Garage palm cove — Restaurant in Queensland

FNQi-Chef Heard a lot about this place but until recently, have never gone in. Anyway, the word is that Garage serves great meals so it’s high time we checked it out. In fact a friend of mine who, occasionally strays into hyperbole, claims it’s food is ‘to die for’! Let’s see….

As it turned out I went in yesterday with a friend for nothing more than a pot of tea while he ordered a cappuccino and a slice of carrot cake. My English breakfast was fine and his coffee looked good. His carrot cake ($9.00) was generous and he scoffed the lot! Oh and the waitress was absolutely lovely. I noticed that as she was leaving I heard someone from another table call out to her ‘hope you get the job’! Me too… as she was everything you want in a waitress! Today however, on our day of review, a different waitress was…how do I put this…’haughty’. She didn’t do anything wrong at all but seemed a smidge snooty. Well….it is Palm Cove I suppose, where even a smile costs more than in other less salubrious locations.

The menu was not huge but that’s to be expected in a breakfast, coffee and brunch kind of place. It is however a tad pretentious and when we got our plates that became even more obvious. We were seated, given menus and then provided with iced water. All good!

To kick things off our illustrious chauffeur picked a hot chocolate. When it came it looked appealing, had apparently a ‘nice flavour’ but was ‘too thin and without much froth’. These are, according to our driver, very important markers to gauge the quality of his beverage. I defer to his considerations because the last time I had a hot chocolate I was twelve and being tucked into bed by matron (don’t ask - long story)! He also ordered the Short Rib Breakfast Burger ($30.00) which came with Slaw, pickles, American style cheese 🙄, egg and Chimichurri. It also came with an attempt at a potato Pave which was a bit mushy inside and lacking seasoning. According to him the dish looked better than it tasted. I could see him trying to cut away the fat which, personally, is one of the reasons I like short rib. The slaw looked fine but since it was a vegetable, that was pushed out of the way. The bun ended up looking pretty soggy and miserable and he left a lot of it on the plate. So….no, it really wasn’t his cup of tea so to speak.

Angelika chose the Smoked Mushroom and Four Cheese Flatbread ($28.00) which had a mouse of porcini and Ricotta, braised leek, scamorza (a semisoft cheese typical of southern Italy that's made like mozzarella), and Gorgonzola. The mouse was a trifle under-seasoned but the leek was very good. The only slight issue was that the Gorgonzola was a touch too strong but that really is a matter of taste. She finished the lot but while it was enjoyable, it wasn’t a destination dish.

I picked the Pork Belly Omelet ($29.00) which came with a slice of toasted cornbread. The omelet was made ‘tornado style’ using a pair of chopsticks to twirl it into shape sitting on the aforementioned corn bread. Perched on top was a slewed of pork belly. The meat was well flavoured and the fat rendered down to a delicious stickiness. The omelet was properly cooked if a little too long. The cornbread was well made and would have been a great foil for the egg and pork but, dammit….way too sweet for my taste. Thank the kitchen gods for Tabasco which I liberally doused the sweetness into oblivion.

The Garage is a nice venue but it tries too hard to be novel. It’s a pity because they’re not far from getting it right. The plating is attractive and service was pretty good though….as a suggestion, when a table has drained the iced water, maybe replace it without having to ask. Is the place a bit more expensive than it should be? Perhaps… but it’s Palm Cove and the rents are ridiculously high. Garage is definitely at the modestly priced end of the spectrum. Food to die for? No….but you could do a lot worse in the food scene of Williams Esplanade and that’s actually a...

Restaurants and cafes are businesses, generally small businesses, doing their best to offer a good experience. For that reason I try to be positive in my reviews because I doubt anyone is trying to be bad. But this place just didn't do it for me. I'm giving it 3 stars to be generous but my honest view is it's lower than that.

The setting is nice, on an outside terrace across the road from the Palm Cove beach. Wouldn't you know it? I was there on a day with a strong breeze blowing from the beach which made the outdoor setting a negative.

I often go out with 2 friends for lunch, one of these is a "name" on Facebook who writes his own reviews. He's a chef & knows good food. Between the 3 of us there's normally 1 or 2 who are happy and sometimes all 3 of us are. But today none of us rated the meals highly.

The prices weren't cheap so it's disappointing to pay a considerable sum and come away disappointed.

We had 2 service staff, a male & a female. The man was a charming, young-ish western European fellow who was good & the woman a young-ish western European lady who was not. My friend thought she was haughty which I thought was a bit strong but she wasn't exactly a warm & friendly service oriented type.

As an aside I tried the hot chocolate, as I tend to do when I can. The milk tasted "thin" and there wasn't a lot of foam, two things I look for (I mean I want the milk to have body and I like a good amount of foam). The milk felt thin when I used a spoon but it tasted better when I drank it...

would like to express my disappointment after visiting this Café recently. While the atmosphere may appear pleasant and the customer service polite on the surface, it only takes a bit of attention to notice the tense and unhealthy work environment behind the scenes.

The manager, a man who puts on a friendly face in front of customers, treats the staff in an authoritarian and disrespectful manner. I overheard the way he spoke to his team — constantly pressuring them and showing no sign of respect. It’s also clear that staff are not given proper breaks and work under unnecessary stress, all while he maintains a façade of professionalism for the public.

As a customer, it’s hard to enjoy a coffee knowing that the people preparing it are being mistreated. This is not only an ethical issue but also common sense — good service can only come from a team that feels valued and respected.

I hope this complaint prompts a review of the café’s internal management and leads to changes that ensure a fair and respectful work environment for the staff, who deserve...