Ortem — Restaurant in Queensland

We recently visited Ortem as it's one of our faves in the Toowoomba region. This is evidenced by the below review, written 4 years ago.

Sadly, times change and so has my assessment of this business. Although the premises remains largely the same, and the service is still pleasant and acceptable (other than calling my wife 'darl', never a good idea), the food quality seems to have noticeably diminished.

The Green Goddess bowl (+ additional pulled pork) was not at all what I expected. Instead, I received an unusual medley of random ingredients in a bowl, ranging from cherry tomatoes and a few measly spinach leaves, to a pile of sultanas, a pile of pickled onions and pickled cabbage, and spiced chickpeas, all surrounding a mound of avocado. This offering was accompanied by a dish of tzatziki (probably the most flavourful item served).

Although the various elements in the meal tasted okay, it was a significant deviation from what I, and most cafes, class a Green Goddess Bowl. This was more a Middle Eastern influenced creation, with very little green anything, and not a trace of Green Goddess dressing.

On an aside, the chips were also underwhelming, with many being slightly undercooked (quite firm to the bite).

I'm not sure if it's cost of living, a change of ownership or kitchen staff, or something else entirely. Without doubt though, something has changed and that is unfortunate. I have therefore reduced my star rating to suit.

**Original Review:

Once in a blue moon, you find a cafe or restaurant that truly ticks all the boxes. Ortem, I'm pleased to say, is one of those places.

As first time visitors, we were optimistic that our expectations would align with the many positive reviews.

The cafe has a trendy, inviting appearance and plenty of seating, both inside and out. One large square table inside was brilliantly utilised and allowed multiple patrons, alone or in pairs, to sit 'together' without ever bothering one another. Funky music plays in the background and there's chatter and laughter aplenty.

We were instantly greeted by a friendly and professional lady who, after we were seated, promptly provided not only menus but also a bottle of water and glasses. Her superior service was maintained throughout our visit and she ensured we were consistently attended. She was one of several staff we encountered, all of whom were polite, sociable and keen to make you feel welcome.

As for the meals, what can I say? They were AWESOME! My Bacon and Roast Pumpkin salad, with added BBQ Bourbon Pulled Pork, was divine. My wife was equally impressed with her Roast Sweet Potato and Zucchini salad, topped with Chipotle Chicken. We shared a bowl of thick cut beer battered chips (again delicious!) and washed it down with a coffee and pot of loose leaf peppermint tea.

Dessert was a shared Blondie slice....I'm not sure of the exact details on this one (macadamias for one, I'm pretty sure) but it was great and the perfect way to end the meal and our Ortem experience. It also signalled the end of my eating for the day as I was still full that evening.

In summary, we completed a 3 hour return trip to eat at Ortem and it was totally worth the effort. I am excited about coming back to try the other salads or even...

Five stars, let's get that straight from the outset. Food was great, company was good. Atmosphere? Buzzing. Seats are mildly uncomfortable but if you nab a spot on the bench then you're set. Most impressed by their willingness to accommodate a custom order - had the avo on toast but not on toast, rather I opted to have it on one of the delectable croissants from the display. More than happy to oblige, service didn't show an ounce of frustration. Perfect score on service. Every staff member that passed us checked on our satisfaction. Definitely satisfactory. Full of humans but not too loud. I recently had an experience where this was an issue - not here. I guess the open space works well for that. Menu is short but I don't mind so much, makes making decisions easier. Would be nice if there was a croissant on the menu rather than just in the display but I guess you can't please everyone. Specials all sounded amazing and I'm disappointed in myself for not trying the "cookie monster" shake special. I disappoint a lot of people though so I guess I know how that feels now. I have it on the best authority other than my own that the choc chip pancake special was excellent. My colleague got the veg Benedict. Interestingly when ordering this, he was immediately offered bacon with it. Maybe it's vegan bacon, who am I to judge? Perfect scores make for difficult reviews because like what do you need to say? Everything was great....

We booked a table for breakfast on Saturday 27/08/22 before 8am. On arrival, all good. The drinks order was taken- a fruit juice and a large flat white, both arrived in good time. While waiting for the drinks, our meal order was taken- again we gave that. While waiting for the meal- some 30 minutes- again i ordered another coffee due to waiting for so long. The breakfast eventually arrived, which i have to say was impressive in size, (hunter breakfast for me @ $38!) but most of the food was lukewarm on the plate and to be honest...bland. The scrambled egg had little seasoning, the hash cake was unimpressive, the toast and avo was nice but the knives were so blunt they may as well have been chisels, we struggled to cut even toast!. Sausage- fine, again unimpressive, bacon was good. My wifes meal was warm at most with a hair on the plate! We spent quite a significant amount of money for a breakfast and a mediocre one at that. All i can say is, there's probably a reason why people queue for coffee and not breakfast. Very disappointed. Coffee- fantastic, meals- there are easily better and cheaper venues giving so much better value for money. We definetly WONT be back. P.s. only gave such a high rating due to the wait staff. Would've been a 1 star. Also, maybe offer just a plain bacon and egg roll, simple stuff that's easy to cook and...