Pasture & Co — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

Utterly shocking experience; pretentious staff and appalling service.

Our afternoon began with high hopes as we visited this renowned café, one that had come highly recommended by locals and from online reviews. From the outside, everything appeared charming from the artisan pastries in the window, and the kind of ambience that suggested we were in for a treat. I arrived with my family and decided on the pumpkin soup. After a 15 minute wait, the food arrived. But from the very first spoonful, my hopes were dashed. The soup was disappointing. A sweet, overwhelmingly coconut heavy mess that lacked any depth or warmth. For $17.50, I expected something thoughtfully crafted, not something that tasted like it had been poured from a tin and doused in syrup. To add further insult, it was served with what could only be described as the cheapest supermarket gluten-free bread, barely toasted, crumbly, and utterly joyless. I politely expressed my dissatisfaction to the staff, only to be met with raised eyebrows, tight lips, and an attitude so frostbitten it could have chilled my soup further. After what felt like an unnecessarily tense back and forth, they finally agreed (reluctantly) that I could order something else if I paid the difference. Not a shred of grace or hospitality in the process. Then the real chaos began. Fifteen minutes later, instead of the new dish I ordered, they brought me another bowl of the same vile pumpkin soup as if to mock me. This move felt deliberately passive aggressive, and downright childish. I clarified again that I did not want it, only to witness, moments later, a staff member smugly walk over and slap a "Kitchen Closed" sign on the counter. My new meal at the point, a simple avocado toast, hadn’t arrived. I sat there watching my entire family finish their meals while I stared at an empty plate. Eventually, one kind-hearted staff member came to check in and informed us, that the kitchen never received my replacement order. At that point, it was hard to tell whether we were in a café or some sort of twisted social experiment. The entire ordeal felt like a petty high school drama acted out in an overpriced brunch spot. The staff (with one exception) were insufferably snobbish, emotionally unintelligent, and seemed to take honest feedback as a personal attack. Their behaviour was not just unprofessional,it was spiteful. I’ll never return, and I’ll actively advise others to avoid this place unless they enjoy being gaslit by baristas with god complexes. Running a café is about more than just decor and overpriced soup. if you can’t handle criticism, respect your patrons, or maintain basic decency, your business is destined to crumble under its own pretentious...

We arrived on Sunday afternoon, it was super busy, but we were happy to stand in a long queue to wait for a table. We noticed a separate queue at the food counter where food is ordered. So, essentially, there were two long queues to wait in before you could order food.

When we eventually got to the front of the first queue, we noticed a table of 6 was cleared and someone who had just arrived took the table before standing in the queue unlike everyone else. They used their mobile phone and car keys to hold the table whilst they stood in the food queue to order.

People standing behind us in the table queue remarked and got upset, so I approached the hostess to let her know what happened.

The response that I got from the hostess was rather disappointing. I don’t think she actually heard or understood what I was saying before she rudely told me that “it’s busy”, like I didn’t notice and that I need to patiently wait my turn. As we were at the front of the queue, we weren’t concerned about waiting as we had already waited for around 30 minutes!! I attempted to let her know that the 6 seater table was taken by people who never waited in the queue. She rudely fobbed me off.

Another hostess approached us to take us to a table and as we passed the first hostess that I approached she looked at me and remarked in-front of other guests “see you now have a table” whilst giving me a sarcastic smirk. She incorrectly assumed we were being impatient rather than pausing to actually listen to what I was saying to her.

I’d like to suggest that guests take a ticket and then wait in line. When a table is ready, those in the queue present their tickets. There should be a no ticket, no table policy. This will stop people taking tables ahead of those who do the right thing and patiently wait in line like we did.

As for the hostess, I suggest you take a moment to listen instead of reacting and assuming the intentions of your guests. Not everyone is impatient! Refrain from being rude and sarcastic. I know it must be difficult to manage so many guests on a Sunday. However, that doesn’t give you an excuse to embarrass your guests in front of other customers by making assumptions and being sarcastic.

Food was great, but the service left a bad taste. Lemon meringue and cheese cake are the best! Gave the food a 5 star. Popular place, love the vibe, but the front of house needs to be improved especially on busy days like Saturdays and...

First and foremost, this place is in a beautiful casual setting and the food menu is interesting. It has great potential. However, our first visit here was very frustrating and disappointing. Upon our arrival we got pulled up for trying to come in through the 'exit' door, while many people before us and many throughout our stay came and went through that door without any question. Then we proceeded to line up for our meal. My husband and I looked over the menu, decided what we wanted then lined up. While we were waiting, which took about 10 mins, my husband noticed something in the display cabinet he wanted instead. All was good, then he took off to get a jumper from the car and I was left to order.

When I approached the front of the line, I was asked for a table number to which I replied I didn't have one as yet. I had been expecting the table numbers on sticks that you collect, but they have the numbers already on the table. I was happy to duck out quickly to have a look for a table and number but felt pressured to step out of the line and come back when ready, so I did that. Got a table, then thought, ok great well I'll go to the toilet on the way.... sign up on door, you need to ask for a key, well I knew that wasn't going to happen because i'd already watched a lady wait a while to get someones attention in the cafe and almost get snubbed when someone came near her so I knew I didn't want to try and wait. Lined up again, another 10 minute wait, get to the display cabinet...by now the toastie my husband wanted was now gone. So paid up, waited quite some time and finally got our meals which were nice, but after one frustration after the other we left very disappointed with the service.

I would like to go back for another try but will know what to expect next time. There are signs around the place about the table numbers but when you first arrive and you're trying to wrangle kids at the same time, it's easy to miss things. It wouldn't have been hard to help out with a table number. It's the small things that make life easier that really make good customer service stand out. Sadly this was lacking on our...