LINA ROOFTOP — Restaurant in Brisbane City

My husband and I frequent high end restaurants and establishments within Brisbane and left Lina quite disappointed. The venue is lovely and I have nothing negative to say in relation to that. The food was good as well.

The issue we faced at this venue was the terrible service we received. For an establishment so well set up I would have expected more from staff. We don’t expect 24/7 treatment or to be at our table the entire night. However; the service we received was more than well below standard for any restaurant.

Upon arriving; we were not greeted. One staff member was on the phone so not expected to assist. However, there were three staff who all looked at us and ignored us. It wasn’t until, I believe the manager, came out at took us to a table. To set the scene, it was a Sunday night and very quiet. Most of the inside was empty and only a handful of tables were taken outside. There were well over 4 staff in the bar and maybe another 5 on tables/running ect.

We ordered our drinks, which were forgotten about and the manager had to chase them up after waiting 20 minutes. Mind you, again it was not busy and staff were ambling around. We were offered water once and not provided with a water jug. Which again is fine if staff are managing tables and refilling on the odd occasion. After finishing our food, we always stack plates to help staff and so they are aware we are finished. I have worked in hospitality so know this helps a lot. These sat at the table for 10-15 minutes all while Several staff walked past. It was not until the manager had to ask a staff member to pack up the table that it was packed up.

Upon leaving the facility we walked past the bar and the reception with multiple staff stationed. All who did not acknowledge us or say goodbye. These staff were not busy either with other guests ect.

As a person who has worked in hospitality, I have an eye for seeing when things aren’t quite right. I often try not to be a sad Sally or complain as I know how hard it can be in the industry, especially as staff. It’s not about being perfect because that’s not possible in this industry, but ensuring that your staff are well trained within customer service is imperative. This is something that quite clearly lacks with multiple staff within the facility. I must say the manager seems like a nice guy and he’s trying to hold the fort together. However, the remaining staff definitely do need to be equipped with better skills within the hospitality industry.

The other thing I’d like to acknowledge about this venue is there very strict rules particularly surrounding neck tattoos. For reference my husband and I do not have neck tattoos but are big advocates for inclusion. I just find It very interesting that venue can enforce these rules however have staff hired within the kitchen, a chef to be exact, with a neck tattoo on his right side. That to me does not sit right. I understand these are staff and I have nothing against that chef by the way! I just think it’s very unfair to exclude people who are paying customers when you are allowing staff to not abide by those rules. I am sure that The staff member already had that pre-existing tattoo just like anyone else would have a pre-existing tattoo before coming into your facility to spend money and have a good meal.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that we will be back but I have to say this venue has got a lot potential if someone puts in the time to fixing the some...

Review of 'FIRE AND ICE' igloo experience only

I purchased this as a surprise to my husband to spend some time together. This experience costs $235 and includes a charcuterie board, melted cheese, fruit/marshmellow fondue, and 1 flaming cocktail per person. We also got a complimentary entry drink, which was nice and unexpected. As much as we wanted to like it, though, too many things just did not work. Main highlights:

It was listed as a 'romantic experience for two', but there was little care or effort in making it look so so as a result it seemed quite sloppy. What I mean is it was not exactly tidy: for example, there was a table on the side in the igloo with two melted candles and a lighter, they could have at least removed it or cleaned it up (see photo n.1). There were two big tables in the Igloo but there was only 2 of us; and there were visible cables in a case next to a xmas tree that was not lit up (photo n.2). One may argue these are just small details, which is true, but when added up they impact on the overall atmosphere.

Upon arrival we were told the flaming cocktail sorbet flambe (which is 1 of the 4 cocktails to choose from included in the package) was sold out. Like, how? there were maybe 8 customers in total and we booked quite well in advance.

THIS was the worst one: the charcuterie board was lovely (see glimpse of it in photo n. 3). We started eating but after a while we went to take a few photos of the breathtaking views from the rooftop. We were out of the igloo for maybe 5 minutes. When we returned the board was gone! with all our food on it (olives, 2 cheeses, bread, prosciutto, salami, arancini, dried apricots, nuts, etc...). There was still one hour to go, so we would have had time to finish it or have some more at least. They could see us on the rooftop, so they should have asked us or come back to ask about it instead of deciding we were done. We told the waiter about it, he was very nice and apologised but got back to us with a tiny platter with some salami slices and prosciutto, and a few rice crackers (see photo n. 4), so really it didn't make up for what we lost.

In conclusion, yeah there is lots of potential and hype around this igloo experience but honestly there is still much work to do to make it...

I’ll give you the good before the bad about the bottomless seafood platter brunch/lunch

Positives/what was good about the day:

The place is nice and the atmosphere is good and the food is genuinely good/fresh.

Negatives/ what ruined our day:

We booked for 8 people (1 eating from the normal menu) on Sunday for $80pp which was to include a seafood platter and bottomless drinks. Mind you I called ahead to confirm how many platters pp and was told one platter per 2 people. The total we paid for 7people was $560. We sat down and two seafood towers were placed on the table one at one end and one in the middle. The other end of the table was left empty so one would assume another platter was coming. After waiting an extended period of time we asked where the last platter was to be told that this was it 2x platters for 7 people at $560… the platters did not include any lobster/crab or “expensive” seafood items that would justify two platters for $560. (I understand a portion of this was because of bottomless drinks) But I could go to any restaurant and get a seafood platter for $140-$200 between two people. The one person at the end of the table was a type one diabetic and was so shocked at the size of the seafood platters for 7 people he was so put off he refused to eat. Because of this he couldn’t drink anything due to his blood sugar levels. His alarm was going off and eventually ended up getting something to eat on the way home. So essentially that person paid for nothing.

I will give the staff the fact that they offered two free plates to rectify this but this still does not fix the issue. I will give our waiter (I believe he was Colombian) was very kind over the issue and we were not upset more disappointed over the day due to this. It felt as though a mistake was made and not enough seafood was organised for the people in the day.

Please see attached photo of the seafood platter to be shared between 4 people. As there were 2. I could understand if the portions were made larger to allow for more space on the table. But as you can see there were a few slices of salmon. One small salad and a small portion of kingfish tartare to be shared between 4 people.

Overall...