James & Antler — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I recently visited James and Antler and while the atmosphere was undeniably relaxing and inviting especially on a sunny winters day, the experience itself was a bit mixed. The vibe of the place was perfect, an ideal place to unwind and the staff was super friendly. And didn’t take long for the order to be made which was great!!

As for the matcha itself, it was solid. I opted for a matcha frappe, which sounded amazing at first, but I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed. The matcha flavor was still there, and it was smooth, but the combination with ice cream didn’t quite hit the mark. The ice cream tasted like it had been sitting in the freezer for a while (freezer burn taste?) and lacking that fresh, creamy taste I was hoping for.

Price-wise, I felt like the quality didn’t quite match what I was paying for. It wasn’t a bad drink by any means, but when you’re dropping a bit more than usual for a matcha, I expected a more cohesive and elevated taste experience. It’s one of those places where you’d come for the ambiance and enjoy the vibes, but if you’re a hardcore matcha fan, you might leave a little underwhelmed.

Overall, I’d definitely come back to hang out, but next time I’ll probably skip the frappe and try something more straightforward...

We went in this morning hopeful of this new venture, and left disappointed.

Despite being the first people there in the morning, and with no one else there the staff member that served us rushed us to make a decision despite clearly trying to figure out a very unclear menu.

The atmosphere was ok, for a small space designed for quick turnout and takeaway it was well managed. Perhaps add ordering QR codes on the tables so that people can see item descriptions without taking time away from staff?

Two Croques, a Frappe and a Chai totalled $52, we've eaten at many places, including these guys other venue Mitch and Antler, and found value for quality of food, and service were much better. The Croques while very picture worthy, were only average in taste for $17- $18, I can see this, and the novelty of the canned Frappes will likely continue to lure people in. I'm not sure however, that many will be returning customers.

This place has potential, and it's only just getting started. I hope that they take whatever feedback they get on board, and improve with time.

Until then give them a try if you were thinking about it already, and support your local businesses, my experience and yours could be...

Went here with my family on Friday. We ordered a lobster croque and 4 frappe's in the can. The Frappes (both matcha and coffee) were delicious. The Croque was nice, you could tell it was fresh, but wasn't flavourful - quite average. However, what ruined our experience was two things; firstly, the lady who was on POS, wearing glasses, was extremely rude and ruined our experience putting a sour taste in our mouth, we did not stay in the seating area due to her making us feel unwelcome. Secondly, a lobster shell in our sandwich, which caused my fiancé to chip his tooth. This has caused him discomfort and we will now have to seek dental help to fix it. Such a shame as we were super excited to try this place, we will never return and do not recommend this place to anyone - unless rude customer service and a chipped tooth is what you are after.

Update: We received a response back from the owner, who also tried to persuade us to remove the review. If this is what they have done with us, I am unsure of how many negative reviews they have managed to eliminate. Partner has had to undergo further dental work due to the chip, as it has...