Corner Store Cafe — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Happened to be in Toowong today and thought we would give Corner Store a go.

We were greeted by a couple of staff on arrival and were advised to either go around the side or straight through to get to their seating area. The place was already half full when we got there and it wasn’t before long that it was fully packed with people (we could only imagine how busy it would be during the weekend).

Once we were seated, a friendly staff member approached us with a jug of water and took our orders for coffees. I grabbed a skinny cap, which was quite delicious and tasty. My partner ordered a filtered iced long black, which he quite dug and I thought was just as nice.

Food wise, it took me a really long time to decide what I wanted. As there were quite a few items I was interested in. I finally made my mind and ordered their Potato and Corn Hash, as shown in the pic below. For starters, I thought the whole thing looked very appetizing. I loved the way it was presented. The potato was cooked to the right point where it was soft but not mushy and you could actually get a tiny bit of resistance when you bite down on it. The chorizo was seasoned well and went well with the potato. The corn at the bottom threw in a hint of sweetness to the dish and fit in with the rest of the ingredients. The cheese on top was one of the highlights for me as it really elevated the whole dish in multiple dimensions. Another thing I really enjoyed was the satayed kale, a very nice addition and it really spiced up the dish. We also thought the pickled chilies were a really nice touch, which we assumed would be really spicy but were actually nice. Now let’s talk about the few things I wasn’t impressed with. Firstly, the poached eggs were overdone and didn’t really go with the rest of the ingredients. Apart from the eggs, we both thought the tomato based dressing was nice but a bit too sour for my likings. It was so intense that I could barely taste anything else after having it. I thought the dish would have been much better if the dressing was not overpowering. One last thing was that the dish was a bit greasy for me. Overall, it was a good meal.

Service wise, we thought it was absolutely brilliant and everyone who served us was attentive, nice and friendly. All drinks and foods came in a timely fashion despite how busy they were, which we appreciated. Will come back some other time. Their Brisket Toastie and Cheeseburger also looked...

I would love to give this pretty, upmarket cafe 4 stars however overall I feel it’s only three as it was not relaxing and felt chaotic as a meeting place

My main issue is that as it’s crowded on a Sunday the noise levels reached an unpleasant level - A thumping beat from background music added unnecessarily to the levels of noise Play some jazz ! It’s innocuous and creates calm instead of chaos

The food was fairly good - perfect poached eggs - strange tasting coffee though - bitter and not hot enough - I think the eggs were the most successful- my porridge was over salted and no fruit on the kids size waffle - just a little on the mean side for $10

On the OTHER hand the “ basic waffle “ $20 !!!!was OTT with too much of everything and way too sweet - I felt the meals were inconsistent - a toastie arrived last which was very sad looking compared to the “ basic waffle “ with four tiny triangles on a plate with no garnish

The other really big thing that put me off is WHY are there PLASTIC STRAWS still being served in drinks in cafes ??? This is absolutely unacceptable when there are so many alternatives The smoothies arrived and I just couldn’t believe they did not have paper straws

Staff were really on their game and extremely polite helpful and patient in what must be a chaotic place to try and deliver

The kitchen garden and sunny courtyard were delightful to get amongst out of the chaos of the large groups of people and is really a drawcard

Possibly a victim of its own success I feel this would be better enjoyed on a quiet weekday than...

I have down graded my rating of the Corner Store. Its a popular place, of that there is no doubt, I have had some good breakfasts here in the past, but I am afraid when its very busy, 1. expect a lengthy wait to get a table and 2. service is deteriorated so expect a wait for food. Substantial waits have occurred on my last two visits.

On our last visit, after a "15 minute wait" for the table turned in to 30 minutes, we waited another 30 minutes to get food. What arrived at the table was not what I ordered, a minor error I put up with, but my wife's breakfast contained a bit of sharp clear plastic which is not good enough.

I highlighted the latter to the staff who made a swift apology but ultimately shrugged it off. The server who took our bill did offer to refund the meal after I pointed it out again, but I don't feel its for me to wear the burden of multiple complaints before getting attention that the food contained contaminants.

I declined the refund as the meal was already paid for, it was not the point, the point is the place has too many covers for the kitchen and front of house to keep up when its maxed. If this was not the case the errors in the food would not have happened in the first place and the front of house staff would have dealt with it the complaint on the first prompt.

To that end I don't think its worth the 'upper average' prices...