Longboard Cafe — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

Look, I’m not a complicated guy. I just want a decent cup of coffee, served by someone whose last point of contact wasn’t a golden retriever’s slobbery face. But apparently, that’s too much to ask at Longboard Café.

Let me set the scene: The cashier—bright-eyed, cheerful—spends a solid minute petting someone’s fur baby, probably named something ridiculous like Mr. Snuggles. Cute, right? Until she saunters back behind the counter without so much as a glance at the sink, starts fiddling with cups, and then serves food. Bon appétit, folks! Nothing like a side of “Good Boy” germs with your croissant.

And while we’re at it, can we collectively admit that letting dogs into cafes isn’t as charming as some people think? The same people who believe it’s fine to let their dog lick their face—probably right after the dog enjoyed a steaming pile of another dog’s excrement—are the same ones championing this trend.

But fine, let’s talk coffee—the main event. I ordered a small, strong coffee. What I got tasted like someone waved a coffee bean over a glass of lukewarm milk and called it a day. It was weak, it was sad, and honestly, it might’ve been intentionally bland to match the personalities of the typical customers—people who think a latte art paw print makes up for questionable hygiene and watered-down caffeine.

To the cashier’s credit, she was friendly. Ignorant, yes, but friendly—like a golden retriever in human form. So, congrats, Longboard Café, you narrowly scraped together two stars. One for effort, one for charm.

But for the love of all things...

First time visiting the cafe yesterday with my family. On ordering, I was comforted knowing that staff were attentive to my allergies and advised me against several menu items. I ordered a Wellness Bowl upon recommendation by the staff member taking the order. Unfortunately, that's where customer service stopped. My wellness bowl was missing several elements as listed in the menu. If allergies were present in those items, it would have been good to tell me or substitute the items with alternatives. As a result, I ended up getting a mix of kale, quinioa, walnuts and 3 different dressings. It barely constituted a salad let alone a meal worth what I paid. While eating my kale, I came across something crunchy that I could not chew. I spat it into my napkin and found it was the corner of a disposable/reusable plastic container. I took it into the shop to tell the same server who took my order what I found in my meal and that they should check their containers to make sure there are no further incidents of contamination. Her exact reaction was "Oh, s*. OK." No offer of a refund, no explanation, no service. As someone who works in the food industry, I am disappointed in the experience. My husband had fish and chips and my son had nuggets and chips. Both were fresh and yum according to them. That's the only reason for the 2 stars. Not likely to...

Often come here because the coffee is very good, however on this occasion the establishment was let down by a staff member’s attitude. The sign on the muffins on the counter says “please don’t touch” - it can be fairly assumed that this pertains to customers not handling food they are not purchasing. When my partner picked out the muffin they wanted I jokingly said “you have to buy that one now, look at the sign” I then chose one and proceeded to the counter to pay and the girl was quite blunt in stating that we weren’t to touch the muffins. She seemed genuinely offended that we had not adhered to the sign, despite misinterpreting its meaning and acting in good faith. Whilst I appreciate their way of serving and now understand their sign, I do not appreciate the attitude of the staff member who served us. I have an extensive hospitality experience and understand people can have moments or bad days, however this I feel was inappropriate and it takes a lot for me to leave a negative review.

Coffee and muffin was excellent - management please address...