LIFT Cafe — Restaurant in Brisbane City

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A West End Gem — Lift Café, Brisbane

On the hunt for a late breakfast, I followed the praise on Google and found myself at Lift Café — a cosy little spot tucked just off Vulture Street in Brisbane’s West End/South Bank pocket.

I was greeted by Holly, who was clearly juggling a dozen things at once, yet still offered a big warm welcome and a smile that instantly set the tone. Coffee was priority one, so I ordered my usual large flat white, along with their “famous” bacon, egg, hash brown & cheese roll — and because why stop there, a Mango Tango smoothie too.

I grabbed a seat outside and took in the atmosphere. Locals smiled and nodded as they passed; diners around me offered friendly glances — just a genuinely warm neighbourhood vibe. Within minutes, the smoothie arrived: cold, refreshing, absolutely spot-on. Then came the coffee and the roll. The coffee? As good as any top-tier cup you’ll find across Australia. The roll? A perfect mix of crispy, gooey, salty, cheesy goodness — absolutely lived up to the hype.

Feeling relaxed and in full “slow Saturday mode,” I settled into some reading and treated myself to a passionfruit & ginger iced green tea. Honestly… heavenly. A huge mug of pure refreshing bliss — energising and flavourful without being sweet or heavy.

Throughout the morning, it was clear Holly is the heart of this café. Regulars greeted her by name, chatted lovingly, and someone even handed her roses for organising cakes for them. When customers go out of their way like that — you know the service is something special.

Verdict: Lift Café is absolutely on my “must-return” list. Great food, exceptional drinks, a warm local atmosphere, and hospitality that genuinely lifts your day. A perfect...

I attended here a few times after it was recently sold. The new owner is trying her best but continued to joke with me and treat me more like a friend than a customer.

She obviously had been drinking a number of times and service for me was done in a less than professional way.

She has good ideas and means well but when she decided it was funny to be derogatory towards me and call me names she didn’t like me saying so.

I won’t be back.

She has also refused to take me out of a promotional video that was filmed the morning of her calling me names and my then asking her not to use my image.

She advised she would be using it anyway.

There’s loads of cafes and this one may or may not be consistent. She’s trying.

What I look for in a cafe is consistency and quality and space for myself. I didn’t...

My experience was a bit unpleasant the first time. The server seemed confused or perhaps hungover from the day before. Firstly, she knocked over another visitor's coffee, which spilled half onto my pants. Secondly, our food sat on the counter until all three dishes were ready, attracting flies. Additionally, the ordered smoothie spilled over the edge, and no cloth or paper was brought to clean it. To top it off, the waiter started "dancing" in the middle of the street, obstructing pedestrians and confusing other visitors. The food was ok but the waiter and her service raised...