The Library Cafe — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Huge disappointment. Three of us for lunch - 3 beers, a nachos, a burger (with crisps from a packet, not even proper chips, and a spoonful of coleslaw on the side - real 'cutting edge flavours and style'...), and some prawn spring rolls = $80. For that I expect at least average service. Wait staff are friendly but seem to be let down by below par time management from the kitchen, and a bizarre haphazard queue-ing system to order. Told it would be a half hour wait for food - we were okay with that - busy school holiday lunchtime period (however why oh why is this "oh we are so busy today!" excuse peddled so often from cafes that are obviously going to be hit by a large crowd given their location and the time of year) - and were prepared to wait, thinking that all of our food would come out around the same time so we could do what we went there for - have lunch TOGETHER. Our drinks arrived pretty quickly, so obviously they had our table number entered correctly, however the food arrival was beyond ridiculous. A plate of nachos was walked around for about 10 minutes by wait staff clearly unable to find the correct table number, then disappeared. About 10 minutes later it reappeared and was plonked on our table. A couple sitting a few tables away who had been there before us asked what had happened to their order... as we left I noticed there was a plate of nachos recently delivered. I suspect the 'lost' nachos actually belonged to them but when the staff couldn't find the table (for whatever reason), it was passed along to the next nachos order and voila! we got it, old, cold and soggy. The person on our table who ordered it started eating as it was already cold, and had finished it by the time the burger came out. The burger was nearly finished by the time the spring rolls came out. The rolls were so hot they obviously had been recently done and the person who ordered it had to eat it solo. Why have a short-order menu if you can't co-ordinate your short order orders? Eating establishments that base their service ethic around what makes getting food out easy and convenient for them, and not what would make it a pleasant experience for their clientele do not deserve to be operating. With a lovely bookshop attached, and its position between 2 art galleries and the library, I am embarrassed that this is the level of organisation and interest in service that tourists to our city would...

Ordered a foccarcia to share with a friend with a milkshake and tea. The foccarcia arrived and five minutes later the milkshake, at that time I asked the waitress if she could bring another serviette to the table when my tea was made, she said yes. After we had finished our foccarcia and my friend her milkshake approx 15mins I approached the counter and asked about my tea delay, to which I was advised that docket was lost and my tea was coming. I then requested a refund due for the long wait and was given an refund by another waiter. I went back to my table still expecting the tea, however after another five minutes I asked a nearby waitress about the tea, she could not understand my simple request so I went back to the count myself to ask about my tea and was then advised that I would not be getting the tea as I was giving a refund. At this point I knew there was no point discussing the matter any further due to the staffs lack of understanding of poor service. Really poor service and resolution, not to mention the waiter could hardly speak english or understand me when I was speaking. How is this possible when you are in the State Library Cafe in Brisbane. Meanwhile while I missed out on tea the two people sitting at the table next to us received both their meals on the same plate! When they asked if they could have their meals on separate plates, the waiter took away their meals and did not return with them for fifteen minutes. They were as unimpresssed as we were. What can I say except what an embarrassment for Brisbane with tourists...

Another day, another Cultural Precinct cafe staffed by dribbling adolescents who haven’t been trained in the basics of customer service. My friend and I went for coffee at this cafe. It was a very hot day and we asked if there was complimentary chilled table water that you find at most cafes as part of the standard service. They didn’t know what we were talking about. They pointed us to the bottled water in the fridge. It’s only later that I worked out they were offering to sell us bottled water. When I said I couldn’t find the chilled tap water and glasses, one staff member offered a small plastic cup with a ration of water that wouldn’t quench a mosquito. Another staff member, came up behind my friend at the fridge and pointed the bottled water out to her—the bottled water for sale, that is. Well, if you run a cafe and are too cheap to train your staff properly or provide the basic services of a cafe, then you probably deserve to lose a bottle of water or two. I guess it’s cheaper to do the wrong thing. What I am wondering is why the Queensland Government provides leases to proprietors who serve drinks in single use containers? I doubt that’s in keeping with government policies, and I’d be surprised if cafes like this create much of a positive impression for visitors.

Please note the cafe pictured below with fountains is not The Library Cafe; it’s The QAG Cafe....