Little Red Bakery — Restaurant in Brisbane City

In my 8 years in the hospitality industry I don't think I've ever seen anything more embarassing. What was initially a very positive impression (a very cute interior with quite a few other guests sat down enjoying food and coffee that looked genuinely good) quickly turned sour when I walked up to the counter, and was not greeted or acknowledged, period. The lady behind the counter, no more than a foot away from me offered no greeting or welcome, or even an "I'll be with you in just a moment". I was the one to say hello to her, and it was an icy interaction to say the least. Resorted to ordering food on the QR code at the table, as service is obviously not a thing that is done here - frankly insulting to be asked to leave a tip after the total absence of hospitality. Food was pretty decent, but poached eggs were over cooked and toast not buttered (or served with butter on the side), and to be fair the portion size was good. Coffee, also decent as well, but the major problem was that in the hour I spent there not a single plate was cleared from a table. The place was filthy, not a single clear table for new guests to sit at. People were coming in and had to stack plates themselves and move them to the table next to them. The coffee rush was over, and the front of house person was nowhere to be seen. I saw multiple people come in, look at the absolutely pitiful state of the place, and walk right back out. This was from 11am to 12pm, you're still open for another hour and a half, why is no-one prioritising preparing the venue for new guests so you can make more money? For my entire time in hospitality I have worked at some of the biggest and busiest restaurants, cafes, and bars in the city. Don't tell me you were too busy to do the simplest things right, this was simply a matter of "I don't give a damn". Clearing the 12 tables or so would have been a five minute job, and by not taking that five minutes I literally saw the damage being done to your business by guests turning around and leaving, I was half of the mind to get up and direct people down to Gramps myself. You've got a solid product, in a great location, with a really lovely fitout, and knowing from the inside how tough hospitality is, I always want to see small businesses succeed, but at the end of the day what we sell is hospitality, and that was an...

The food is always really solid, and the french toast special is a real favourite of my wife.

Unfortunately we've had several recent encounters with just sub-par service that you really can't excuse. The first is when I went with my wife and a friend; we all ordered at the same time except my dish came out and the two other dishes just didn't. I started to eat mine, slowly, but nothing happened. By the time I finished my dish we were very confused. The cafe was a little busy, but nothing serious. I saw what I expected to be our missing dishes on the pass so we waited a little longer, like 5 minutes. The dishes were melting under the lamps so I had to go up, get the dishes and cutlery myself. That was the first instance. Something similar happened again, but there were more of us around, and the delay wasn't as egregious as the previous example.

Then, this weekend gone, I went with a friend and wife again. My friend ordered first, we second. Our coffee's came out first, but not my friends. Then our food came out, and my friend still hadn't gotten his coffee. We could see coffee's coming out to people who ordered after us, so, knowing this pattern, I had to get up and reach out to staff otherwise this was going to be a while. The order was somehow lost, so the coffee was made promptly, and the food was delivered. The cutlery for the three of us was placed at my side, for me to distribute instead of being handed out to the guests directly, which wasn't normal, but also just kind of felt half-baked as service. The cafe wasn't even what I'd consider busy; half the tables were empty, and when we ordered it was emptier still.

I'm not sure what's happened recently, if there's some new ordering software that's got bugs, or there's unfamililarity with it, or the servers have had some churn and it's just new people, but its just not quite good enough. I took a friend from out of state there, and was a little embarased with my choice with the service we received. The food was good, as always, but I was just disapointed. I'm not sure if it's related, but the cafe just doesn't quite seem to be as busy as it...

This used to be my favourite cafe but in summer it's just too uncomfortably hot. The two old air-conditioners in the large main seating area have limited cooling effect . The very hot food preparation area is surely an OH&S issue impacting the hard-working staff. The coffee and food are very good . The servings are ample and well-priced. The service is friendly and efficient. This cafe requires more than one staff member who is often run off her feet taking orders, making coffee, serving orders and clearing tables - all these tasks in two large areas upstairs and downstairs. This too is an OH&S issue. That the staff remain cheerful and efficient is a credit to them. I love the all-timber ambience and the general layout of the two-level cafe. The toilet is roomy and quaint but needs a deep clean. Another quibble: the drinking glasses need replacing. I won't drink water from them and I've seen other people frown at their condition. The glasses are cloudy and it's obvious that the dishwasher can no longer remove the cloudiness. I am perspiring profusely as I write this and that is not how anyone wants to feel during...