Dandelion & Driftwood — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I came here with a friend to catch up over lunch. We ordered from the lunch menu, it was of a good portion and presentation, it tasted good.

I ordered a hot peppermint tea at the end of our lunch, which got spilled onto my lap by the waitstaff when they delivered it to our table. I was blamed for the accident. It was unreasonable and totally not okay to mistreat customers in this way.

The waitstaff was carrying a tray with three items, a side plate, a full pot of boiling hot tea, and a teacup using one hand from the left end of this long and narrow tray. (image attached of the tray and product).

It was clear she was not strong enough to carry it like that and the tray was visibly shaking when she was carrying it over to me and for some reason she had brought the tray over my lap instead of over the table.

I caught the tray just in time before the waitstaff’s wrist could have given way, or tray slipped out of her hand - this was a FULL POT OF BOILING HOT TEA that could have potentially spilled all over me, and burned both my legs, and torso. I wasn’t wearing thick pants or jeans to lessen the impact.

Some of the hot tea spilled out of the spout and directly onto my lap as the spout was already facing towards me rather than away from me, and since the tray didn’t catch any of the spillage as the spout was overhanging off the tray, the hot tea went straight onto me, through my dress onto my left thigh.

Meanwhile, I didn’t even get a chance to process this situation, or dry myself, or check for injuries, when the manager came to our table not to apologise or check on my well being. She came over and went straight into accusing me that she was told (by the waitstaff) that I grabbed the tray from the waitstaff, and that she was going to turn the tray around.

They were seriously blaming me and starting a dispute? My friend and I were completely taken by surprise by the manager’s approach and accusation. I was in shock, by the accident, and my clothes were still wet from being soiled by the hot tea.

My friend’s immediate reaction was to ask me if I was burnt? No-one from the cafe asked me about my well-being, they were focused on confronting and blaming me for the accident. It wasn't an investigation, or benefit of doubt, it was full on direct attack coming from the manager. It was terrible.

It was not okay to blame me for this. It was not okay to approach a customer and start accusing them, especially straight after an accident just happened to them. The right thing to do would have been to provide assistance to anyone who was burned, soiled etc, and then resolve the situation.

I prevented a very serious accident, and instead of expressing gratitude and relief, I was being wrongfully blamed and mistreated. This was not okay.

If I didn’t step in, it could have caused serious injury and harm to me, and for your business. It was simply not okay how the situation was handled.

The team had no concerns about my well-being. They didn’t show any form of duty of care and responsibility. Thankfully my friend suggested to get some ice to help soothe the burn to my thigh. They wrapped some ice in a tea towel. There were no ice pack as such so the melted ice could drip down my leg.

I wasn’t offered any napkins to dry my clothes or soak the water. I wasn’t offered an apology. I wasn’t informed about a restroom if I needed to check myself. There were no support and a lack of care and attention.

I didn’t like what had happened to me and how I was treated, but I wasn’t abusive or disrespectful.

After being wrongfully accused, the manager continued to be avoidant and unapologetic. I was made to feel like I did something wrong to them. I tolerated their attitude and mistreatment that was completely not okay. I did not feel great after dining here.

I paid for my meal. I was charged the pot of tea.

Individuals should take responsibility for their choice of reaction, behaviour, attitude and themselves. The cafe should take accountability for the accident not me, it was their unsafe way to serve a...

We went on Sunday morning recently for a birthday brunch with my husband and my 1 year old. I ordered the Devonshire tea, my husband ordered a rueben and a cappuccino and we got some avocado on toast for our daughter. We ordered immediately knowing we had a limited time until our daughter would be sick of sitting in the high chair, and being a nice place, didn’t want to disturb any other patrons. The scones came out quickly, within about 5 mins. Then nothing arrived for about 20 minutes until the cappuccino. I decided to go ahead and start eating the scones because they had gone cold by this time. Then, a few minutes after the cappuccino arrived, my husband asked if the tea was coming, they said they would go and check and came back and said they were sorry ‘it hadn’t been put through’ but that it was ‘3 minutes away’. 15 mins later my husbands rueben and the avocado toast arrived but still no tea. At this point, my daughter was starting to get restless. Once she had eaten, we decided to just cancel the tea and leave when it still hadn’t arrived after both my 1 y/o and my husband had finished their meals. It had been 45 mins since we ordered at this point. Wait staff seemed surprised I wanted to cancel the tea. I was told ‘but it’s ready now if you want it’. Said no and was told I wouldn’t be charged. Tea is literally hot water poured into a teapot. How did it take so long? Especially after reminding the staff? I felt like our orders were fairly simple, and it didn’t seem to be too busy. Plenty of empty tables. Overall, all of the food and drinks were very poorly timed and the experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t feel like staff were overly apologetic and also weren’t mindful that we had a baby - generally cafes are really good at bringing out the baby’s food first. We didn’t have this experience here. Food was nice, coffee was good apparently, decor lovely but we left feeling like we should have just gone to our trusty local. On another note, the people next to us ordered a thick shake, and when it mistakenly came out as a milkshake and they mentioned that it was meant to be a thick shake, the girl serving them said, ‘Oh, no problem. I’ll go and get a thick shake’. As if they had done something wrong? No apology. I felt like this reaction didn’t go down too well with the people next to us…maybe there needs to be some training around apologizing when an error...

We recently visited this charming cafe for a high-tea experience, and overall, it was quite enjoyable.

The cafe itself has a wonderful sense of character, offering a comfortable ambiance that didn’t feel overcrowded or outdated. The air conditioning kept the space cool, and the absence of loud music created a relaxed atmosphere—though we did have to contend with a few flies, as some doors were left open.

As for the high tea itself, we opted for the $80 per person package, which included additional savoury items and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

The savoury offerings were definitely the highlight. There was a generous variety and I particularly loved the onion jam and goat cheese tart, as well as the wonton, which was packed with flavour—I’d happily return just for those alone. If only they sold them in bags to take home! However, the sandwiches, both the chicken and the egg, were a bit underwhelming. While the bread was soft and fresh, the fillings lacked seasoning and didn’t quite match the boldness of the other savoury items.

The sweets, while pleasant, felt a bit one-dimensional. They were sweet, as expected, but none of them stood out or offered anything particularly unique. There was no freshness from fresh fruit, or fruit that could balance the sweetness with sourness. Given the creativity in the savoury tier, I had hoped for a bit more innovation in the desserts. Something like mini danishes, desserts in small jars, layered petite cakes. Something that really says “everything is made in house, fresh and with passion.” Especially when each person is paying $80.

The scones, generously sized, were quite filling but left an odd aftertaste similar to bi-carb soda. I attempted to balance it with extra jam, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite mask the aftertaste, and I ended up leaving half of the scone.

They offer gluten free high-teas and the thing I love is that they had two of everything. Each person has their own items to enjoy. The high-tea was beautifully presented as-well.

Service was good and overall I enjoyed the high-tea experience. I definitely recommend trying out this cafe and to add the extra savoury items onto your high-tea...