around.

I see other people have had a positive experience, which is good. Maybe if the staff know and like you, you have a...

I have been frequenting this lovely little cafe for brekky & coffee for years now & have never been disappointed. Coffee always awesome & their brekky menu is always a great way to start the day. We decided to give dinner a go last night & OMG, what a delightfully presented & tasty experience!! My hubby & I are still singing their praises!! With an Asian fusion menu full of flavour, a lovely selection of cocktails & craft beers (created by owner/chef Craig), the night was one of the best eating experiences that we have had in a very long time. I think we have found our favourite little haunt!! We live at Eatons Hill, so we are not exactly local, but we would drive the distance in an instant to enjoy another dinner like we had last night. For those of you who are local, forget driving into the Valley or the city for a decent feed, give Krystal & Craig an opportunity to WOW you at Cafe Lacuna. You won't be...