Bolton Street Pantry — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

We had our breakfast this morning and we unfortunately had a bad experience with the service. We ordered our food and coffee arrived and we were waiting for our food and my 5 yrs old started feeling nauseous as it's open kithen and all the food, greese and coffee smell made her feel nauseous. This was the first time she felt that way so we were not aware else we would have sat outside. Anyway, I went to the waitress and explained her and requested if we can sit outside on the table which just got vacated. She blatantly said no, without even trying or asking the people on queue if they are happy to exchange table with us. Our food had not arrived yet, but yeah for her, not her problem right. I went to the cash register and explained the situation to the guy at the counter. He was possibly the most hospitable host there, I asked can we atleast get our food in take away so we can eat it at our hotel. He said yes should be fine. I was standing outside, waiting for this to be sorted and in next 5 mins our order arrived on table. My wife, who was still at table requested that we spoke at counter and requested it to be a takeaway order, she blatantly said no that not possible and when we requested again to confirm she went to chef and her way of asking was, customer is asking this to be take away, its not possible and chef was like yeah not possible. So our food was at table, I asked my wife to finish hers and I with swap once you are done. She almost finished her food and I was standing at a corner outside with my daughter, absolutely no empathy from the waitress, totally ignored us. Then fortunately one small table outside got available, noone was waiting and finally she asked do you want to sit here. I was like thank god, yes that will be great. Worst thing was the overall experience, lack of empty and absolutely no regard for the situation. Even the guy at counter who said he will get it packed in take away but could not do much, not sure if he was helpless or did not have right authority. Anyway ruined our one day, out of 2 days' holiday and did not feel good at all. Worst thing is you can see this at many places, the difference in the way you are treated than others, if you look different. Anyway, bad experience for us but their loss.

P.S. To be fair, the food was good. Only if the hospitality/experience was good, this would be our go-to place for...

Wow.

I'm pretty hard to win when it comes to customer service, but this quiet little café is absolutely worth your stop. Just off king st 50m up Bolton street.

John the manager/ owner always offers quality customer service in a way that is memorable. Topped off by an excellent menu and venue.

The new Teff pancakes- vegan were filling and decadent. With banana, whipped coco, mango and kafir lime coulis, roasted pineapple. Holy my goodness, sweet, decadent, filling.

The presentation was stunning as absolutely #instaworthy

Rotating single origin beans for the filter coffee / slow drip coffee / espresso blend. 5/5 for customer service, atmosphere and menu options.

This is what Hospitality in Newcastle needs more of.

Sunday 8/12/2024

John, Jack and the crew took a reservation booking for 18 people, aswell as walk in's of an 8, 4, 4, 4, 2, and 2 all in the 5 minutes it took for me to sit down and have my coffee served.

There were already tables seated when I arrived before the 10 minute influx of 34 guest's.

For a small cafe the place was pumping and hectic, however everyone easily found a seat, with tables to spare.

The staff remained calm and collected approaching each new challenge with incredible professionalism.

My food came out promptly and my vegan Miso roasted "crack cauliflower " was bloody fantastic especially alongside a bottomless iced batch brew coffee.

This is why I feel Bolton st pantry is one of the best cafés in Newcastle.

And I was super pleased to see a dinner offering now and have complete confidence this team can handle...

Contrary to the website, this is not an all day brunch. Absolutely not in line with the website. We arrived for midday booking. The name of the establishment changed and the menu had “Taste of Siam…Donda” on it. Having booked, and already being there, we decided to stay and enjoy our experience. We were told it was a share plates and mains. The prices were well elevated from the website menu. We ordered wagyu skewers, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, dim sum, rice, chicken, calamari. We also had 2beers, one cocktail, a coke, glass of bubbles, and two coffees The wagyu was gristly, the dim sum were no better than frozen ones, the calamari had the skin and did not taste right. The Brussel sprouts and cauliflower were delicious. After receiving the first three dishes we asked where the rice was (because the sauces were great and needed the rice to soak it all up) and were told it normally comes with the mains even though the rice was on the share menu section. The chicken was yummy. The ambience was minimal, with framed football jerseys and very little else. The bathroom was in a back hallway with a kitchen spoon attached to the key. There was a very “mechanics oil pit” smell in the hallway. The staff were nice however it had a “wait here to be seated” sign at the door, which I did, only to be called across the restaurant by the waiter instead of them coming to me. The $300+ bill was not in line with the size of the meals, or standard of the entire experience....