The Stable Cafe — Restaurant in Sydney

Average food, appalling customer service, I wouldn't recommend this place.

My friend and I were sitting at a table on the outside. After we had placed our orders, while waiting for the food, I felt like using the restroom. I approached a waitress standing inside the café and let her know that I wanted to use the restroom. Without asking a single question, she immediately replied, "Our toilet is for customers only." I told her that I was a customer sitting outside. She didn't seem to find it believable. She then said the restroom was being used and basically just turned around to do other things. I wasn't too happy about it, but there wasn't much I could do when the restroom was being occupied. I returned to my seat and waited. About 2 minutes later, the same waitress came out and led another customer to the restroom. She didn't say a word to me. She didn't try to offer help. Eventually, it was the customer that used the restroom gave me the key. After I finished using the restroom, I brought the key back to my seat and left it on the table. The waitress seemed to know she might have offended me, so instead of collecting the key herself, she sent another guy out to do it. And yet, there was no acknowledgement about the misunderstanding earlier.

A while later, the same guy that had collected the key from me brought out our food. My friend and I had ordered different burgers, and we were not quite sure if we got our own burger accordingly. Instead of helping us, the waiter basically just dumped the dishes on the table and took off. At this point, I'd had it, and I confronted the waiter and let him know they had been very rude.

Is it that hard to confirm if someone is a customer? Is it that hard to acknowledge it when you know you have made the wrong assumption? Is it really worth it to piss off a potential regular customer just because a non-customer might use your toilet once?

I certainly won't go back to this place ever again.

Edit (to address the owner's reply): nobody mentioned anything about urgency. Clearly you would say anything to sound nice, but your staff treated me like a pedestrian who walked past your cafe and wanted to use your toilet for free. That was the issue. If you don't want to address the real issue, then don't even. Clearly that's how you address other customers' reviews as well. Very...

(2.5 stars) The Spice Route is a weekend pop-up at The Stable cafe at Dulwich Hill. Branching out from their daytime offering—that runs from smashed avo. to burgers—on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings they invite guests to journey with them to the south of India. The menu revolves around single-person dishes where rice and grilled vegetables are plated with your chosen curry. They’re like Westernised thali plates without the balancing pickles and chutneys (sold separately) and the shiny silverware that keeps it separated.

You can share entrees like the Chennai (former Madras) dish chicken 65 ($14), though I’d take the menu’s origin story with a grain of salt. We had its vegetarian cousin—cauliflower fritters ($14)—but felt the deep-fried florets lacked the expected chilli bite. Cochin vegetable rolls ($9/3 pieces) fared better. They’re pancakes rolled around a tasty turmeric-tinged vegetable mix which are crumbed and (also) deep-fried. They eat well against mint raita, and with multiple cooking processes, are more effort to put together than I would do at home.

Can’t quite say the same for the curries. Chicken Chettinad ($27) was the best of the bunch, cooked in a tomato gravy, showing decent heat from the mix of dry-roasted spices. It came sprinkled with cashews on rice with red loops of grilled capsicum. Pumpkin saag masala ($25) gave a spiced wedge of undercooked pumpkin, a pool of baby spinach-based curry, rice, and truss tomatoes. Ceylon prawns ($29) in creamy coconut were a bit blander and muddy, would have liked less cooking on the crustaceans. I found the buttered Persian naans ($4/each) too stiff and dry to use with the accompanying curry. The pappadum and mixed rice crackers ($4) were better sauce delivery vehicles. With the curries and plating very home-style, this one doesn’t get over the ‘stuff you can’t easily cook at home’ bar for me. However it isn’t expensive, especially when you BYO, and you don’t have to do...

I've always had the pleasure of visiting stable cafe that served up one of the best breakfast menus I have ever had. From the moment I walked in, I was impressed with the level of service and attention to detail that this cafe had to offer.

The cafe was clean and well-maintained, with both indoor and outdoor seating options. The outdoor seating area was particularly inviting, with comfortable chairs and a peaceful atmosphere that made it the perfect spot to relax and enjoy my meal.

One thing that really stood out about this cafe was the chilled water that was available for customers. It might seem like a small detail, but it made a big difference in my overall experience.

As for the breakfast menu, there are variety of options available. There were classic favorites like pancakes and eggs, as well as more unique dishes that featured ingredients like avocado and smoked salmon. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted absolutely delicious.

But what really set this cafe apart was the exceptional service. The staff were friendly, attentive, and went out of their way to make sure that I had everything I needed. They were knowledgeable about the menu and offered helpful recommendations that made my meal even better.

Overall, I would highly recommend this cafe to anyone looking for a great breakfast experience. From the delicious food to the welcoming atmosphere and excellent service, it truly exceeded my expectations...