Collector of Souls — Restaurant in Caversham

Extremely Disappointing Experience - Avoid for Large Groups

I booked this venue (formerly Funk Cider, now "Collector of Souls") over six months in advance for my 25th birthday as part of a wine tour, and I am utterly appalled by how poorly it was handled. What was supposed to be a joyous celebration turned into a stressful and disappointing experience that dampened my entire day.

Upon arriving after a smooth and enjoyable morning at other venues, everything fell apart here. My group of 25 was shuffled around multiple times because the staff didn’t know where my reserved table was—people were even seated at the table under my booking! The lack of organisation caused my group to be separated, ruining the atmosphere and leaving us scrambling to figure things out.

The most shocking part was the behaviour of one staff member in particular. Her attitude and manner were absolutely unacceptable. She got up in my face, dismissively and aggressively stating, “There are over 900 people at this venue, we are overbooked,” as if that excused their complete lack of preparation and professionalism. I’ve worked in hospitality, so I understand how busy things can get, but the way she treated me and my partner was rude, aggressive, and entirely unprofessional.

This venue's overbooking and poor management are not my fault. I booked in March for a December event to ensure everything would go smoothly. Instead, I was punished for their lack of foresight, organization, and respect for their customers. Half of the food I ordered was scattered across different areas or didn’t arrive at all, leaving my guests and me frustrated and embarrassed.

If it weren’t for Flynn’s efforts to salvage the situation, the entire day would have been completely ruined. That said, the experience overall was still a disaster, and the rude staff member needs serious retraining in customer service.

The only redeeming qualities of this venue are the lovely outdoor space and the quality of the food and drinks, which are the only reasons this is a one-star review. However, I would strongly advise against booking this venue for large groups. Their inability to handle bookings properly and their dismissive attitude towards customers make it a risk not...

My family and I came here for Father’s Day a few weeks ago. The staff were amazing. So accomodating and friendly. Big mention to the FOH manager (the lady with the black hair), for her extra care and attentiveness.

Unfortunately aside from that, it was the worst dining experience we’ve ever had. So much so, that I’m writing my first ever review for a restaurant. There was an issue with every dish we ordered, so I or members of my family, spent the entire lunch getting up to check on what was going on and where certain dishes were etc. When the buzzer would go off to collect your food, the buzzer was then taken; so if you’d ordered more than one dish, you just had to guess when the next one would be coming out, or it would just sit there getting cold. The chips were so overdone, I had to get them remade. My dish was forgotten so by the time I received it after having to remind them, I had to get it takeaway and eat it in the car on the way home. Aside from the pizza, the food was overpriced, dramatically undersized (child sized portions) ie. $20 for quite literally 4 chicken wings, the birria tacos were tiny with less than a tablespoon of sauce for dipping, the small pizza was also child sized; and the flavour aside from the wings, was mediocre.

It all would have been understandable if the venue was overly busy, but it wasn’t. Everything was just really unorganised. We had to redo Father’s Day lunch the following weekend, as we didn’t actually get to spend any time together because of all of the mishap, and having to constantly get up and enquire about our orders. I understand it was a week after opening and working in hospitality myself, I really do understand that things happen. But this was just not okay. I’m sure once it’s all up and running properly; these things will be amended. Just thought I’d leave...

I visited Collector of Souls in the Swan Valley as part of a wine tour with around 40-45 people for my birthday, and unfortunately, the experience with the food was quite disappointing.

I was initially told that food needed to be preordered seven days in advance. When I tried to do so, I was informed that preorders couldn't be accommodated due to it being their busiest period, but that I could order a "reasonable amount at the bar upon arrival. I emailed back explaining that we had 45 people and suggested ordering 12 bowls of chips, 8 bowls of arancini balls, and 6-8 serves of mozzarella sticks. I was then told that was too much food, but if I reduced the order, I could preorder and prepay so it would be ready when we arrived — which was frustrating, given that was exactly what I had tried to arrange initially.

When we arrived, none of the food was ready, and the staff on duty were unaware of any preorder. They also had no mozzarella sticks available. I was happy to accept substitutions, but even after being there for over an hour, we still hadn't received half of what we ordered. Some of my guests also tried to order food directly when we arrived but were told around 1:15 pm that the kitchen was too busy and no further food orders would be taken.

Although I did receive a refund for the missing items and the staff on the day were genuinely lovely and apologetic, the overall experience was disappointing. If a venue is large enough to host groups of this size, it should also be equipped to handle food service efficiently — as other Swan Valley venues...