Joe's Garage — Restaurant in Christchurch

We booked for 11am for my and my daughter's birthday treat. It was very busy when we arrived - very noisy, which is to be expected in an open space, but the loud music made it worse. There were a lot of flies around the whole time and they couldn't spray them (of course because it's around food), but maybe one of those 'natural' plug-in repellents could help?

The drinks and food was good - when it arrived, which is the big problem - it took OVER AN HOUR!!! Drinks arrived at a normal time of about 10 mins but we could not believe that the food took so long and worst of all, NOT ONE waiter came over to say "sorry, we're really snowed under at the moment" or "sorry we're short-staffed we'll comp you free drinks" (there were only 3 people in the kitchen the entire time) and even worse, when the food finally did arrive, again ZERO apology.

We could see a lot of Uber bags being taken away, so maybe that slowed things down for us dining in, but we booked and are also a priority and these are all things that are very likely to happen on a Sunday at 11-12pm and should be prepared for i.e. more than 3 kitchen staff?!? Or perhaps tell people who are 'walk-ins' that there is a long wait, to ensure those that booked were priority over them and make sure the Uber orders have realistic delivery timeframes so those that booked to dine in don't suffer?

Then towards the end, a waiter came and squeezed in an extra table next to ours for a new group and it was so close to us that we couldn't even get out of the gap he'd made between us all. I was sitting with a 10cm gap next to a complete stranger. Luckily the group realised and moved away them a bit so we could leave - it was really rude.

When you're spending $30+ pp you expect better, and we're so disappointed we do not recommend Joe's Garage...

Today was the very last time I EVER set foot in here again. Every time I have been here, the music has been invasively loud. Today was like walking into a disco, I could hardly hear a word was companion was saying. After asking 3 times for the music to be turned down to a level where I could hear my friends conversation [I am NOT hearing impaired] I was told by a staff member that he couldnt turn it down any more as it was against company policy. This I know was utter nonsense as I regularly dine at both Joes Wigram and Joes Church Corner and I have never had an issue with the levels of music at either. After waiting 50 minutes for our meals we both paid for our coffees and left in disgust!!!!!!!!!!!

So just a response to your reply... I am not prone to drama, I cant remember when I last walked into a cafe and was greeted by this volume of music. Your cafe is the ONLY place I have had an issue with regarding the music level in years! I have asked on multiple occasions in the past for the music level to be reduced. NO one suggested we move tables, and my swearing at a staff member [which wasn't ok and I apologize for] was born out of utter frustration at asking three times for the music to be turned down, [and a wait of 40 minutes for breakfast!] You seem to fail to understand the simple concept that people go to cafes to socialize with friends and don't expect to battle with loud music in order to do so, which incidentally other JOES franchises seem to manage...

Disappointing. Have been to Joe's in Rangiora and it was really top notch but you guys fully dropped the ball the night my family and I visited. You forgot my husbands pizza so he had nothing to eat while the rest of us ate our meals. Then you kept saying it was a few minutes away, and it didn't arrive until everyone at our table had finished our meals. So, like, half an hour later... My sons pizza was cold and barely any topping (not worth price paid), very stingy. And didn't even cover the base properly (I should've taken a photo!) my pizza was the same I always order in Rangiora but this one had hardly any mushrooms and the caramelised onions tasted like that relish you can buy. And it was spicy, dunno why. No iced water offered, we had to send the kids up to get water which was warm, no ice. Upon leaving, hubby's pizza arrived, looking like the cook had thrown scraps on it in a hurry and base was Gluten Free when he ordered normal. He didn't even feel like eating it at that stage. Didn't get charged for the pizza, we wouldn't have paid for it anyway. Only good thing was the server was sweet. Just terrible service and food, definitely won't be returning. At least give tables fresh, iced water and make sure you take down everyone's order correctly, plus it's expensive for what you get at Joe's...