Sierra Cafe Silverdale — Restaurant in Hibiscus and Bays

I’m giving 2 stars as it wasn’t all bad. HOWEVER when we got there the owner said that we need to make sure we are not in the way after we parked our strollers against a wall out of the way of the whole restaurant as we were sitting in a corner to ensure we were out of the way. We then asked the owner is it okay where we put the strollers and he confirmed that it was fine where we put it, (mind you we are only 3 mums with little bubs as this was a post partum catch up and wanted to go somewhere nice and warm for our catch up after the births of our babies)while this happened he told us how someone fell over a stroller and he doesn’t want that to happen again, granted we then asked again, is it fine where we parked ours or do we need to move where he confirmed we were okay. An hour and a half in he came around and asked if we were staying long and we said we are ordering juices now after the coffees and he said all good and left. We finished our juices and sat and talked a bit more while the one mum was feeding her baby when he came to tell us we need to leave as customers are only allowed to sit down for 2.5hours and he doesn’t want to be rude but we are over the limit. I looked around and noticed there were 13 people in the whole restaurant (us included) and more than 11 tables available on this mid Tuesday morning. To note there are no signs saying there is a sit limit at all. He further went on to tell us he already banned another mom group who also sat for a while before he had to ask them to leave, he told another group he is not running a crèche with all the mums parked at the tables and it’s just him looking out for his business. Yes we do understand if there’s limited space or the people weren’t ordering anything that he should say something but we were dining in and more than double checked with him whether we are fine where we sat. We ended up leaving with a bad taste after the owner made us feel unwelcome after we ordered coffees, pastries and juice during the 2 hours and 43 minutes we sat there. When we got up to leave, his exact words were “I’m not being rude but you must understand this is my business and I’m looking out for all my customers” and when he asked if he will see us again we declined and said no thank you, being out the house after having a baby only to be met with such rudeness leaves a bad taste and he won’t be...

The staff from here are lovely, as I have purchased coffee and drinks before.

Today however I was a little disappointed by the owner (I'm assuming he was the owner, a man of Indian decent).

I purchased sushi however the sushi tables were all completey full. I didn't realise that there were no tables prior, and they must of filled up fast while I was lining up (otherwise I would of definitely asked for takeaway).

Having no choice and no where to sit, I noticed the cafe at the same mall food court was pretty much empty. I thought I would quickly finish my sushi and head off.

While eating, the owner told me next time not to sit on his restaurant side. I went to apologise and explained how there were no seats on the sushi side, so I had no where to sit. I noticed his side was empty that's why thought it would be ok to quickly eat and go. I went on to say how I was planning on buying a coffee to go with my food.

He then went on a tangent saying that he doesn't care if I buy coffee, we sit where we eat. He then unprofessionally went on about how he pays for rent, and could just shoo me as he didn't want me there.

I was messaging a friend at the time I was approached, so was holding onto my phone in my left hand while being interrupted. He then went onto say that I better not be leaving a bad Google review as he would just respond back. I went on to explain how I wasn't even on Google.

I was never going to leave a bad review however after that threat, maybe I should share my honest experience.

Leaving the food court I genuinely hope that the staff are being treated respectfully. I understand at the moment it is a rough time in the hospitality industry, and the owner may be under alot of stress. I understand we all have our own personal issues. However kindness is free, and there are better ways of communicating with others.

Perhaps with better customer service and less hostility in hospitality, you may attract more customers to fill up your tables, just like your friendly sushi neighbours. The best form of marketing is through word of mouth. Keep customers happy, customers keep your business happy. Food for thought.

I will no longer be returning for any future drinks or meals, however hope that with changes you may become busy...

Terrible service and experience.

The owner/barista is extremely rude and bordering on aggressive.

I ordered food and coffee's and when ordering I was told it would take 10 minutes as they where short on staff, I said that was fine and sat down with my mother to wait. The pre-cooked scone arrived about 5 minutes later and we chatted and waited for the coffee's. After half an hour we asked a staff member if they could check on our coffee order, however they never returned with an answer so we waited another 10 minutes and then asked another staff member if they could check when our coffee's would be ready, again they left to ask but didn't return with an answer. So I waited another 5 minutes and then approached the barista to see if it was still in the queue or lost in the system as I suspected, at this stage I would have been happy to take my coffee to go as we needed to leave. However when I enquired with him if it was still in the queue he refused to look for it and he brushed me off. I persisted and said it had been 45 minutes, he told me I was lying and he had seen me order a little while ago, so I offered to show him the payment receipt but he didn't want to look at it and once again said I was lying in a very hostile and confrontational manner. He then changed his answer to we had left and then returned. At this stage another staff member started to look through the coffee order spikes and found our receipt near the bottom and showed the barrister (who is the owner). He backed down then and offered to make it again, but after having told me and my elderly mother we where liars multiple times I decided I really didn't want to stay and asked for our money back. They refunded me the coffee's but not for the scone (as we had eaten it) There was no apologies for the wait or the abuse and I suspect the reason our coffee order wasn't checked when asked the first two times is the staff are told not to...