Rise Bakery & Le Restaurant Newstead — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I am so pleased to have enjoyed my solo birthday indulgence here at RISE Bakery (in the old Mica Brasserie space) in Newstead. I’ve been coming here (and to the Portside cafe) for a while now and know and love RISE Bakery’s wonderful pastries, treats and coffee - and their lovely, warm staff; they “can never do enough” for their customers - I’ve watched quietly and admired their kind, gentle service - lead by the indomitable and always urbane - Cynthia - who possesses the gift of hospitality and welcome to her core. I was overjoyed when i read that my beloved RISE Newstead had decided to use the excellent (existing) open-kitchen here and expand into offering a breakfast and lunch menu with their particular style and quality. My first taste of their fresh food was “Eggs Benedict with Bacon” and it arrived unexpectedly quickly - quite an achievement given the understandable teething problems that usually come with the first few days (i think this was day 4?) of a new venture - testament to the staff and crew and the years of experience i suspect they bring. Everyone here seems to notice you and engage with you; a level of personal welcome I don’t experience much in Brisbane. I love that if i keep my view to just the cafe interior I can easily imagine myself in another city altogether. If i choose to look out the window I’m met with the view of a boat-filled canal and the famous Breakfast Creek Hotel sitting gracefully in the background. Breaking from my usual habit of iced lattes i ordered a simple Cafe Latte and enjoyed it immensely - a softer, milkier coffee - perfect accompaniment with the joyful blend of Eggs Benny flavours. I badly wanted to lick the plate clean but decorum and restraint saved my dining neighbours from that debacle! I’d love to keep this precious place a secret but I’d love them to succeed and endure even more. So, if you love genuine, world class cafes and their unique gift of egalitarian hospitality and soulful nourishment, this place is most definitely for you. It’s a new benchmark and gift - to...

Large bakery in a great spot. Street parking available.

When looking for the menus, there were none on the register and there was no assistance to find any either. Had to get it from outside after looking ourselves.

Pastries and food items were great. Chefs do a fantastic job. Drinks were way below average. Hot chocolate and iced chocolate did not taste good at all, very powdery and bitter. A standard latte was fine.

Service however was below average. Long waiting times, odd delivery times from the same order, didn’t bring water when requested, only glasses. Didn’t clear up plates and glasses when we were finished and obviously taking up a lot of space on the table. They weren’t great at giving the food or drinks to the correct person, just left it on one side after being told it was for the other side. Twice tried to deliver other people’s food to us while repeatedly saying it wasn’t us that ordered. Also saw a pastry being dropped on the floor, and taken to the back 10 minutes later.

This brings down the whole experience and needs to be attended to ASAP.

When requesting a lighter for a candle they did provide one which was one good thing from them.

Might get takeaway from here to sit near the water but definitely won’t be getting a sit...

We have dined at Rise several times since it opened in former Mica. This location is great & good to see Rise has now expanded to using the kitchen for breakfast menu, not just pastries. However, like the former Mica, it is let down by no management + untrained, unprofessional staff. Yesterday, staff walking aimlessly around with food in their hands & no idea where table X was. Every table was not cleared until diners left, then if they were cleared by staff (not the next customer), they were not wiped down afterwards. Every previous occasion, the ‘manager’ was ducking off for a smoke & breathing out vape smoke as he walked back. Yesterday he was nowhere to be seen, but even if he was…he is not a front of house manager anyway. The carpark is packed with expensive cars & these customers know what good service is, but they will not stand for poor service &/or return. This review is written in the hope, that the business owners of Rise will read this & simply dine in their restaurant, to see how poor their front of house is. If not, then this establishment will bleed money from the owners’ pockets & eventually close (my guess is 1 year). I truely hope that action is...