Girdlers Café - Dee Why — Restaurant in Sydney

They tried to serve me A BURRITO THAT WAS DROPPED ON THE FLOOR. I don't normally write bad reviews nor reviews in general, but I need to this time for food safety concerns.

Today I came in and ordered a burrito for takeaway. The wait was a little long (20mins) but I didn't mind it. They were busy. I was waiting for my food just in the hallway in front of the cash register and could see the kitchen behind. And I'm so glad I was able to see the kitchen. I saw one of the chefs preparing a burrito behind and thought it could be mine so I was watching him. After he cut the burrito in halves, as he was putting them in the box, he dropped one of the halves and it landed on the floor. He then proceeded to pick it up from the floor and wrapped it in another foil wrap and put it in the box. I WAS SHOCKED. Honestly I couldn't believe he did that and was so shocked. They were lucky I didn't film the whole thing (which I wished I had so I could have concrete evidence). The chef then handed the box to the waiter and he gave it to me. I told the waiter I saw the whole thing and that I didn't want it anymore because it was dropped on the floor. The waiter asked the chef (as if I would lie about something like that), and the chef HAD THE AUDACITY TO SAY NO HE DIDN'T DROP IT. I was like I saw you! I was watching you the whole time. That's when he turned around and didn't say anything else. Didn't even apologize and own up to it. I was on a hurry so I asked for refund and left. I've reported this incident to Food Safety NSW and will make sure an appropriate investigation is launched. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE and a clear violation of food...

Celiac Beware: We visited today to celebrate my son’s bday. My Son is a Celiac. Sunrise and Breakfast was the first gift of the day.

The Menu was clearly advertised as “gluten free” so I felt we may be safe. We even took this cafe as recommendation from other celiacs. At the bottom of the menu is does indicate the following: “Your safety is important to us. While we take steps to prevent cross-contamination, trace amounts of allergens, including nuts, may be present. Please consider this when placing your order.”

I had several conversations with staff to ensure the Hot chocolate and the “all mine” that my son ordered was Gluten free and the staff reassured me that the chef would be notified and that my son was celiac. Unfortunately my son is currently experiencing gluten poisoning. This could be something in the ingredients or a cross contamination we are unsure. 🫤

Location is amazing, Staff were pretty average with service. Came out with Breakfast without the bacon we ordered so served separately. The hot chocolates we ordered were powdery. The coffee wasn’t as great as I had read in other reviews. My meal “Bircher bowl” or something was actually pretty nice. The crepes my wife ate were ok apparently. And the juices were fresh and yummy.

Overall, disappointed with my son getting sick on his birthday and having to cancel all his plans. Found some items good, but overall over priced. This maybe because is of location. Maybe if the service and the restaurant can be better to manage Celiacs and quality of coffee/HC they could definitely improve the...

Girdlers Cafe is located on the main street across the beach amongst all the shops.

Often it is busy and there is a queue to enter and have a table available for you. However turnover is quick and you're not often waiting very long. Staff are friendly and take your name down in the queue so you can stand away from the queue and relax whilst you wait. They will call you when a table is available. There is ample seating available inside and out, with umbrella shades for those sitting outdoors.

The menu is good and focuses on heathy; complementing their motto of 'heathy, honest, goodness' that is on the back of the staff shirts.

There is a good selection of items from crepes to goodness bowls and burgers on the all day breakfast menu. This extends to burritos on the lunch menu where there are pork and pulled jackfruit versions, so the vegetarians and vegans are well catered for.

The smoothies are fantastic. Both the Greenpeace, and Mango & almond smoothies are to die for.

On this occasion the experience was let down by a kitchen had a long backlog wait on crepes and that could have communicated to the front of house staff who could then pass on that message to customers. This would allow for customers to decide whether to wait or change their order, rather than let customers wait for a long time wondering where their order is. Wait staff did try to make amends by offering complementary items to satiate your hunger. Well...