Comuna Cantina Everton Park — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I have been supporting local businesses long before COVID-19 made their situation dire. Yesterday I decided to support Comuna Cantina at Everton Park. I won’t be going back again. Put simply, the food and cocktail were very good, but the service was poor - in fact it was service derived from poor training and in line with what Australians accepted (without question) years ago. From the moment I stood at the entrance, I was overlooked and treated as if I was not important. Bar staff had to call the waitress to book me in. She was a pleasant, friendly young lady and helped me through signing in etc. She then left me with the menu and totally ignored me. I waited for her to come back to the table to take my order, but as that wasn’t happening, I had to get up, get her attention (from a discussion with 2 workmates inside who were all ignoring their customers) and tell her to take my order (go figure). My tacos were brought to my table with no serviettes. I asked for a serviette (essential, especially when eating tacos). She served another table who were leaving and then promptly walked back inside - until she saw me get up and go towards the bar to get a serviette myself. I was given serviettes and told the waitress that I found her service appalling and that she had to pay more attention to her customers. She apologised and offered to get the manager to see what I wanted. I did not want anything other than an acknowledgement that, as a customer, I was somehow important in Comuna Catina’s operations. I told her that I would not make a complaint on Google as I knew the business would be struggling, so I gave her direct feedback. She was replaced by another waitress who gave me a glass of water (was this water to calm the old lady down or something I should have been given when I first sat down?) I realised that the waitresses were obviously switched because of my complaint. The second lady’s customer service was excellent because - you guessed it, she showed respect for her customers by taking notice of them and their needs. I have made this complaint on Google as the whole episode has left me with a bad taste in my mouth because I only got good service because I spoke out (with other diners looking on of course). I found the customer recovery poor also. The manager swapped the waitresses, but obviously took my complaint lightly as there was no attempt to reassure me that my complaint (and customer service) was important to the business. This indicates to me that the customer service problem at Comuna Cantina problem is not a one-off, but systemic. Comuna Cantina must do better as competition is fierce and (regardless of the quality of the food and drinks) customers won’t put up with the treatment I received. You have employed a friendly young lady as a waitress, but haven’t given her the training and supervision she needs to reach her full potential. Don’t blame her as it lies with your business operations and senior staff. Very...

Update 05/06/2024 I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by Max the venue manager, he took an interest in our last dining experience and has obviously taken steps to rectify the poor service we had received some 8 months ago. He invited us back to see the changes and we were not disappointed. The food was as it always had been (delicious) but the friendly customer service we had come to love had returned. Peyton looked after us well and we once again had an enjoyable lunch. Thanks again Max for reaching out and we look forward to our next visit.

Go! It won't disappoint. 11/10/2023 I genuinely dislike leaving the following feedback but considering I left a previous excellent and positive review I wouldn't want someone reading my previous review and expecting the same experience we received the first time we attended your restaurant. Two years on and after many visits to your venue over that time I'm sad to say today's will be our last for a while. We arrived for lunch just after midday and were informed the inside dining was unavailable due to it just being mopped, no biggie for us as we like to sit outside but who mops their dining area at that time of the day? Once seated we had to ask for actual menus as we are not fans of ordering through an app at the table, I mean if I'm going to order food through an app what's the point in going to your venue and enjoying what used to be a pleasant dining experience with past staff. We waited for what seemed an extended time before deciding to go to the bar, ordering drinks and taking them back to our table myself along with other less than impressed customers. Whilst at the bar I asked if there was table service and was told there is but they preferred customers to order through the app, I did say I prefer table service. We then waited even longer for table service which never eventuated. I then took another trip to the bar to order food but there seemed to be an issue with a customer before me the barman was attending to who appeared to be wanting to order food from the bar instead of from the app. Ater a short time I returned to our table thinking surely a staff member would attend to our table in short order after seeing me at the bar holding menus clearly looking to order food however I was sadly mistaken. We finished our drinks, paid up and left attending your other restaurant Mai Gai where the service was excellent and we enjoyed our meal along with the very pleasant table service. I truly hope you sort what appears to be staffing issue, forgetting that customers come to enjoying being looked after and have a pleasant dining experience, if I wanted a McDonald's type of experience I would save my $$ and go there instead. We did email you following our lunch but...

To say I’m disappointed and disgusted is a MASSIVE understatement. Came here tonight for my son’s birthday and was excited to try it out with my family. We ordered off the QR code on the table and waited for over 30 mins with no sign of food before we raised it with a staff member (we hadn’t even gotten our drinks at this point). We were then told that he would make the bar stop other drink orders until ours were made. He ended up coming back and informing us that actually, our order never made it through. After waiting some more, another staff member then came up to us and took our order again from our confirmations that we had received on our phones. My husband then asked if the kids meal could come out first, to which he replied “yeah they usually do” and then walked off. No apology, nothing.

We wait AGAIN and see our drinks all sitting on the tray at the bar with no one going to get them. They sit there for about 5-10 mins before my dad got up and asked for them to be brought over. Finally, they did. Then we started to receive the food another while later, and it was lukewarm like it had been sitting out for a while. Everyone else’s meal came first BEFORE my 5 year old’s kids meal, which they assured me would come out first.

My quesadillas were barely filled and were dry and burnt at the ends, and the same with my husband’s. For the money we paid for our family of 4 ($130) it was pretty appalling. After we had nearly finished our meals we STILL had not received our entree of chicken bites, to which when we brought it up with the staff member, they asked if we wanted it in a takeaway container. May as well since we’ve all been sitting here for ages waiting and waiting!

Manager offered an apology towards the end but it’s nowhere near good enough. My son’s birthday dinner was entirely overshadowed by this terrible experience, and we will not be coming back. Also, the seating layout was horrendous, barely able to move within the crowds of people. Not a great place for families on a Saturday night.

1 star is for the kind female servers who gave us our long-awaited food with a smile. I would otherwise prefer to put 0...