Margot Wine & Espresso Bar — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

I like the place and the view but went to try the mulled wine for the first time and grabbed a toastie while I was at it, $26 later I really am struggling to justify that cost to ever go back. Have grabbed morning coffee there and it's good but I've had mulled wine at the markets in Kingston, they even put it on for free once in Tuggeranong to get people down to their Friday night markets, but $12 for this tiny little glass with tiny little serving? I checked the other reviews and ok maybe they are using some sort of exotic wine to make the mulled wine but I'm just not tasting it, I think the experience is the mulled wine and I'm sure it doesn't need to be high end wine to experience that or if it is at least give us a full size glass of wine, it was barely a third of a small glass. Then the toastie, at $14 it better be amazing given that's more than most bacon and egg rolls, focaccia with the lot etc cost any day of the week in Canberra. Even a highly jacked up, over priced airport toastie at Canberra airport doesn't cost that, maybe $8 which you pay knowing you're getting ripped off because it's the airport and the prices get jacked up anyway but this, it was two pieces of thin white bread (no that's high quality Three Mills Bakery sourdough, whatever, it still tastes and looks like any white loaf from the supermarket), a piece of ham and melted cheese, maybe tomato, I can't remember. It did taste great but it was tiny and definitely not worth $14.

Still, if you want to chill on the lake with mulled wine, nice scenery, chairs, vibe it's ok, I'd even say good but just overpriced for what it is. Call me simple but if I really was drinking and eating fancy stuff I really couldn't tell and I've asked a few mates that have worked in the service industry and they also felt at $12 it was...

I recently visited this café and, unfortunately, left feeling quite disappointed. I paid just over $26 for two large coffees and a slice of banana bread, which I found to be unreasonably overpriced, especially considering the banana bread was unwrapped from pre-packaged Coles stock (I saw them unwrap it). The service was also rude, making the experience even less enjoyable. The only positive I can mention is the nice location, but given the high prices and poor customer service, I won’t be returning. Hopefully, they can make improvements for future customers.

EDIT: Responding to owners response

Thank you for taking the time to address my concerns and for clarifying the details about your banana bread and pricing. I appreciate that you source from local wholesalers and are committed to paying your staff properly. I recognise that the high cost of everything at the moment is a challenge for everyone—businesses and individuals alike. While I understand the need for a surcharge on public holidays to cover additional costs, I was surprised by the 20% surcharge, as I was expecting it to be between 10-15%. I acknowledge that the surcharge was likely noted somewhere, and that's on me for not checking beforehand. I respect your business decisions, but I believe that a 20% surcharge is quite steep and such a high surcharge makes it challenging for me to justify the cost, especially given the portion sizes. Ultimately, it's your café, and you have the right to set your prices as you see fit, just as I have the choice to decide if I'm willing to pay them in the future. Additionally, the rude service I experienced has led me to decide to spend my money elsewhere. I thank you again for taking the time to respond and clarify some of my concerns. I wish your business all the best...

Disappointing experience. Went on Sunday after Floriade walk. On a positive, the location is lovely of course. The seats comfortable and tables spaced out.

There seemed to be plenty of staff crammed in the little space. But only one was taking his job seriously (taller guy, with great customer service with a touch of humour). The others were too interested in being 'too cool' with each other and larking about. I'm absolutely one for enjoying your work and time with your colleagues, but this was just silly stuff and detrimental to getting on with the tasks at hand and therefore the customer experience.

Food is limited (but I get it's not their thing). By 12:30 they had run out of Ham toasties so we opted for the pesto, tomato & fetta one. Bread was nice, filling light on but tasty but took ages to be made (despite the number of staff and relatively small number of customers) and not value for money. They forgot to make the sangria (again, because the joking around distracted from the tasks at hand) but was OK once made. I must say though that the grab and go pastries from Wildflour on the counter looked amazing. That may be the only reason for returning, but otherwise I will walk down the path a little to Jetty. Sorry. Having said that, with a little more training for the staff on customer experience and workplace behaviour, this place has potential. So an extra star...